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Mexican officials say a concrete barrier constructed by the U.S. Border Patrol in a storm-water tunnel beneath Nogales appears to be on Mexican soil and was the main cause of serious flooding July 12 in Nogales, Sonora. The flooding caused about $8 million in damage in Nogales, Sonora, the officials say. The 5-foot-high wall on the floor of the tunnel in front of a gate was put in without notifying the International Boundary and Water Commission, said Sally Spener, spokeswoman for the U.S. section of the commission. The commission requests that any agency doing work on the border that could...

BROWNSVILLE — The border barrier that soon will be built in the Rio Grande Valley hardly fits the Berlin Wall image conjured by its opponents. Rather, it’s a patchwork of permeable structures riddled with apertures for animals and people, with lots of gates and lots of keys. The Homeland Security Department’s Environmental Stewardship Plan for the Valley shows the agency has settled on locations for 21segments totaling about 70 miles, scattered from Brownsville to Roma. Seven segments will be 18-foot-tall cuts into existing river levees, reinforced with concrete. Three segments will be movable in case of hurricane-induced flooding. And one...

Washington -- Secretary of Homeland Security Michael Chertoff on Monday blamed tightened security on the U.S.-Mexico border for increased violence there, and he said the border probably will not be fully secured until 2011, two years after President Bush leaves office. "(Increased violence) is what typically happens when you start to enforce and make it harder to fight over the shrinking pie, so to speak, and who gets the best opportunity to exploit the additional space that's left," Chertoff said at a news conference at the U.S. Customs and Border Protection headquarters in Washington, D.C. on Monday. "That's a good...

Republican presidential candidate John McCain defended his stance on comprehensive immigration reform Tuesday and said that, if elected to the White House in November, he will make the U.S. borders secure within a short period of time. Speaking on CBS’ “Early Show,” McCain said Americans want the confidence that its borders be secured first before supporting a humane and compassionate approach to temporary worker programs and comprehensive immigration reform. “We are moving forward right now with securing our borders,” McCain said. When asked if the daunting task could be accomplished within a two-year period, McCain assured, “It will be secure...

Despite having failed to achieve immigration reform in the Senate, John McCain told the nation’s largest Hispanic advocacy group he would “fix our broken borders.” “Many Americans, with good cause, did not believe us when we said we would secure our borders, and so we failed in our efforts,” McCain said at the League of United Latin American Citizens (LULAC) annual convention today. “We must prove to them that we can and will secure our borders first, while respecting the dignity and rights of citizens and legal residents of the United States.” McCain said it was important to “recognize the...

Yesterday, Sen. John McCain stood strong for Secure Borders when he responded to a question from radical LaRaza activist Enrique Morones: Morones, a member of Borders Angels, accused the US of killing ten thousand people on the border with our “militarization” and demanded that McCain disavow border security. McCain gave him a very testy reply.Listen to audio . . . .

John McCain on Monday asked Latinos to trust him on the thorny issue of how to treat the nation's illegal immigrants, a day after Barack Obama accused the Arizona senator of backing away from his a key position for fear of alienating GOP conservatives. Far behind in polls that show Obama leading 2 to 1 among Latino voters, a feisty McCain spoke to the National Council of La Raza a day after the Illinois senator, and said he intends to make comprehensive immigration reform a top priority if elected. But disappointing some at the Latino civil rights gathering, he said...

Open-border advocates operating under the guise of environmentalism are prepared to push for legislation that could result in an accelerated flow of illegal immigration, drug smuggling, and human trafficking from Mexico into Arizona, according to law enforcement experts familiar with the terrain. The two bills, sponsored by Rep. Raul Grijalva (D-Ariz.), would restrict federal and state law enforcement officials from patrolling an already porous border area that extends from Sonora, Mexico into Santa Cruz County, Ariz., critics charge. However, some members of Congress and environmental activists maintain the legislation would provide for greater flexibility in enforcing the border while safeguarding...

