Border
Leaders of the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee pressed U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) for answers on Thursday amid reports that citizenship applications were approved without background checks and green cards were erroneously issued.
U.S. Sens. Ron... Read More »
Reps. Filemon Vela (D-TX) and Bennie G. Thompson (D-MS) recently introduced a bill designed to enhance U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) support, staffing, and resources.
The lawmakers said the Border and Ports Security Act would increase the CBP’s capacity to screen passengers and... Read More »
Customs and Border Protection (CBP) representatives met with privacy advocacy groups on Friday to discuss the implementation of the Biometric Entry/Exit Program and public-private partnerships being forged to ensure traveler safety.
Currently, biometric facial recognition technology is being... Read More »
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) recently announced that newer applications for asylum will be processed before older filings in an effort to mitigate potential fraud and abuse in the backlog of pending asylum applications,
The asylum applications backlog had reached 311,000... Read More »
Border Patrol agents at the checkpoint on north Highway 83 in the Laredo Sector recently discovered 76 individuals entering the United States without legal permission in a tractor-trailer driven by a U.S. citizen.
When the driver arrived at the checkpoint, agents questioned him regarding his... Read More »
Secretary of Homeland Security Kirstjen M. Nielsen announced Monday additional security procedures and recommendations for the U.S. Refugee Admissions Program (USRAP).
The additions include additional screening for certain nationals of countries identified as high-risk, a periodic review and... Read More »
Federal officers with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s (ICE) Enforcement and Removal Operations (ERO) arrested 86 criminal aliens and immigration fugitives in North Texas and Oklahoma during a three-day enforcement action that occurred last week.
The operation targeted mostly aliens... Read More »
After a career spanning more than 30 years with U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) and U.S. Customs Service, Alfonso Robles was tapped Thursday to serve as CBP’s director of field operations in Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands.
Robles’ appointment marks his second posting in... Read More »
U.S. Customs and Border Protection Office of Field Operations (OFO) officers at multiple crossings within Laredo Port of Entry seized more than $770,000 of hard narcotics and controlled prescription medication in two separate, unrelated enforcement actions.
“These significant interceptions of... Read More »
Chinese fentanyl sellers commonly use United States Postal Service (USPS) to traffic the drug into the United States because USPS and Customs and Border Protection (CBP) have not yet adopted widespread use of advanced electronic data (AED), according to a Senate report released on Wednesday. ... Read More »
U.S. Sen. Jon Tester (D-MT) met this week with Homeland Security Secretary Kristjen Nielsen and a bipartisan group of Senators to develop a border security plan.
Tester is the ranking member of the Senate Homeland Security Appropriations Subcommittee, which sets funding levels for security and... Read More »
U.S. Customs and Border Protection’s (CBP) Office of Field Operations (OFO) at the Hidalgo Port of Entry recently seized alleged methamphetamine valued at approximately $600,000 and arrested a man from El Salvador attempting entry posing as a U.S. citizen in separate, unrelated incidents.
... Read More »
The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) announced Tuesday that it has issued a waiver to expedite the construction of barriers and roads near the international border near the Santa Teresa, New Mexico port of entry.
The waiver covers a variety of environmental, natural resources and land... Read More »
U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) officers in Baltimore recently seized 2,990 stainless steel sinks for displaying a counterfeit UPC shield design that, if authentic, would have a suggested retail price of approximately $1.1 million.
The shipment of sinks arrived in Baltimore from... Read More »
A passenger arriving at Minneapolis-Saint Paul International Airport from Amsterdam last month was detained after Customs and Border Protection (CBP) agents discovered more than 7 pounds of heroin hidden in a piece of luggage.
The traveler, a 56-year-old Canadian citizen, was selected for... Read More »
U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) Office of Field Operations (OFO) at the Hidalgo International Bridge, in two separate incidents recently seized approximately $356,000 of alleged cocaine and arrested an imposter attempting to enter the United States without valid entry documents.
“CBP... Read More »
Sen. John Barrasso (R-WY), chair of the Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works (EPW), released Tuesday a statement in support of the petition by multiple uranium producers for an investigation into the effects of uranium imports on U.S. national security.
On Monday, American uranium... Read More »
A man with ties to Miami’s “cocaine cowboys” drug-smuggling era was arrested by federal and local officers in South Florida on Jan. 12 after spending four years on the run as a “high-risk fugitive.”
