Border Security

(Listen below): Is it easy for migrants to enter the U.S.? We went to the border to find out (NPR, May 6, 2024)

• Trump says former ICE Director Tom Homan will be ‘border czar’ (ABC News, November 11, 2024)
• America’s misunderstood border crisis, in 8 charts (Vox, May 12, 2024)
• ‘Why doesn’t anybody care?’ Texas-Mexico border devastated by anti-migrant operation (The Guardian, May 5, 2024)
• Breaking Down the Immigration Figures (FactCheck.Org, February 27, 2024)
• Drastic border restrictions considered by Biden and the Senate reflect seismic political shift on immigration (CBS News, December 14, 2023)
• Since the summer of 2021, the U.S. Coast Guard has intercepted surging numbers of migrants. (December 7, 2023)
• Biden faces growing pressure from Democrats over border crossings (Washington Post, October 8, 2023)
• Biden administration waiving 26 federal laws to allow border wall construction in Texas (The Hill, October 5, 2023)
• Biden Administration to Resume Border Wall Construction in Policy Reversal (Wall Street Journal, October 5, 2023)
• Influx of migrants at border gains renewed attention as ‘crisis’ rhetoric spreads (NBC News, October 4, 2023)
• Trump’s border wall caused ‘significant damage and destruction’ to environmental and cultural resources, watchdog says (NBC News, September 7, 2023)
• Texas spent billions on border security. It’s not working. (Wall Street Journal, July 22, 2023)
• Ahead of Title 42’s end, migrants in El Paso are urged to turn themselves in to immigration officials (NBC News, May 11, 2023)
• A Fire in Juárez Killed Dozens of Migrants, Some Fleeing Danger en Route to Texas (Texas Monthly, March 28, 2023)
• New surge of migrants strains U.S. capacity ahead of deadline to lift restrictions (Washington Post, April 28, 2023)
• A Fire in Juárez Killed Dozens of Migrants, Some Fleeing Danger en Route to Texas (Texas Monthly, March 28, 2023)
• Fire at migrant center in Mexico near U.S. border kills at least 39 (Washington Post, March 28, 2023)
• The shipping container wall is coming down (BBC, January 5, 2023): “With a new governor in office, Arizona is deconstructing a border wall made of shipping containers. The containers were first put in place last summer to fill gaps in the border wall”
• Biden Announces More Resources for the Border as He Aims to Further Restrict Illegal Crossings (Government Executive, January 5, 2023)
• Gov. Greg Abbott says Texas is now busing migrants to New York City (The Texas Tribune, August 5, 2022)
• Border Patrol Agents Are Cleared of Striking Migrants, But Still Face Discipline for Their Harsh Actions (Government Executive, July 8, 2022)
• Who’s getting caught by Border Patrol? Increasingly, the answer is children (San Diego Union-Tribune, July 2, 2022): “The number of children apprehended at the border, either traveling alone or as part of a family, has increased significantly since 2008, according to a new analysis”
• Bipartisan Senate group bids to block lifting Title 42 (Axios, April 6, 2022): “The administration’s plans to end the Trump-era COVID-19 immigration ban by May 23 were immediately met with scathing criticism from lawmakers in both parties. They fear the announcement will trigger a mass migration event.”
• U.S. prepares to lift pandemic border crossing restrictions, could trigger surge in arrivals (Miami Herald, April 1, 2022)
• Texas national guardsmen say their mission to secure the border is a waste of time and resources (CNN, February 10, 2022)
• Border Patrol agents rarely removed or terminated for wrongdoing, according to internal report (USA Today, December 4, 2021): “Throughout 2020, U.S. Border Patrol agents were found to have assaulted people, engaged in corruption and broken rules on alcohol and drug use, such as driving under the influence, according to a new report. “
• The inquiry into border agents on horseback continues. Critics see a ‘broken’ system (NPR, November 6, 2021)
• Border arrests have soared to all-time high, new CBP data shows (Washington Post, October 21, 2021)
• DHS Begins Deploying Body Cameras for Some Border-Based Law Enforcement Personnel (Government Executive, August 4, 2021): “Customs and Border Protection will deliver the initial tranche of cameras to Border Patrol agents in both the southwest and along the northern border, and eventually to officers with the Office of Field Operations. CBP plans to equip 6,000 officers and agents with cameras by the end of the year.”
• Homeland Security Cancels Two Border Wall Contracts (Government Executive, July 23, 2021): “These are the first cancellations since DHS released its plan for unobligated border wall funds in June.”
• U.S.-Mexico border apprehensions for the fiscal year surpassed 1 million in June (Washington Post, July 16, 2021)
• ICE to avoid detaining pregnant, nursing and postpartum women (Washington Post, July 9, 2021)
• Biden administration removes Rodney Scott as head of U.S. Border Patrol (Washington Post, June 23, 2021)
• DHS Should Shift to ‘Communicating,’ ‘Welcoming’ Focus and ‘Recalibrate’ Enforcement, Report Argues (HS Today, June 21, 2021): “DHS should take a broader view of what it means to keep the nation secure and adapt its mission and activities accordingly. DHS must recognize that many serious challenges to America’s safety and security originate at home or are largely borderless by nature,” said Redefining Homeland Security: A New Framework for DHS To Meet Today’s Challenges by Mara Rudman, Rudy deLeon, Joel Martinez, Elisa Massimino, Silva Mathema, Katrina Mulligan, Alexandra Schmitt, and Philip E. Wolgin at the Center for American Progress, a progressive policy institute.”
• Texas Empties Prison to Prepare to Detain Immigrants Arrested During Ramped-Up Border Enforcement (June 21, 2021): “Officials have not yet started detaining immigrants in the facility, but it will have capacity for about 1,000 people.”
• Biden’s border closure cracks under pressure from lawsuits, advocates and the easing pandemic (Los Angeles Times, May 18, 2021)
• Biden Taps FEMA to Run Interagency Effort to House Record Influx of Migrant Children (March 15, 2021)
• Biden Administration Reviewing Whether Trump’s Proposed DHS Hiring Sprees Were Ever Really Necessary (Government Executive, April 14, 2021): The Biden administration is in the midst of reviewing the staffing strategies pursued at the Homeland Security Department under President Trump, conducting an assessment officials said will better align the department’s workforce with operational needs. 