EDINBURG -- Hundreds of people chanting "No border wall" marched to the Hidalgo County Courthouse on Saturday evening seeking to persuade local politicians to abandon their support for the planned barrier. Protesters specifically targeted Hidalgo County Judge J.D. Salinas and other county officials for linking the building of the wall to the repair of the county's deteriorating levee system. Salinas has consistently said he opposes the border wall. But when it began to seem the barrier's construction was inevitable, he and other officials started lobbying the federal government to combine the project with levee repairs to better leverage federal money...

ICx ships Cerberus units to U.S. borders WASHINGTON, July 8 (UPI) -- ICx Technologies has begun shipping its unmanned mobile surveillance systems for deployment along the U.S. border with Mexico. ICx officials say the shipments of their Cerberus unmanned mobile surveillance technology, part of a $4 million order, will go to support the U.S. Customs and Border Patrol's operations along the U.S.-Mexican border. The Cerberus units offer Border Patrol officers mobile surveillance towers with advanced radars and camera technology that company officials say enhance the ability to identify and track potential suspects attempting to cross the border as part of...

The most recent outbreak of salmonella poisoning of produce caused much alarm across the country and cost American tomato growers millions in lost revenue. As of this writing, over 900 salmonella cases have been diagnosed in 40 states. While American farmers struggled as the CDC did their best to pin the tainted tomatoes on them, their crops rotted on docks and in warehouses as consumers refused to buy potentially contaminated goods. For those of us in Arkansas, it was a relief when our famous Bradley County pink tomatoes were cleared; harvesting had not begun when the outbreak occurred.

SWANTON, Vt. -- The U.S. Border Patrol says an agent shot at three suspects after being assaulted near the Vermont-Quebec border early today.The agency said the officer was interviewing the three who were on foot at about 2:15 a.m. when he was assaulted. The agent fired two shots.A male and female suspect are in custody. The third suspect, a male, escaped back into Canada.The Border Patrol said it doesn't know if the missing suspect was armed or if he was wounded.Border Patrol Spokesman Mark Henry said the agent was on routine patrol when he spotted the suspects. The suspects knocked...

But just months later, with Washington sweltering in humidity, the hawkish immigration reformer, who wants to deport the nation's 12 million illegal immigrants, has declared his support for McCain. "I expect to be supporting him in November," Tancredo told TIME last week. "But certainly it is not set in stone." But in public comments, McCain often delivered a somewhat mixed message of his own. He continued to favor all the parts of his comprehensive plan — border security, increased employer sanctions for illegal hiring and a path to citizenship for the undocumented — but he mostly refrained from using the...

Returning from a brief vacation to Germany in February, Bill Hogan was selected for additional screening by customs officials at Dulles International Airport outside Washington, D.C. Agents searched Hogan's luggage and then popped an unexpected question: Was he carrying any digital media cards or drives in his pockets? "Then they told me that they were impounding my laptop," says Hogan, a freelance investigative reporter whose recent stories have ranged from the origins of the Iraq war to the impact of money in presidential politics. Shaken by the encounter, Hogan says he left the airport and examined his bags, finding that...

Two U.S. senators called on U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) to back off its assertion that it can search laptops and other electronic devices owned by U.S. citizens returning to the country without the need for reasonable suspicion of a crime or probable cause. Senators Russell Feingold, a Wisconsin Democrat, and Patrick Leahy, a Vermont Democrat, both urged CBP to reconsider its policy that apparently has lead to frequent searches of laptops, digital cameras and handheld devices at borders. "If you asked [U.S. residents] whether the government has a right to open their laptops, read their documents and e-mails,...

suitablegirl writes "As we have discussed, Customs and Border Patrol is allowed to seize and download data from laptops or electronic devices of Americans returning from abroad. At a Senate hearing tomorrow, privacy advocates and industry groups will urge the lawmakers to take action to protect the data and privacy of Americans not guilty of anything besides wanting to go home."

