Border Protection
The growth of illegal immigration across the nation's borders, particularly those with Mexico, has led DHS to begin erecting a fence across hundreds of miles of open land, beef up the Border Patrol, promote its SBInet program and engage CBP in a huge effort to encourage legal immigration while staunching the flow of illegal migrants.
New passport card available for land and sea travel in N.A., Caribbean and Bermuda
July 22nd, 2008
The new U.S. passport card, a wallet-sized document for land and sea travel between the U.S. and Mexico, Canada, the Caribbean and Bermuda, is in full production and is now being distributed, according to a joint announcement by DHS and the Department of State. It is not valid for international travel by air.
Nuclear materials detection does not yet make the grade, committee says
July 21st, 2008
"We have much work to do."
That was the familiar conclusion of yet another chairman of yet another congressional homeland-security committee.
But this time the subject was how to protect the nation against nuclear terrorism. The chairman was Joe Lieberman (D-CT) and the recent occasion was the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee’s first-ever hearing on the "global nuclear detection architecture," the so-called "system of systems" and "defense in depth" plan which is being constructed by DHS’s Domestic Nuclear Detection Office (DNDO).
Their own words...
June 23rd, 2008
Visa exemptions could be granted to certain terrorist group supporters
June 18th, 2008
Uncle Sam has decided to lighten up a bit when it comes to reviewing visa applications from individuals who have been associated with various "terrorist organizations" – sometimes called "liberation groups" by their allies – which have been active in Southeast Asia and elsewhere.
DHS to combat immigration fraud with new TRACS database
June 17th, 2008
The Department of Homeland Security is planning to establish a new database designed to minimize the likelihood of immigration fraud, which it has dubbed the Technical Reconciliation Analysis Classification System, or TRACS.
Rockwell Collins completes successful test flight of damaged UAV
June 16th, 2008
Rockwell Collins, Inc. of Cedar Rapids, IA, has completed a successful flight test of a significantly damaged unmanned F/A-18 subscale model air vehicle which could have implications for the use of UAVs in civilian applications.
GAO awards protest costs to Sysorex Federal
June 12th, 2008
A systems integration firm based in Herndon, VA, protested the award of a license plate reader contract to a Knoxville-based rival, and though the award by Customs and Border Protection was allowed to stand, the Government Accountability Office recently decided that the protesting company should be reimbursed for its legal expenses and other protest-related costs.
"Visa Waiver" program in name only
June 12th, 2008
Residents of approximately 28 countries participating in the U.S. Visa Waiver Program, who do not need to obtain a formal visa to visit the U.S. for up to 90 days, will soon be required to submit online their detailed biographic information to Customs and Border Protection before they travel to the U.S., so CBP can perform background checks on them
