http://www.freerepublic.com/tag/bordersecurity/ en-us Tue, 23 Sep 2008 16:18:19 GMT Focus Forum 15 http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2088565/posts WASHINGTON – Congress approved a shift of $400 million from technology accounts to construction of the U.S. border fence despite a Customs and Border Protection admission that it cannot be completed by year's end, officials said Monday. The House Appropriations Subcommittee for Homeland Security agreed to a CBP proposal to transfer funds from other accounts to build the remainder of the 670 miles of border fence. Eagle Pass Mayor Chad Foster, chairman of the Texas Border Coalition, voiced disappointment over Congress' decision to continue to fund “the border wall.” “It won't work. It is lethal to people and wildlife and... San Antonio Express-News http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2088565/posts#comment Tue, 23 Sep 2008 16:18:19 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2086811/posts Los Angeles, California - An elevator mechanic employed by Los Angeles World Airports (LAWA) was formally indicted today for smuggling foreign nationals into the United States by bypassing established security at Los Angeles International Airport (LAX). Roberto Amaya Canchola, 53, a United States citizen and Los Angeles resident, is charged in a six-count indictment handed down by a federal grand jury here this afternoon with bringing illegal aliens into the United States for financial gain and with bringing illegal aliens into the country without presenting them to an immigration officer. If convicted on all six counts, Canchola faces a maximum... Imperial Valley News http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2086811/posts#comment Sun, 21 Sep 2008 00:37:21 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2084971/posts I Don't Believe in Imaginary Property writes "Rep. Loretta Sanchez (D-CA) has introduced a bill that would add accountability to the DHS searches conducted upon the laptops of those crossing the border. Specifically, it would require the issue of receipts to those who had their property confiscated so that it could later be returned, would limit how long the DHS can keep laptops, would require them to keep the laptop's information secure, and would create a way to complain about abuse. Finally, the DHS would be required to keep track of how many searches were done and report the details... Slashdot http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2084971/posts#comment Thu, 18 Sep 2008 12:53:42 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2081861/posts New McCain ad blames Obama and Democrats for death of immigration overhaul effort.(CNN) – John McCain’s campaign is running a Spanish language ad in battleground states that blames Barack Obama and Senate Democrats for the failure of attempts to overhaul the nation’s immigration laws — even though the Republican nominee and his Democratic counterpart cast identical votes in the key Senate showdowns on that issue last year “Obama and his congressional allies say they are on the side of immigrants. But are they?” asks the announcer in the 30-second spot, “Which Side Are They On?” “The press reports that their... CNN http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2081861/posts#comment Sun, 14 Sep 2008 00:09:22 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2081748/posts <p>TIJUANA, Mexico -- There is a moment each evening, as the sun melts into the Pacific, when Colonia Libertad is at peace....but it is only a moment. The floodlights click on, bathing the neighborhood in a blinding light. The helicopters return, clattering past. And the smugglers arrive with their ladders and blow torches and groups of people desperate to escape a fate similar to the one residents of Colonia Libertad long ago accepted.</p> The Washington Post http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2081748/posts#comment Sat, 13 Sep 2008 20:06:16 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2076577/posts NOW might be a good time to buy some FedEx stock. International travelers are sure to be shipping a lot of laptops on overnight delivery to avoid losing them for hours or weeks - thanks to the Department of Homeland Security's new confiscation policy. Congress recently forced the department to admit it has assumed authority to take an air traveler's laptop computer (or any other electronic device) to an undisclosed location for an unspecified time to check for suspicious files - even "absent individualized suspicion" of wrongdoing. [Snip] Being "randomly" wanded and frisked at an airport-security checkpoint is bad enough,... New York Post http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2076577/posts#comment Sun, 7 Sep 2008 10:41:12 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2073697/posts Mexican police discovered an air-conditioned drug-smuggling tunnel less than 60 meters (65 yards) from the US border in northwest Mexico, state police said Tuesday. Policemen surprised workers who were five meters underground digging a tunnel to the United States while they were searching a house in the border city of Mexicali, Mexican police said. (AFP/SSP/Ho) MEXICO CITY (AFP) - Mexican police discovered an air-conditioned drug-smuggling tunnel less than 60 meters (65 yards) from the US border in northwest Mexico, state police said. The 140-meter-long (150-yard), 1.3-meter-wide and five-meter-deep tunnel included an electric rail for container transport, ventilation and lights as... AFP http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2073697/posts#comment Wed, 3 Sep 2008 13:51:54 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2073188/posts GRANJENO - Border residents are being asked to act as witnesses to any “abuses” perpetrated by the Department of Homeland Security or its agents during construction of the border wall. Documented evidence of “abuse” is being sought by the No Border Wall group in the hope that it can be used as testimony at congressional hearings held to review the border wall project... Although the No Border Wall group originated in the Rio Grande Valley, No Border Wall spokeswoman Stefanie Herweck said....."The feeling is that we have until now and January, when the new Congress meets and the new administration... Rio Grande Guardian http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2073188/posts#comment Tue, 2 Sep 2008 18:45:45 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-bloggers/2072751/posts 