More than two years after a precedent-setting move by the federal government cleared a path around environmental laws and legal challenges, the construction of a stretch of border fence across a deep canyon known as Smuggler's Gulch is set to begin next month. Proposed additional fencing The project will require cutting earth from surrounding hills and filling in the canyon with more than 2 million cubic yards of dirt, an operation so large that critics fear disastrous environmental consequences.

It was as frightening as a Halloween trick can be: It happened in broad daylight. It was caught on camera. The government says it really happened. On Oct. 31, 2006, a covert agent of the Government Accountability Office (GAO) pulled to the side of a Canadian highway that runs along the U.S. border. Greg Kutz, GAO's managing director of forensic audits and special investigations, explained what happened in a May 16, 2008, report to Senate Finance Chairman Max Baucus. The report summarized GAO's efforts (from 2003 to 2007) to covertly test the effectiveness of U.S. border security. The covert agent...

When the border fence is constructed along the Rio Grande, Fermin Leal will watch as the barrier slices through the backyards of his neighbors, bypassing his 500-acre farm in San Pedro. The fence's trajectory, incontiguous and largely unexplained, has left many border residents suspicious of the federal government's plans. "I'm still not sure how my land is different than theirs," Leal said. "They still haven't given us any answers." The fence will run nearly unabated through Brownsville before stopping at River Bend Resort and golf course. It will break again for nearly seven miles in San Pedro, where the federal...

The airline industry and embassies of 34 countries, including the members of the European Union, are urging the U.S. government to withdraw a plan that would require airlines and cruise lines to collect digital fingerprints of all foreigners before they depart the United States, starting in August 2009. Their opposition could trigger a battle with Congress and the Bush administration, which want the new plan established quickly. Airlines said the change would cost the industry $12.3 billion over 10 years, not $3.5 billion as the Department of Homeland Security estimated in unveiling the proposal in April. Representatives of the nations...

CNSNews.com) - Interior Secretary Dirk Kempthorne has said that drug traffickers sneaking into the United States from Mexico through U.S. lands administered by his department have made some of those lands unsafe for American families. As reported by Cybercast News Service last month, the State Department similarly issued a largely unpublicized travel alert for the Mexican side of the border on April 14, warning would-be tourists that the "equivalent to military small-unit combat" was taking place there and that "dozens" of Americans had been "kidnapped and/or murdered" in Tijuana alone in 2007. (See story)As Cybercast News Service subsequently reported, State...

The GAO has issued a report with the not so catchy title, "BORDER SECURITY:Summary of Covert Tests and Security Assessments for the Senate Committee on Finance, 2003–2007." Highlights as noted by Michael Cutler. Why GAO Did This Study From January 2003 to September 2007, GAO testified before the Committee on three occasions to describe security vulnerabilities that terrorists could exploit to enter the country. GAO’s first two testimonies focused on covert testing at ports of entry—the air, sea, and land locations where international travelers can legally enter the United States. In its third testimony, GAO focused on limited security assessments...

LOS ANGELES, Jun 14, 2008 (Xinhua via COMTEX News Network) -- Gunfire in a Mexican border town forced at least three Mexicans to run across the U.S. border, authorities said on Saturday. The Mexicans crossed the U.S. border in Campo to seek medical treatment after they were fired on in Mexico. Two of them were injured by the gunshots and the third sustains a broken arm, according to the Sheriff's Department in San Diego, about 128 kilometers south of Los Angeles. Lt. Larry Nesbit of the Sheriff's Department said the department responded to a radio call of three gunshot victims...

from the our-laptops-ourselves dept. snydeq writes "The EFF and the Association of Corporate Travel Executives have filed an amicus brief with the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals requesting that the full court rehear and reverse a three-judge ruling (PDF) that empowers border agents routinely to search files on laptops and mobile devices. The case in question involves US citizen Michael Arnold, who, returning from the Philippines in July 2005, had his laptop confiscated at LAX by custom officials after they opened files in folders marked 'Kodak Pictures' and 'Kodak Memories' and found photos of two naked women. Later, when Arnold...

