Yesterday, the Obama Administration released its new Southwest Border Counternarcotics Strategy. This strategy leaves out a glaring issue plaguing border enforcement: Without full access to border lands for the Border Patrol, no amount of manpower, weapons, or other technology will help get control of the border. One of the problems facing Border Patrol agents is that federal land managers have prevented them access to natural resource lands. This is no small chunk of the border either, equaling 20.7 million acres. With that much acreage left grossly under-secured, these lands are …
Today, the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee released a scathing report that deconstructed the Transportation Security Administration’s (TSA) claims regarding the Screening Partnership Program (SPP). The SPP, created under the Aviation and Transportation Security Act of 2001, grants airports the ability to opt out of using federal screeners and instead rely on private screeners to perform security functions. TSA back in January cancelled expansion of the SPP and declined to approve any more applications for airports seeking to privatize. TSA Administrator John Pistole stated that he did “not see any …
The fiscal year (FY) 2012 homeland security appropriations bill is on the floor today. One would assume that this would be an opportunity for House members to get rid of wasteful programs while maintaining funding for the ones that make us safer. Instead, they are avoiding the hard choices that come with reallocating resources in a smart way, instead offering a simple amendment that would cut appropriations to the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) by 10 percent (except border security funding). This is a mistake for a number of reasons. …
President Obama’s trip to Poland last week offered a glimmer of hope regarding Poland’s potential membership in the Visa Waiver Program (VWP). The President not only endorsed the idea in conversations with Polish President Bronislaw Komorowski but then sent a letter to Congress the same day lending his support for the Secure Travel and Counterterrorism Partnership Program Act of 2011, a bill sponsored by Senator Mark Kirk (R–IL) and Representative Mike Quigley (D–IL). The bill would make key changes in the program and likely help Poland and other aspiring countries …
The President gave a speech this afternoon where he expressed the need to fix America’s broken immigration system. He had a lot of good things to say about immigration. For instance, the President emphasized the positive effects of immigration, stating, “It doesn’t matter where you came from; what matters is that you believe in the ideals on which we were founded; that you believe all of us are equal and deserve the freedom to pursue happiness.” True. No disagreement here. He also emphasized that reforms in legal immigration “will also …
It’s that time of year again—the time for White House meetings aimed at placating the pro-amnesty lobby. There is lots of placating to do. It is almost an election year, meaning that soon politicians will engage in the time-honored tradition of duck and cover—which means they are definitely not interested in passing any kind of controversial legislation. President Obama has very few avenues by which to pursue his campaign promise of granting amnesty for the 11 million (down from 12 million) illegal immigrants inside the United States. With limited options, …
Today, Secretary of Homeland Security Janet Napolitano announced a replacement for the Homeland Security Advisory System, which was scrapped by the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) in January and won’t likely be missed by anyone. The new system—dubbed the National Terrorism Advisory System—takes the right steps toward adequately communicating with the public about the risks we face and will ensure that the alerts are more than just background noise in the busy lives of Americans.
This week, both the U.S. House of Representatives and the Senate are set to vote on reauthorization of three key counterterrorism provisions—two found in the PATRIOT Act and one in the Intelligence Reform and Terrorism Prevention Act of 2004. These provisions include: Roving surveillance authority, which is used by investigators, working within the law, to track a suspected terrorist as he or she moves from cell phone to cell phone. Business records orders under the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act, where business records and similar items are required to be disclosed …
Quiz: How many times has the left argued that “amnesty will make the economy better”? Answer: Zero. Zilch. Nada. The left, however, is always telling the American public how enacting comprehensive immigration reform can help the economy. Newsflash: “Comprehensive immigration reform” is Washington’s new (and not so new) code phrase for amnesty. Why all the word games? Because Americans by and large don’t support amnesty. That’s why Americans supported the attempt by Arizona to actually enforce the law.
Today, the color-coded threat system, officially known as the Homeland Security Advisory System, will be nixed by Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano. She should be applauded for getting rid of a system that has zero credibility and has done little to achieve its goal of informing the public about potential threats. The color-coded system has long been the butt of late night talk show jokes since it was created after 9/11. Who could forget Jay Leno teasing that the Department of Homeland Security had “added a plaid [to the color …
