Government
U.S. Border Patrol agents assigned to the Joint Targeting Team - South in Eagle Pass, Texas recently discovered a stash house where 11 undocumented migrants were being hidden for human smuggling.
The discovery occurred on Feb. 7 as Border Patrol agents, with assistance from the Maverick County... Read More »
According to a recent report conducted by the Government Accountability Office (GAO), the U.S. Departments of Defense (DOD), Health and Human Services (HHS) and Homeland Security (DHS) should use existing coordination mechanisms to improve their response capabilities in the event of an outbreak of... Read More »
U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) officers recently seized more than $1.6 million worth of methamphetamine and marijuana in two separate incidents.
On Feb. 3, officers assigned to the World Trade Bridge referred a 2015 Freightliner M2 truck for a more thorough secondary inspection. After... Read More »
U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Homeland Security Investigations unit, along with U.S. Customs and Border Protection, the Saint Clair County Sheriff’s Office, and the U.S. Coast Guard recently launched a new security initiative called the Port Huron Border Enforcement Security Task... Read More »
U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) agents stationed at the Brownsville and Matamoros International Bridge recently intercepted a large shipment of alleged methamphetamine, street valued at more than $3.7 million.
On Feb. 7, a 21-year old female U.S. citizen attempted to enter the country... Read More »
Border Patrol agents stationed in southern New Mexico recently stopped two human smuggling attempts during separate incidents.
Late on Feb. 3, Border Patrol agents observed several individuals use a ladder to climb over a border fence near Sunland Park, New Mexico, entering the country... Read More »
In response to a recent report by the House Homeland Security Committee on employee screening deficiencies at America’s airports, Smiths Detection, Inc. (SDI) issued a response to the report’s recommendations and announced a first-of-its-kind pilot project for employee screening at the Miami... Read More »
The U.S. House Committee on Homeland Security recently released a report on America’s airports that detailed how inconsistencies in aviation security continue to pose a threat to the public in the fight against terrorism.
The report, titled America’s Airports: The Threat From Within, is the... Read More »
The United States Marine Corps recently invested in a next-generation water purification system, called the Individual Water Purification System Block II (IWPS II), which allows troops to obtain safe, drinkable water straight from its source.
Contemporary practices involve using filters for... Read More »
Adam Segal, chair of the Council on Foreign Relations in emerging technologies and national security, recently released a report that examined the divide between the federal government and the U.S. technology sector.
“In addition to rising cybersecurity threats, the Trump Administration will... Read More »
The U.S. House of Representatives recently advanced three homeland security bills to address issues related to the nation’s nuclear, transit and cybersecurity defenses.
All three bills were authored by Rep. Dan Donovan (R-NY) and advanced with bipartisan support.
The Securing Cities Act... Read More »
Three national security-related bills authored by U.S. Rep. Martha McSally recently advanced the U.S. House of Representatives.
The first bill, the CBRN Intelligence and Information Sharing Act, aims to improve information sharing practices between the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS)... Read More »
The U.S. House of Representatives recently advanced the Counterterrorism Advisory Board Act, which aims to coordinate and integrate intelligence activities and policy related to counterterrorism within the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS).
The bill was authored by Rep. John Katko... Read More »
The U.S. House of Representatives recently advanced the Fusion Center Enhancement Act, which aims to improve communication between the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and federal, state, and local law enforcement agencies when detecting and responding to terrorist threats.
The bill... Read More »
U.S. Sen. Claire McCaskill (D-MO) recently called for answers regarding a U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Inspector General (IG) report that stated U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services is planning to continue the use of a computer program that allowed 175 individuals to receive U.S.... Read More »
U.S. Sens. Cory Gardner (R-CO) and Chris Coons (D-DE) introduced last week a bill to establish a Senate Select Committee on Cybersecurity that would focus exclusively on cybersecurity and cyberspace issues.
Currently, more than 20 committees claim jurisdiction over cybersecurity issues between... Read More »
According to a recent report from the U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO), U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) should evaluate the procedures used by the agency’s National Targeting Center (NTC) to determine its overall effectiveness at keeping high-risk travelers off of United... Read More »
U.S. Customs and Border Protection’s (CBP) Air and Marine Operations (AMO) unmanned aircraft system (UAS) Predator B returned to San Angelo Regional Airport for a 14-week deployment on Jan 17.