The open borders of the United States amount to a national security exposure. This is a fact that cannot be debated. One has only to look at the number of foreign nationals attempting to illegally enter the U.S. through Mexico over the last several years. Since 2005, the Department of Homeland Security reports that more than 331,000 people from countries other than Mexico have been apprehended trying to cross the Southern land border. These individuals came from virtually every country in the world, including some with whom we have an adversarial relationship, such as Communist China, Iran and North Korea....

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The U.S. government has decided to award Boeing contracts for the construction of two sections of a high-tech fence to be built along the border with Mexico in Arizona, Department of Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff said on Monday. The two fence sections would be an "operational configuration" of a much-criticized 28-mile (45-km) section of "virtual fence" built by Boeing and tested earlier, Chertoff told a news conference. He said the fence would include fixed towers, with radar sensors, remote control cameras, ground sensors and software linking border agents to give them a "common operating picture" of...

EDINBURG TX - Some opponents of the border fence are preparing civil disobedience when the bulldozers move into the Rio Grande Valley late next month. Speaking in an individual capacity, members of the No Border Wall coalition told the Guardian that a number of protests are planned, both locally and nationally. Members of the group made the comments after speaking out against the levee-wall plan at this week’s Hidalgo County Commissioner’s Court meeting. “There are people ready to do civil disobedience, people who have experience in doing civil disobedience, who are not afraid to do that,” said No Border Wall...

Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff said Friday he had attended the funerals of too many Border Patrol agents killed in the line of duty to permit environmentalists to block construction of barriers and all-weather road along the Texas... Chertoff pitted the safety of Border Patrol agents against the efforts of environmentalists to stymie Bush administration plans to complete a border fence before leaving office in January. Some 670 miles of pedestrian fencing or vehicle barriers are planned along the 1,947-mile U.S.-Mexico boundary.Chertoff, who has set aside some environmental restrictions to speed fence construction, said he didn't want to "get enmeshed...

"I grew up in San Rafael, in a household where we competed to see how many dishes we could fit in a dishwasher, to not be wasteful of water and energy. My mother was a relatively celebrated local environmentalist in Marin County in the 1970s, before it was hip. She was on the board of Save the Whales.... My colleagues at the Academy of Sciences are incredible experts at identifying and describing new species. My job is to map the knowledge they have provided about life on earth into patterns.... If we don't have a place for species to go,...

LA JOYA, Texas — Local police are accustomed to dealing with illegal border crossings, but they were astounded by the video of 15 Chinese immigrants unfolding themselves from the back of a red Suburban near this small border town. The vehicle appeared abandoned when police rolled up early on a recent Saturday morning. But when Border Patrol agents arrived and swung open the double rear doors, the Chinese immigrants tumbled out, squinting in the sunlight. "They were in bad shape," said La Joya Police spokesman Joe Cantu. The immigrants were silent, able to communicate only with hand gestures. One man...

Passengers travelling to the United States from countries whose citizens do not need visas must register online with the US government at least 72 hours before departure, in the latest measure to strengthen American security.The new rule is expected to be announced on Tuesday by Michael Chertoff, the Homeland Security secretary, and take effect in January. European companies last year expressed concern after the Homeland Security department floated the idea of requiring passengers to register 48 hours in advance, believing it could complicate last-minute business travel. Although the new rule requires 72 hours advance registration, it will be valid for...

The latest threat assessment prepared for special border enforcement teams says pleasure boats are among the increasingly inventive means used by crafty couriers to slip illicit cargo — including drugs, guns and people — from one country to the other. The marine environment “is viewed as particularly vulnerable and porous to smuggling activity” due to the many challenges in keeping tabs on lakes, waterways and tiny coves, says the August 2007 report, obtained by The Canadian Press under the Access to Information Act. One American criminal group has children carrying bags of tobacco swim across the St. Croix River between...