141, Campo, CA Smuggler's Gulch Campo Minutemen http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-bloggers/2072751/posts#comment Tue, 2 Sep 2008 03:11:55 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2071259/posts The U.S. Border Patrol's largest union local has asked President Bush to put an end to the scores of Mexican military incursions into the United States that have put Border Patrol agents at risk of being injured or killed. "It is disgraceful that Border Patrol agents are put in harm's way and our government doesn't do everything reasonably within its power to protect us from marauding Mexican soldiers and others," said Edward "Bud" Tuffly II, head of Local 2544 of the National Border Patrol Council (NBPC) in Tucson. "Without a forceful response to these illegal incursions, an agent will eventually... The Washington Times http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2071259/posts#comment Sat, 30 Aug 2008 15:57:00 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2068240/posts EL PASO, Texas -- Security is being heightened along the southern U.S. border because of a threat that warring Mexican cartels may send hit men into the United States, authorities said Monday. Law enforcement officials would not discuss specific security measures being taken at the ports of entry, along the border or in the city of El Paso. "We received credible information that drug cartels in Mexico have given permission to hit targets on the U.S. side of the border," El Paso police spokesman Officer Chris Mears said. Authorities learned of the threat last week. U.S. Customs and Border Protection... newsmax.com http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2068240/posts#comment Tue, 26 Aug 2008 13:16:18 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2067343/posts The Maricopa County Sheriff's Office reports that at least a dozen undocumented immigrants have been detained after wandering near a US Air Force Base in southwestern Arizona Sunday. Sheriff's deputies are working with border patrol agents and DPS officers in an effort to locate five to seven more undocumented immigrants who are believed to be in the area of the Barry M. Goldwater Range about 13 miles south of Gila Bend. Two undocumented immigrants have died, likely from dehydration, according to MCSO. The range, which is active with armed military aircraft, has been shut down as authorities search for other... ABC15, Phoenix http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2067343/posts#comment Sun, 24 Aug 2008 23:13:44 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2066110/posts Mexican officers brought a U.S. citizen to the Juarez-Lincoln International Bridge on Thursday after she went into labor in the Sister City, authorities said. "She required medical attention to deliver the baby, but Mexican officers forgot to leave their weapons on the Mexican side," said Gene Garza Jr., Laredo port director. He added: "It’s a very honest, good deed they were doing because they were trying to help and they have instructions to take care of tourists." According to Garza, the officers were identified as city municipal police officers. He said authorities called 911 and shortly after, Laredo paramedics arrived... Laredo Morning Times http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2066110/posts#comment Fri, 22 Aug 2008 13:33:08 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2064692/posts MIAMI — Travelers crossing U.S. land and sea borders can now replace their passport book with a new passport card. Federal passport officials started issuing the wallet-size cards on July 14. More than 450,000 people have applied for the card, said Brenda Sprague, deputy assistant secretary of state for passport services, at a news conference Monday at the Port of Miami. "The U.S. passport card is a less expensive and more affordable alternative to the U.S. passport book," Sprague said. The brand new document — which looks similar to a drivers license — can be used for people returning to... http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2064692/posts#comment Wed, 20 Aug 2008 03:16:36 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2064182/posts This past week, a 10-year veteran of the U.S. Border Patrol shot and wounded a man in the left buttock who assaulted agents at a violent stretch of the U.S.-Mexico border. Despite the fact that the man was among a group that was trying to enter the United States illegally and was throwing rocks and concrete chunks at agents, officials at the Mexican Consulate in San Diego are criticizing the agent and demanding the U.S. conduct a full investigation. Consul General Remedios Gomez Arnau said: "Any kind of shooting toward Mexican territory is rejected by the Mexican government. They should... townhall.com http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2064182/posts#comment Tue, 19 Aug 2008 11:45:27 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2063161/posts Governors at an annual conference explore public-private toll lanes to cut wait times between the U.S. and Mexico. Hoping to cut down on wait times at the border, Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger said Friday that he and other governors are exploring the idea of public-private partnerships to construct vehicle toll lanes at entry points between the United States and Mexico. Schwarzenegger raised the issue at the closing of the 26th annual Border Governors Conference, a three-day summit that drew four governors from the United States and six from Mexico. Among the problems the governors agreed to tackle next year was the... Los Angeles Times http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2063161/posts#comment Sun, 17 Aug 2008 04:02:59 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2062913/posts Radio Row to Showcase the Largest Gathering Ever of Radio Hosts Broadcasting Together Live as a Unified Voice Demanding Immigration Enforcement, Secure Borders and No Amnesty. Federation for American Immigration Reform Congressional Task Force (FAIRCTF) announces September 10th and 11th as the dates for its annual Hold Their Feet to the Fire in Washington, D.C. Currently 20 radio hosts are confirmed to broadcast live from Radio Row with upwards of 50 to 75 others expected, thus doubling the size of the broadcast over previous years. In spring of 2007, 37 radio talk hosts attended Hold Their Feet to the Fire... Hold Their Feet to The Fire 2008 http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2062913/posts#comment Sat, 16 Aug 2008 15:50:29 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2062738/posts <p>SAN DIEGO - Scrapers and bulldozers began filling a deep canyon Friday to make way for a border fence in the southwestern corner of the United States after 12 years of planning, environmental reviews and legal challenges.