The first UAS deployment at a civilian airport occurred in Jan. and Feb. 2016 for a four-week... Read More »
Battelle, a nonprofit research and development institute, said the key to preparing for the rapidly growing threat of biological or chemical weapons is by developing countermeasures with technology that is tested against live agents.
Battelle’s recommendation was directed toward defense... Read More »
In response to the rapid increase in attacks on the nation’s cyber infrastructure, the Senate Armed Services Committee recently formed a new subcommittee on cybersecurity for the 115h Congress.
U.S. Sen. Mike Rounds (R-SD) was named as the subcommittee’s chair, while U.S. Sen. Bill Nelson... Read More »
Rep. Dennis A. Ross (R-FL) recently reintroduced the Finish the Fence Act, which would amend the Illegal Immigration and Immigrant Responsibility Act of 1996 to direct the Secretary of Homeland Security to complete a 700-mile border fence between the United States and Mexico by Dec. 31, 2017.... Read More »
U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) officers stationed at the Port of Nogales in Arizona arrested a 21-year-old man from Nogales, Sonora, Mexico on Jan. 9 for attempting to smuggle a large weapons cache into Mexico through the port.
During routine outbound operations, officers selected the... Read More »
In order to stay one step ahead of potential emergencies, the Houston Airport System has begun utilizing a new 40-foot mobile incident command vehicle equipped with cutting-edge technology to improve public safety.
The three airports in the Houston area form one of the largest airport systems in... Read More »
Federal advisory committees to the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) voted on Monday to approve plans aimed at developing young people into the next generation of leaders that will support national preparedness and health emergency response efforts.
The Office of the Assistant... Read More »
In response to a series of reports that the Russian government interfered with the 2016 U.S. presidential election, U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Secretary Jeh Johnson publicly released last week plans to designate election systems as a critical infrastructure subsector.
“By... Read More »
Leidos, a Reston, Virginia-based technology company, was recently awarded a subcontract worth approximately $202 million to support the Joint Improvised Threat Defeat Organization (JIDO) for analytical operations, intelligence, and various training services under prime contractor CACI.
JIDO has... Read More »
The Center for Strategic and International Studies’ (CSIS) Cyber Policy Task Force released this week its final report titled From Awareness to Action - A Cybersecurity Agenda for the 45th President, which offered a series of recommendations on policy and resources for the President-elect.... Read More »
The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recently released its Morbidity and Mortality Report, which highlights 10 critical contributions the agency has made in the fight against the spread of Zika virus in 2016.
CDC highlighted new public health surveillance and infection... Read More »
U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) recently named Marlon Miller as the new special agent in charge of the Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) office for three states.
Miller’s office will be based in Philadelphia and will have jurisdiction over operations in the states of... Read More »
With the recent release of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) FY 2016 statistics report, DHS immigration enforcement efforts showed an increase in prioritizing apprehension of convicted criminals and threats to public safety.
DHS saw a 19 percent increase in arrests compared to the... Read More »
The U.S. Department of Homeland Security’s (DHS) Assistant Secretary for Public Affairs Todd Breasseale recently issued an executive summary on malicious cyberattacks conducted by the Russian government, known as Grizzly Steppe, during the U.S. election cycle.
The report stated that Russia’s... Read More »
In response to multiple reports of Russian cyber interference in the recent U.S. election cycle, the Obama Administration issued a series of sanctions against the Russian Federation in violation of established international norms of behavior.
Among the actions issued by the President, 35... Read More »
The European Commission recently adopted a series of measures to strengthen the European Union’s (EU) ability to combat the financing of terrorist organizations and organized crime, which were included in the Feb. 2016 Action Plan Against Terrorist Financing.
The initiatives presented by the... Read More »
An undisclosed party of the 13-nation ownership group which operates the Patriot Integrated Air and Missile Defense System recently awarded Raytheon Company a direct commercial sales contract worth more than $600 million to bring its system configuration up to date.
The contract was awarded on... Read More »
The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), in conjunction with the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS), recently launched a campaign to raise awareness about the problems with border corruption so that citizens and government employees who see misconduct or suspicious activity can report... Read More »