Short answer: No. Are they more secure than they were January 19, 2001? I believe all evidence points to the affirmative. For your consideration:In 2000 there were approximately 9000 border patrol agents. By the time Bush leaves office that number is projected to double to 18,000. Apprehensions and deportations are up. Illegal crossings are down. The ever-expanding Val Verde County jail is filled with would-be yardmen and maids, immigrants awaiting deportation. They’ve been caught in a law enforcement dragnet known as “Operation Streamline,� a zero tolerance program that began here and has since spread both east and west along the...

Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger on Thursday will join governors from both sides of the border in Mexico City to push for more action on crime-fighting and border security, a visit that comes as Mexico is facing unprecedented violence. Schwarzenegger will offer support to Mexican President Felipe Calderon for his crackdown against the drug trade, in which he has deployed more than 20,000 federal troops across Mexico. Cartels have responded with increasingly bold attacks against security forces, including beheadings and assassinations of top police officials and soldiers. On Tuesday, seven federal officers were killed in a shootout with one cartel. Beyond policy...

Feds OK 'enhanced' NY driver's licenses for border crossingsPublished May 27, 2008 01:05 pm - ALBANY, N.Y. (AP) — New York Gov. David Paterson says the federal government has formally approved the state's "enhanced" driver's license, which can be used to cross the United States border without a passport. The optional enhanced driver's license will be available for use next summer when passports or approved driver's licenses will be required for border crossings, including entry into Canada. New Yorkers will have to provide proof of citizenship to apply for the enhanced license at a Department of Motor Vehicles office. The...

The jobs Americans won't do. This was a prime reason for the non-enforcement of America's immigration and border. The entire sentence should have been, "The jobs Americans won't do for less." At one time, it was a staple of the Wall Street Journal editorial page, usually a bastion of right thinking in a sea of Mainstream Media flapdoodle. The Journal could have struck a stand that encompassed both it's pro-business interest and it's normal adherence to conservative principles. But in the case of illegal immigration, the WSJ threw in with the Democrats and RINOs. That's one reason the WSJ no...

A good deal of what is posted on FR is based on misreading of the facts or outright xenophobia. Anyone who speaks on this subject should have some facts and understanding of the issues and solutions. Karl Rove did this in December 2006. The You Tube presentation at CSPAN can be found: HERE.

Three Democratic lawmakers who spoke Wednesday about alleged anti-immigrant coverage by conservative media outlets were not aware of a recent State Department travel alert warning Americans about military-like "combat" along the southern U.S. border in Mexico, where Americans are being kidnapped and murdered. "The situation in northern Mexico remains very fluid; the location and timing of future armed engagements there cannot be predicted," said the State Department alert. "Armed robberies and carjackings, apparently unconnected to the narcotics-related violence, have increased in Tijuana and Ciudad Juarez. Dozens of U.S. citizens were kidnapped and/or murdered in Tijuana in 2007." When asked about...

One of the unfortunate paradoxes of the post-September 11 environment is that the further in time we move from that horrible day, and the more effective our security agencies become at preventing another successful terrorist attack on American soil, the more susceptible many Americans become to the notion that the terrorist threat has receded. Taking false comfort in the absence of a successful 9-11 scale attack or worse during the past seven years, many already pre-disposed to distrust the Bush administration have long since decided that it can do no right when it comes to terror prevention -- that every...

The U.S. Border Patrol is installing razor-sharp concertina wire atop border fencing between San Diego and Tijuana, Mexico, marking a major shift in approach along a frequently violent stretch of the border. The triple-strand wire, which is meant to keep smugglers from attacking agents, will stretch five miles when completed this summer - the longest expanse of this kind of wire ever used on the Southwest border. Federal authorities have avoided using fortifications with such negative symbolism. Hundreds of miles of new barriers going up in other areas have had to meet "aesthetically pleasing" federal design standards. Critics say the...

Border Security & Immigration Reform Immigration is one of those challenging issues that touch on many aspects of American life. I have always believed that our border must be secure and that the federal government has utterly failed in its responsibility to ensure that it is secure. If we have learned anything from the recent immigration debate, it is that Americans have little trust that their government will honor a pledge to do the things necessary to make the border secure. As president, I will secure the border. I will restore the trust Americans should have in the basic competency...

