Border security

May 7, 2008 -- CHIHUAHUA CITY - New Mexico Governor Bill Richardson traveled to Mexico today to deal with a number of economic development, tourism, border health, education and security issues. Tourism Secretary Mike Cerletti, Economic Development Secretary Mondragon, Health Secretary Alfredo Vigil and State Police Chief Faron Segotta accompanied the Governor.

New Mexico Governor Bill Richardson: Photo by Mike Disharoon (CC)

Governor Richardson met with the Governor of Chihuahua, Jose Reyes Baeza to sign 4 Memos of Understanding between the State of New Mexico and the State of Chihuahua.

A brief description of each MOU follows:    » read more »

April 8, 2008 -- SANTA FE - New Mexico Governor Bill Richardson sent a letter to President George W. Bush today urging him to extend Operation Jump Start, the National Guard deployment along the US-Mexico Border. Operation Jump Start is scheduled to end along the New Mexico border on June 15, 2008.

A National Guard entry identification team watches the U.S. border near Columbus, NM: The National Guard is helping the Border Patrol secure the nation's southern border in support of Operation Jump Start. U.S. Army photo by Sgt. Jim Greenhill    » read more »

Governor Announces 160 New Jobs for Southern New Mexico

April 8, 2008 -- SANTA FE - New Mexico Governor Bill Richardson today helped break ground on a new complex for the New Mexico Border Authority in Santa Teresa, NM. The new complex will be the permanent home of the New Mexico Border Authority, which has been housed in temporary facilities near the Santa Teresa-San Jeronimo Port of Entry for the last 10 years. The new building is scheduled be complete in fall 2008.

New Mexico Governor Bill Richardson: Photo courtesy New Mexico Governor's office    » read more »

April 1, 2008 -- The U.S. Department of Homeland Security announced today its intent to issue two waivers of certain laws to expedite security improvements at the southwest border. Congress gave the Secretary of Homeland Security authority to waive all legal requirements necessary to expeditiously install additional physical barriers and roads at the border to deter illegal activity.

CBP Border Patrol agent does a pat down of a Mexican being returned to Mexico: Photo by Gerald L. Nino    » read more »

March 27, 2008 -- The U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and the U.S. Department of State (DOS) announced today the final rule for the land and sea portion of the Western Hemisphere Travel Initiative (WHTI), a core 9/11 Commission recommendation.

The WHTI final rule requires travelers to present a passport or other approved secure document denoting citizenship and identity for all land and sea travel into the United States. WHTI establishes document requirements for travelers entering the United States who were previously exempt, including citizens of the U.S., Canada and Bermuda. These document requirements will be effective June 1, 2009.    » read more »

30 March 2008 -- Passport-free travel in Europe has expanded further as border checks at airports in nine mainly former Communist countries have disappeared. Sunday's move allows 400 million people unlimited travel in what is known as the "Schengen zone."

Starting Sunday, citizens of Europe's 24-country "Schengen zone" are no longer required to undergo passport checks at airports in Malta and eight other European Union countries that joined the EU in 2004. Among them are ex-communist Hungary, Poland, the Czech Republic, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Slovakia and Slovenia.    » read more »

WASHINGTON - The U.S. Coast Guard alerted the maritime community today that Iran has been placed on the port security advisory list.

The Coast Guard determined that Iran has not maintained effective anti-terrorism measures. The determination was made in accordance with the Maritime Transportation Security Act of 2002, which authorizes the Secretary of Homeland Security to take into account several factors, including whether a foreign port poses a high risk of introducing terrorism to international maritime commerce.    » read more »

March 17, 2008 -- U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Secretary Michael Chertoff signed today Visa Waiver Program (VWP) Memoranda of Understanding (MOU) with Slovak Minister of the Interior Robert Kaliňák, Hungarian Ambassador Ferenc Somogyi and Lithuanian Ambassador Audrius Brūzga. The security enhancements outlined in the agreements put all three countries on track for visa-free travel to the U.S., and potential designation as VWP members later this year.    » read more »

Fingerprints Help Apprehend and Deter Illegal Migrants Attempting U.S. Entry

February 29, 2008 -- WASHINGTON - The U.S. Coast Guard and US-VISIT announced today the expansion of their successful biometrics-at-sea program to the south Florida Straits.    » read more »

February 29, 2008 -- P-28 was designed to be a demonstration of critical technologies and system integration under the broader SBInet initiative. Specifically, its purpose was to demonstrate the feasibility of the SBInet technical approach developed by Boeing, and to show that this type of technology could be deployed to help secure the southwest border of the United States. The intended objective has been achieved – after successful field testing, we formally accepted it from Boeing last week.    » read more »

February 13, 2008 -- Washington, D.C. – The U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) announced today that it has begun collecting additional fingerprints from international visitors arriving at Miami International Airport (Miami). The change is part of the department’s upgrade from two- to 10-fingerprint collection to enhance security and facilitate legitimate travel by more accurately and efficiently establishing and verifying visitors’ identities.    » read more »

February 4, 2008 -- ARLINGTON, VIRGINIA – Today, Republican presidential candidate and Texas Congressman Ron Paul signed the Numbers USA pledge. The pledge reaffirms Congressman Paul’s longstanding opposition to amnesty and support for securing the borders.

Dr. Paul has introduced a six-point plan to deal with the current illegal immigration problem. On the subject, he has said: “The talk must stop. We must secure our borders now. A nation without secure borders is no nation at all.”    » read more »

02/01/2008 -- Aiming to build on the success of the partnership between the U.S. Border Patrol and the California National Guard, California Governor Schwarzenegger urged President George W. Bush to continue Operation Jump Start. The Governor requested, in the following letter, that the President maintain full federal funding until the mission is complete, so the shared goal of a strong and secure border can be realized.    » read more »

WASHINGTON, January 24 – Senator Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) made the following statement regarding the recent border policy decision by the Department of Homeland Security:

“The recent announcement by the Department of Homeland Security that they will be ending so-called oral declarations at the border is exactly the wrong decision at the wrong time.

“As everyone here knows very well, all of us in Vermont support having a secure and safe border. There is no question about that.    » read more »

January 23, 2008 -- Washington, D.C. - The U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) announced today that it has begun collecting additional fingerprints from international visitors arriving at Boston Logan International Airport (Logan). The change is part of the department’s upgrade from two- to 10-fingerprint collection to enhance security and facilitate legitimate travel by more accurately and efficiently establishing and verifying visitors’ identities.    » read more »