The U.S. Marshall Service for the Southern District of Florida Special Operations Group... Read More »
Agents of the U.S. Customers and Border Protection (CBP) service raided a cargo vessel at the Miami Seaport this week, confiscating $6.25 million worth of cocaine.
The 550 pounds of illegal narcotic were hidden in bags hidden behind metal tubing aboard the vessel. In all, those bags contained... Read More »
Customs and Border Protection (CBP) officers will soon have access to new resources to detect fentanyl and other synthetic opioids that are being trafficked into the United States under a bill that was signed into law last week.
Under the International Narcotics Trafficking Emergency Response... Read More »
In two law enforcement actions, U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) officers recently seized more than $1.04 million in marijuana and crystal methamphetamine.
The first seizure occurred Jan. 9 at the Juarez-Lincoln International Bridge between Mexico and Laredo, Texas. A non-intrusive... Read More »
A bill introduced in the House of Representatives Wednesday would authorize construction of a border wall, invest in new technology and expand ports of entry, and add 5,000 Customs and Border Patrol (CBP) agents.
The Securing America's Future Act would also require the use of a biometric... Read More »
U.S. Border Patrol, U.S. Coast Guard (USCG), and the Puerto Rico Police Department (PRPD) recently intercepted two vessels carrying 40 undocumented aliens from the Dominican Republic and Haiti attempting to illegally enter Puerto Rico near the island’s west coast.
“Sustained collaborations... Read More »
U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) officers from the Area Port of Philadelphia recently seized 709 pounds of cocaine, the largest local cocaine load in 10 years, which they found concealed inside cabinets shipped from Puerto Rico.
The cocaine load, which has an estimated street value of... Read More »
El Centro Sector Border Patrol agents assigned to the Highway 111 checkpoint recently discovered 6.44 pounds of methamphetamine with an estimated street value of $22,540 strapped to a 14-year-old girl’s chest.
The girl, an American citizen, arrived at the checkpoint as a passenger in a vehicle... Read More »
Customs and Border Patrol (CBP) officers at eight ports of entry extending from Brownsville to Del Rio, Texas, seized $12.1 million in narcotics, arrested 80 fugitives and blocked more than 3,500 inadmissible entries due to immigration law violations over the holiday season.
From Dec. 15 to... Read More »
U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) recently released an update to its directive regarding border searches of electronic devices, which was designed to enhance the transparency, accountability, and oversight of the searches.
CBP currently searches the electronic devices of fewer than... Read More »
U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) officers at the Dallas Fort Worth (DFW) International Airport recently seized more than 65 pounds of liquid methamphetamine with an estimated value of $297,000.
The shipment was sent from China to Memphis, Tennessee, and was destined for Fort Worth,... Read More »
U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) officers from the Champlain Port of Entry and U.S. Border Patrol agents from the Champlain Station recently intercepted a human smuggling operation.
The incident resulted in the arrest of one subject for criminal alien smuggling and two subjects for... Read More »
More than 4,735 pounds of cocaine was intercepted in the Caribbean Sea over a three-day period in December as part of Operation Full Court Press, which is being led by Customs and Border Protection (CBP) Air and Marine Operations (AMO).
Operation Full Court Press is an interagency effort to... Read More »
Tucson Sector Border Patrol agents assigned to the Ajo Station and Pima County Sheriff Department deputies recently arrested two Mexican nationals and one U.S. citizen after a thwarted marijuana smuggling attempt near Ajo, Arizona.
Agents following up on a suspicious activity report along State... Read More »
A Tuscon, Arizona man was recently charged in U.S. District Court with the transportation of illegal aliens resulting in serious bodily injury, high-speed flight from a Border Patrol checkpoint, assault on a federal officer and use of a firearm
Court documents allege that Roberto Ramirez, 21,... Read More »
Customs and Border Protection (CBP) officers used biometric verification to prevent a Ghanaian man posing as a U.S. citizen from entering the country at Washington Dulles International Airport on New Year’s Day.
The man, who had been denied U.S. travel visas in 2013 and 2016 because of fraud,... Read More »
An alleged MS-13 gang member who was recently removed from the country by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) Enforcement Removal Operations (ERO) will face eight murder charges in El Salvador.
Leandro Cruz, 24, was previously convicted of assault and battery in Massachusetts. After... Read More »
U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) reported Wednesday that CBP officers in the Rio Grande Valley Sector interrupted four alien smuggling attempts this past weekend, which resulted in failures to yield to law enforcement authorities.
“Transnational criminal organizations continue to... Read More »