Yes, this is a vanity...but an important one. Calling all Freepers to support Buddy Witherspoon for US Senate. He's going up against Lindsey Grahamnesty on June 10th. We've got an opportunity to throw this guy out of office for good. Remember Graham spoke before La Raza and stated: "We're going to tell the bigots to shut up!" watch the video here: Witherspoon needs donations. I don't even live in South Carolina but have donated to his campaign. Let's give Grahamnesty the boot.

26 illegals nabbed in Upper Peninsula SAULT STE. MARIE, (AP) — Authorities say 26 illegal immigrants are being held in Chippewa County after a series of arrests over the weekend. The U.S. Customs and Border Protection office in Sault Ste. Marie said Monday it assisted the county sheriff's department after two vehicles were stopped near Trout Lake. ...... The remaining eight suspects were caught at a traffic stop near Munising. Agents say all 26 people were working for a local contractor.

Tourists visiting the US face even tougher security checks now airport officials can search through mobile phones and laptops. Guards can download any details contained in the items and keep them indefinitely, following a new court ruling. The latest legislation could mean lengthier queues as security copy photos, emails and phone records. Visitors already face hour-long waits while armed officers take fingerprints and photos.

Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff says he feels the pain of employers pinched by the federal government's intensified efforts to control illegal immigration. But until Congress enacts broad immigration reforms, businesses shouldn't expect any changes in enforcement. In an interview with The Associated Press, Chertoff said this week the rising complaints from businesses offer some evidence the Bush administration's approach is working. "This is harsh but accurate proof positive that for the first time in decades, we've succeeded in changing the dynamic and (are) actually beginning to reduce illegal immigration," Chertoff said. "Unfortunately, unless you counterbalance that with a robust...

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Authorities have seen no signs of al Qaeda trying to insert operatives into the United States from Mexico, but the militant group has considered doing so, a U.S. intelligence official said on Friday. The comments by Charles Allen, Homeland Security undersecretary for intelligence and analysis, could undercut one argument by advocates in and out of government for get-tough tactics to fight illegal crossings at the southern U.S. border -- that they are needed to fight terrorism. In contrast, at least one Islamist militant has been caught trying to enter the United States by land to attempt an...

MISSION -- A suspected drug smugglers crashed into the Rio Grande this morning after being chased by Border Patrol agents before the driver escaped into Mexico with three suspected bundles of drugs. Federal agents spotted the truck in Abram near the river's levy around dawn. The van's driver drove the vehicle into the river just west of Bentsen Rio Grande Valley State Park. Agents then spotted the man on the Mexican side of the river carrying large bundles, supposedly drugs, said Border Patrol Spokesman Daniel A. Doty. Mission Fire and Border Patrol are working to pull a truck out of...

District Attorney Scott Storey of Jefferson County, Colorado is one busy lawman. The local housing market is chock full of mortgage fraud varmints. One particularly pesky ring, operating for roughly 5 years, recruited hundreds of illegal immigrants to act as “straw buyers,” the lowest players in the mortgage fraud game. Ringmasters were mortgage brokers, realtors, and loan officers in local banks. Straw buyers were supplied with stolen identities, including drivers licenses, social security cards, and income tax returns. Some were given green cards of legal immigrants. What couldn’t be stolen was forged. False docs in hand, straw buyers obtained mortgage...

ABC News anchor Charlie Gibson, in a news brief on Tuesday’s "World News," spun the Bush administration’s decision to fast-track the construction of a fence along the U.S.-Mexican border, focusing almost entirely on the "more than 30 laws and regulations to be bypassed," as the graphic accompanying the brief put it. "The Bush administration today announced plans to speed up construction of the fence along the Mexican border by sidestepping more than 30 laws that now stand in the way. The administration says it will use its authority to bypass those laws in an attempt to finish 670 miles of...