Obama Administration Announces New Border Security Measures

The Obama Administration announced Wednesday that it will station an aerial drone in Texas as part of its stepped-up surveillance of criminal trafficking along the Mexican border.



Federal authorities also have signed an agreement to allow local police from non-border communities to temporarily "deploy" to the border region to assist with security, said Janet Napolitano, secretary of the Department of Homeland Security.

"Our Southwest border states have endured more than their share of challenges," said Napolitano, a former Arizona governor. "I share the frustration border communities feel."

In a speech at a Washington think tank, Napolitano laid out the case that the "border is as secure now as it has ever been."  She also said that some "are looking to score political points" by depicting the border as far more dangerous than it really is. "The numbers tell the story, and they do not lie," she said. Even as killings have increased in Mexico, violent crime is down along the U.S. side of the border, she said.

At the same time, seizures of illegal weapons, drugs and cash have risen. Nevertheless, Napolitano acknowledged that more can be done. 

On Tuesday, President Obama asked Congress for $500 million in emergency border security, including two more aerial drones and 1,000 more Border Patrol officers to join 1,200 National Guard troops heading to the region.

Many of the steps Napolitano outlined have long been advocated by Texas Republicans -- and created a side dispute over Obama's choice for the No. 2 position at the Federal Aviation Administration. Texas Gov. Rick Perry (R) and Sen. John Cornyn (R-Tex.) had pressed for months for a pilotless drone, and when it was slow in coming,

Cornyn blocked Senate confirmation of Michael Huerta to be deputy director of the FAA. On Wednesday, after learning that the agency had given its approval for the unmanned aerial vehicle, or UAV, to operate in Texas, Cornyn said he would allow a vote on Huerta. "While the approval process should not have taken this long, I'm pleased to see the FAA moving forward," he said.

"The FAA needs to implement a system that will reflect the great importance of border security as well as the growing significance of UAVs in homeland security and national defense."

Unmanned aircraft are used routinely in Iraq and Afghanistan and also patrol much of the Arizona border, using sensors to pinpoint trafficking activity. The vehicle being stationed in Texas has the ability to fly for 20 hours. It will arrive at Naval Air Station Corpus Christi this summer.

Later this month, Arizona Gov. Jan Brewer (R), who recently signed into law tough new state controls on immigration, will meet with administration officials for the second time. 
  Via Washington Post


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Fear and Anger On The US-Mexico Border

Arizona is at the center of the US debate over immigration after introducing a tough new law targeting illegal entrants to the country. The BBC's Robin Lustig traveled to the state's border with Mexico, and met those on the frontline of the issue.

If you look through the bars of the steel fence in Nogales,Southern Arizona, you find yourself looking at Nogales, Mexico.
The fence marks the international border between the US and Mexico - and it runs right through the town.
Hundreds of thousands of Mexicans cross this border illegally every year, and an increasing number of Americans want to stop them.


Dealing with illegal immigrants is what Border Patrol Agent Richard Funke does every day.As he drove me along the high steel border fence, he told me: "You see people watching that fence every hour of every day. Someone tries to get across every day of the year."
And sure enough, within minutes, we had spotted a young Mexican darting through a hole in the fence. But other agents had spotted him too; and he was soon back in Mexico again.
Footprints Out in the desert, Agent Funke suddenly pulled over to show me a trail leading from the road towards the border. "Look at those footprints," he said. "They're no more than a few hours old … someone was here earlier this morning, probably dropping off a consignment of drugs from across the border."
Thirty miles north of the border, I met Pat King, round-faced and friendly, at home on the ranch that she runs with her husband John. With her grand-daughters scampering about as the sun set below the hills and the shadows lengthened, she told me why she wants illegal immigrants stopped.
"They come across the ranch, right up by the house. Our fences are damaged, our gates are left open, the cattle stray.
"We see so much drug-smuggling, the Mexican cartels are getting much stronger. If the men go out and stumble across a group of smugglers, they're convinced they're going to end up with a bullet in the back."
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Obama & Jan Brewer Meeting About Arizona Immigration Law In The White House

Arizona Gov. Jan Brewer (R) said Thursday that President Obama assured her that he would send White House staff members to her state to talk with officials about efforts to secure the U.S.-Mexico border.
The governor said her meeting with Obama in the Oval Office was cordial, despite their disagreement over the widely criticized state law she signed in April, which gave police greater powers to enforce federal immigration laws.
She said Obama declined to discuss whether the Justice Department plans to file a lawsuit to block the law before it takes effect next month.
The White House said in a statement that the meeting went well but that Obama reiterated his concerns about the law, including that a patchwork of state immigration regulations would complicate the federal government's role in setting and enforcing immigration policy. The White House said Obama would like Brewer to work with him to help pass comprehensive changes to the immigration system that would provide a path to citizenship for those already in the country illegally.

Emerging from the half-hour session, Brewer said Obama had assured her that the majority of the 1,200 National Guard troops he is sending to the U.S.-Mexico border would be going to her state.


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