Border Security

Border security did not appear to be higher than normal Monday following the death of terrorist Osama bin Laden, according to officials. U.S. Secretary of Homeland Security Janet Napolitano said in a statement Monday that while the death was an important success, terrorism combat efforts don’t fixate on one person. The Department of Homeland Security doesn’t intend to issue a National Terrorism Advisory System alert at this point. U.S. Customs and Border Protection public affairs officer John Campos said that business was as usual at the Mexico border Monday.

President Obama on Tuesday unveiled his guiding principles for Congress to consider when they take up immigration reform in the coming months. Obama's much-anticipated speech comes a day after a group of key Senate leaders unveiled a bipartisan immigration reform plan of their own. During Tuesday's speech in Las Vegas, Obama said that enough of a “broad consensus” has emerged to draft and approve “commonsense,” comprehensive immigration legislation....

WASHINGTON (MNS) ? Sunny San Diego will be replaced by the hustle and bustle of "suits" attached to Blackberries, the sprawl of marble monuments and drooping cherry blossoms when Roger Hedgecock's conservative radio show storms into town next week. About 300 "ordinary citizens from all over" will join Hedgecock and 16 other Southwest and West Radio One personalities for a lobbying-broadcast combo. They'll be rallying for enhanced border security during "Hold Their Feet to the Fire: A National Drive for Immigration Reform" from Sunday through Thursday.

Special to this newspaper WASHINGTON (MNS) ? Legislation to enhance U.S. border security and tighten the visa process passed the Senate unanimously Thursday night. ??The attacks on Sept. 11 clearly pointed out the shortcomings of our immigration and visa system," Sen. Dianne Feinstein, D-Calif., said in a news release. ??The (Sept. 11) hijackers exploited the weaknesses in our immigration system to come here, to stay here, to study here and to kill here. This bill is a strong first step toward fixing that system.

WASHINGTON (MNS) ? The departments of State and Homeland Security announced a plan Tuesday to expedite visa processing and issue travel cards they said would tighten border security without lengthening wait times. The plan calls for updated technology to consolidate information between departments, making comprehensive information more readily available to authorities. ?Four years ago, our government took dramatic new actions to secure America from an unprecedented new threat,?

Much of President George W. Bush's State of the Union speech on Tuesday night focused on terrorism, and much of the terrorism portion of the speech focused on border security. Bush said he intends to increase border security, as he well should in response to our borders being penetrated by those wishing to do harm to our people, our nation and our way of life. Increased security, though, is a mixed bag for the Imperial Valley. Yes, an increase in security probably means more jobs in Imperial County, since we are on the border and have three ports of entry.

As a fifth-generation American of Hispanic descent, I feel compelled to inform U.S. citizens of the insidious and hidden agenda many pro-illegal immigration organizations are deceptively promoting. The pro-illegal immigration movement has morphed into a globalist, racially motivated and underhanded theater with an undisclosed cast of characters. Leftist organizers are diligently propagandizing Hispanics into engaging in anti-American class warfare and ensnaring them into a deceptive web of race-based conflict.

What is most striking about the comprehensive immigration reform bill taking shape in the U.S. Senate is the bipartisan support shown thus far in the legislative process for comprehensive border security. Forget about the furtive attempt by red-state senators to make English the ?official language? of the U.S. or to ban any reference to the word ?amnesty? from the Senate floor. These sops to fringe groups aren?t going anywhere. What has achieved color-coded traction, though, is the concept of securing our southern border, and the reason for this couldn?

WASHINGTON ? The Imperial Valley will gain from the new Democratic majority in Congress, says its eight-term lawmaker. Rep. Bob Filner, D-Chula Vista, re-elected Tuesday to the House, said the Democratic leadership will come up with better solutions to the region?s problems. ?A Congress that?s more concerned with education, health care and the environment is going to benefit the Valley,? Filner said, speaking by phone from his district office in Chula Vista. Democrats won control of the House for the first time since 1994 and ?

WASHINGTON (MNS) ? With militia Minutemen patrolling the border less than an hour from Imperial County this past weekend, Rep. Bob Filner, D-Chula Vista, criticized the effort, saying the citizen groups take the "wrong approach" to border security. "We have a history of leaving law enforcement to law enforcement officials," said Filner, the five-term Democrat whose district includes the Imperial Valley and the length of California's Mexican border. "I understand their frustration, but it's the wrong approach," Filner said.