Immigration

• Brazil counts cost of worst-ever floods with little hope of waters receding soon (The Guardian, May 19, 2024)
• ICE might be incorrectly measuring its resources needs, GAO says (Government Executive, May 17, 2024)
• U.S. starts deportation flights to Venezuela, aiming to curb migration (Washington Post, October 18, 2023)
• DC mayor declares public emergency over migrant arrivals from Arizona and Texas (CNN, September 8, 2022): “Texas Republican Gov. Greg Abbott started busing migrants to the nation’s capital in April to protest the Biden administration’s immigration policies. Abbott and Arizona Gov. Doug Ducey, another Republican, have so far sent hundreds of buses to DC, and neither have expressed any intention of stopping. As of Thursday, the Texas governor’s office had sent more than 7,900 migrants on over 190 buses to the District, more than 2,200 migrants on over 40 buses to New York City, and more than 300 migrants on over five buses to Chicago.”
• The Biden administration remade ICE after Trump: But will it last? (Los Angeles Times, August 19, 2022)
• Biden Is Ending Trump-Era Border Restrictions For Asylum-Seekers (Buzz Feed News, April 1, 2022)
• U.S. can’t expel migrant families to countries where they could be harmed, court rules (CBS News, March 4, 2022)
• Immigration and Customs Enforcement to Cease Worksite Raids (GovExec, October 2021)
• Judge orders U.S. to close DACA program to new applicants, calling it illegal (CBS News, July 17, 2021): ” A federal judge in Texas ordered the U.S. government on Friday to close the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program to new applicants, saying the Obama administration did not have the legal authority to grant deportation relief and work permits to undocumented immigrants brought to the U.S. as children. “
• The U.S. Is Closing a Loophole That Lured Mexicans Over the Border to Donate Blood Plasma for Cash (ProPublica, June 24, 2021): U.S. Customs and Border Protection announced on June 15 that effective immediately, it would no longer permit Mexican citizens to cross into the U.S. on temporary visas to sell their blood plasma.
• They Were Deported By Trump. Now Biden Wants to Bring Them Back (The Marshall Project, June 29, 2021): “The Biden administration will review thousands of deportations, permitting some immigrants back into the U.S.”
• Biden Administration Floats Boosting Permanent Workforce to Process Migrant Children (Government Executive, May 13, 2021)
• Department of Homeland Security scraps Trump-era plans to collect more biometric data from immigrants (CBS News, May 7, 2021)
• Biden nominates Texas sheriff to lead ICE (NBC News, April 28, 2021): ” Ed Gonzales has served as sheriff of Harris County, Texas, which is the third-largest sheriff’s office in the country.”

Asylum

• U.S. Reaches Deal to Restart ‘Remain in Mexico’ Program for Asylum Seekers (Wall Street Journal, December 2, 2021)
• ‘We live in fear’: Over 6,000 migrants in Mexico have been violently attacked (NBC News, August 26, 2021): ” An investigation by Human Rights First compiled thousands of attacks against migrants and asylum-seekers, including kidnapping, extortion, human trafficking and rape.”
• Victims of Gang Violence Hope Biden’s New Asylum Rules Provide Refuge (Vice News, June 21, 2021): “Those fleeing domestic as well as gang violence now have a greater chance of being granted asylum in the United States, thanks to recent changes by the Biden administration.”

Container Security

• Modernizing Container Security Is Essential to Secure Application Development (NextGov, May 12, 2021): “Most traditional security tools agencies rely on aren’t designed to effectively show what’s going on inside of a container.”

Customs

• Cargo Ship Infested with Insects Ordered to Leave New Orleans (Maritime Executive, July 29, 2021): ” U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) recently refused entry into the Port of New Orleans for a cargo ship and ordered it to depart U.S. waters after an inspection found invasive insects aboard the vessel. As part of the ongoing role of CBP, this incident also highlights a broader issue which is drawing increased interest from international organizations to reduce the risk of the spread of invasive insects and plants during cargo operations.”

Emerging Technologies

• Satellite Data Could Boost Border Security, Disaster Response (Government Executive, June 1, 2023)
• Drug Enforcement Feds Want Augmented Reality to Monitor U.S./Mexico Border (NextGov, August 19, 2021): “Under the branch of extended reality technologies, AR is the one that superimposes computer-generated information over the device wearer’s views of the real world. DEA’s Aviation Division and other Justice Department components are looking to buy an Augmented Reality Mapping System, or ARS, for government aircraft.”
• Anduril Industries Is Getting Hundreds of Millions to Build Border Surveillance Tech (Dot.LA, July 17, 2021): ” Anduril Industries, the Irvine-based maker of autonomous drones, towers and small ground sensors, will use the $450 million for acquisitions and build out its AI-powered tech designed for military and border enforcement agencies.”