</p> <p>The 3 1/2-mile stretch extends from a state park on an oceanfront cliff through a canyon known as Smuggler's Gulch. The gorge was overrun by illegal immigrants until U.S. authorities launched a crackdown in the 1990s that pushed traffic to the remote mountains and deserts of California and Arizona.</p> MSNBC http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2062738/posts#comment Sat, 16 Aug 2008 02:44:27 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2062145/posts Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger escaped the budget stalemate in Sacramento on Thursday to lead a conference of U.S. and Mexican governors contending with pollution, gun-running and drug violence along the troubled 2,000-mile border.The annual Border Governors Conference spotlighted a region that stretches from the Pacific coast to the Gulf of Mexico and is known alternatively for unyielding problems and economic potential. Illegal immigration has strained relations between the two countries, but Schwarzenegger called the border "a line that unites us" and called for cooperation on issues from water management to building a green economy."There is no divide to the air that... The Fresno Bee http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2062145/posts#comment Fri, 15 Aug 2008 01:33:10 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2061836/posts SAN YSIDRO – The shooting of a Mexican man by a U.S. Border Patrol agent during a rock-throwing incident west of the San Ysidro border crossing drew a rebuke yesterday from the Mexican Consulate in San Diego and a demand that U.S. authorities conduct a “thorough investigation.” “Any kind of shooting toward Mexican territory is rejected by the Mexican government,” Consul General Remedios Gómez Arnau said. “They should have waited for response of the Mexican authorities.” The Border Patrol agent shot at two people in Mexico on Tuesday night, wounding one, after a group suspected of trying to illegally enter... San Diego Union-Tribune http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2061836/posts#comment Thu, 14 Aug 2008 17:00:43 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2061827/posts Washington, D.C. – U.S. Congressman Duncan Hunter (R-CA) responded to reports that a Border Patrol agent was held at gunpoint by members of the Mexican military in Arizona by reaffirming the necessity for border fencing and other infrastructure. According to a State Department Spokesman, the encounter “stemmed from a momentary misunderstanding as to the exact location of the U.S.-Mexican border.” "I disagree with the State Department’s characterization of this incident," said Congressman Hunter. "The fact that members of the Mexican military are routinely operating in such close proximity to the border, with no identifiable purpose, raises serious questions about their... House.gov http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2061827/posts#comment Thu, 14 Aug 2008 16:39:32 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2061670/posts The men and women of the U.S. Border Patrol guarding the Southern land border come into constant contact with drug and human smugglers, criminals and migrants. Every so often, they even encounter Mexican military personnel making unauthorized incursions across the border into the United States. The most recent Mexican military incursion occurred last week on the Tohono O’odham Indian Reservation in Arizona. According to reports, the Mexican soldiers crossed the border in a military vehicle and held a Border Patrol agent at gunpoint before escaping back to Mexico. While the agent who was temporarily detained by the Mexican soldiers was... humanevents.com http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2061670/posts#comment Thu, 14 Aug 2008 11:56:09 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2059189/posts Mexican army soldiers invaded U.S. territory and held a member of the U.S. Border Patrol at gunpoint. "Unfortunately, this sort of behavior by Mexican military personnel has been going on for years," a statement from Local 2544 of the National Border Patrol Council said. The Tucson Sector Border Patrol agent was held at gunpoint near Ajo, Ariz. Mexican military personnel crossed over the border and pointed rifles at him. Judicial Watch documented 29 confirmed incidents along the U.S.-Mexican border involving Mexican military and/or law enforcement personnel in 2007. The Border Patrol union said, "A few years ago the Mexican military... WorldNetDaily http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2059189/posts#comment Sat, 9 Aug 2008 21:53:27 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2058929/posts August 8, 2008 - 08:20:00 - United States immigration and State Department officials fear that their newly developed, high-tech visas are being sold on the Mexican black market. Jim Kouri The US government hoped the newly designed visas would help in curtailing rampant illegal immigration at the Mexican border, but investigators believe many of them are being bought or rented by Mexicans seeking illegal entry into the US. Well over 11,000 of these Laser Visas, issued to Mexicans for legitimate travel into the United States were reported stolen or "lost" in just two border cities. Government officials claim this... Borderfire Report http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2058929/posts#comment Sat, 9 Aug 2008 06:38:36 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2058649/posts Once again we are told of an incident in which one of our Boarder Patrol Agents has been placed in a life threatening situation while protecting the boarder between Mexico and the United States. However, let's consider this situation a little differently. Let's consider it, if we can, from the thoughts that might have been going through the mind of our Agent while he was being held at gunpoint by the Mexican military on the American side of the boarder. Associated Press http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2058649/posts#comment Fri, 8 Aug 2008 17:01:28 GMT