Imperial County backs comprehensive immigration reform, the Board of Supervisors agreed Tuesday although a resolution of support is pending. A resolution of support of comprehensive immigration reform is expected however, once a bill is available.  In the meantime, the board will send a letter to the appropriate bodies expressing their backing of the concept. The board's decisions followed County Executive Officer Ralph Cordova's advice to hold passing a resolution of support until a reform bill is available.

U.S. Customs and Border Protection are reevaluating and postponing proposed cuts resulting from sequestration that would have translated to a more than 35 percent pay cut for the roughly 1,200 Border Patrol agents working in the Valley. In a statement dated Monday, CBP Deputy Commissioner Thomas S. Winkowski wrote that “although the budget reductions imposed by sequestration are significant, the bill's provisions allow CBP to mitigate to some degree the impacts of the reduced budget on operations and on CBP's workforce.” “In light of the new funding bill, we are re-evaluating previously planned furloughs and de-authorization of Administratively Uncontrollable Overtime (AUO)

Despite all the current talk about immigration reform and the assurances that comprehensive legislation is at hand, one should stop short of believing that it is a done deal. After all, this is Washington, D.C., we're talking about. Yet, one can't escape the feeling that a tipping point has been reached and this particular political football can no longer be safely kicked down the road. To do so would only spell trouble for both major political parties. As the November election demonstrated, Latinos can be expected to show up at the polls in increasing numbers.

President Obama on Tuesday unveiled his guiding principles for Congress to consider when they take up immigration reform in the coming months. Obama's much-anticipated speech comes a day after a group of key Senate leaders unveiled a bipartisan immigration reform plan of their own. During Tuesday's speech in Las Vegas, Obama said that enough of a “broad consensus” has emerged to draft and approve “commonsense,” comprehensive immigration legislation....

Border security did not appear to be higher than normal Monday following the death of terrorist Osama bin Laden, according to officials. U.S. Secretary of Homeland Security Janet Napolitano said in a statement Monday that while the death was an important success, terrorism combat efforts don’t fixate on one person. The Department of Homeland Security doesn’t intend to issue a National Terrorism Advisory System alert at this point. U.S. Customs and Border Protection public affairs officer John Campos said that business was as usual at the Mexico border Monday.

To examine border security, the Imperial Valley Press invited Calexico Police Chief Jim Neujahr, Calexico Port Director Billy Whitford, Ad Hoc Committee on Border Issues Chairman Carlton Hargrave, SDSU-Imperial Valley criminal justice professor Michael Sabath and Calexico City Councilwoman and immigration services business owner Maritza Hurtado to the newsroom. La Crónica invited Subdirector of the Direction of Municipal Public Security Luis Felipe Chan Baltazar and previous magistrate to the Superior Court of Justice and attorney Arnoldo Castilla García to their newsroom.

The 7.5 million drop in border crossings by Mexican citizens in the past three years has had a wide ripple effect in Imperial County. The decrease reported by the Centro de Estudios Economicos del Sector Empresarial de Mexicali is believed by most of those interviewed to be caused by border delays, including Ad Hoc Committee for Border Issues chairman Carlton Hargrave. “We all understand that border security is important but there has to be a happy medium with border security and commerce and trade, and that part of the equation has been lost,” he said.

Thumbs up To the Imperial County Migrant Education Program’s inaugural public speaking tournament Saturday in El Centro. The tournament was the fruit of more than a year’s worth of labor, and offered its competitors a chance to learn “powerful skills,” said program director Sandra Kofford. More than 100 students from the 12 high school, junior high and middle schools in the county competed in the event. Congratulations to all who competed, and to the winners in each category: debate, speech and extemporaneous speech.

The U.S. Border Patrol regularly touts its success in turning increased resources into better border security. The government?s investment in miles of new fencing, thousands of new agents and the latest surveillance technology has paid off, the agency says, with a steady downward trend in illegal entries in recent years. But while the Border Patrol emphasizes its multi-pronged approach, some parts of its strategy inevitably get less attention than others. Take, for example, the El Centro Sector?

CALEXICO ? More than 350,000 U.S. citizens have ordered the passport card, Department of Homeland officials said. A ?few? of the more than 7,600 passport cards already mailed out by the Department of State have already begun to show up last week at Calexico?s ports of entry, a local port official said. ?It looks like they are now starting to make their way out to the general traveling population,? U.S. Customs and Border Protection spokesman Vince Bond said. The Department of State began taking orders for the card Feb. 1, the first day that pre-orders were available for the card highly touted as the most convenient way for people to cross land and sea borders, the Department of Homeland Security said.