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Cuban nationals land at Florida nuclear plant: NRC Fri Nov 27, 2009 8:38am EST NEW YORK (Reuters) - A group of Cuban nationals who fled their country by boat landed in the cooling canal of a nuclear power plant along Florida's coast on Thanksgiving Day, according to a U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission event report issued Friday. The plant's operations were not disrupted by the incident, according to the report. The Turkey Point nuclear power plant control room received a call from an individual stating that he was a member of a group of 33 Cuban nationals that had landed in...

In the battle on the U.S.-Mexico border, the fight against illegal immigration often loses out to environmental laws that have blocked construction of parts of the "virtual fence" and that threaten to create places where agents can't easily track illegal immigrants. Documents obtained by Rep. Rob Bishop and shared with The Washington Times show National Park Service staffers have tried to stop the U.S. Border Patrol from placing some towers associated with the virtual fence, known as the Secure Border Initiative or SBInet, on wilderness lands in parks along the border. In a remarkably candid letter to members of Congress,...

Nothing to see here. Move along. "Syrian carrying $880,000, Hezbollah ring, 9/11 videos, stopped at Canadian border,"

The Inspector General of the Department of Homeland Security completed an investigation of the U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) and their ability to detect chemical of biological weapons that might be smuggled into the country by terrorists,via our nation's waterways. The news is not good: CBP officials said that new devices are currently being developed and tested that could better enable officers to rapidly detect and identify biological and chemical threats during cargo inspections. However, CBP has not conducted a formal risk assessment to determine which pathways, including maritime cargo, pose the highest risk of biological and chemical weapons...

Note: The following text is a quote: Secretary Napolitano Announces Full Deployment of Radiation Scanning Technology to the Northern Border Ahead of Schedule Release Date: November 5, 2009 For Immediate Release Office of the Press Secretary Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Secretary Janet Napolitano today announced the final deployment of non-intrusive scanning equipment to detect radiation emanating from materials used in nuclear devices at all Northern border land ports of entry—a major security milestone completed two months ahead of schedule that reflects Secretary Napolitano’s ongoing commitment to strong, layered security at the U.S.-Canada border. “Securing our Northern border while facilitating...

WASHINGTON -- President Obama will lift a 1987 ban on foreigners with AIDS entering the country. "We talk about reducing the stigma of this disease, yet we've treated a visitor living with it as a threat," Obama said Friday. Obama said an order lifting the restriction will be issued Monday and take effect after 60 days. Poll on page!

WASHINGTON – President Barack Obama said Friday the U.S. will overturn a 22-year-old travel and immigration ban against people with HIV early next year. The order will be finalized on Monday, Obama said, completing a process begun during the Bush administration. The U.S. has been among a dozen countries that bar entry to travelers with visas or anyone seeking a green card based on their HIV status. "If we want to be the global leader in combatting HIV/AIDS, we need to act like it," Obama said at the White House before signing a bill to extend the Ryan White HIV/AIDS...

The US is to end its 22-year ban on people with HIV entering the country, President Barack Obama has confirmed. Mr Obama made the announcement as he extended funding for an act that provides HIV/Aids related health care. "If we want to be the global leader in combating HIV/Aids, we need to act like it," Mr Obama said. The US is one of only about a dozen countries barring entry on HIV status. The ban is expected to be lifted at the beginning of 2010. 'End the stigma' Mr Obama confirmed the move as he signed the Ryan White HIV/Aids...

DHS Report Shows that 90 Percent of U.S. Borders Are Not 'Effectively Controlled' No Plans to Expand Control for FY 2010 WASHINGTON, Oct. 1 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- As the new fiscal year begins, the Department of Homeland Security's Annual Performance Report indicates that the department has no plans to increase control of U.S. borders beyond the 894 miles they now claim to have under "effective control." The report reveals how little control the United States actually has over its land and sea borders, despite the 9/11 Commission's report citing uncontrolled borders as a threat to homeland security. According to DHS's own...

The fight to secure the southern border has been a long one, as with a viable national security and millions of criminal trespassers coming as they please, the southern border has been in need of complete shutdown (not at border entrances, along the American border where illegals enter), ultimate security from the Border Patrol, and support from both major political parties.

Even though the Border Patrol now reports that almost 1,300 miles of the U.S.-Mexico border is not under effective control, and the Department of Justice says that vast stretches of the border are “easily breached,” and the Government Accountability Office has revealed that three persons “linked to terrorism” and 530 aliens from “special interest countries” were intercepted at Border Patrol checkpoints last year, the administration is nonetheless now planning to decrease the number of Border Patrol agents deployed on the U.S.-Mexico border.

A sobering excerpt from an astonishing documentary on border security and illegal immigration...BORDER. www.bordermovie.com

Gov. Rick Perry seems bent on establishing his Texas icon credos this week. First, he came down on the side of reestablishing the Bonfire at his alma mater, Texas A&M. Then he announced he's sent special teams of Texas Rangers to tackle problems on the border. At a press conference, Perry said the "Ranger Recon" teams, supported by 200 Texas National Guard members, have been operating for a month in remote areas on the border where human smugglers and drug cartels have "overrun" local ranches and farms.

The U.S. Department of Homeland Security is planning to move several hundred Border Patrol agents away from the U.S.-Mexico border and will not secure a single additional mile of the U.S. border in fiscal 2010, according to the department’s annual performance report. 
 
The document—“Department of Homeland Security Annual Performance Report: Fiscal Years 2008-2010”—was originally published by the Bush administration on Jan. 15 and was updated by the Obama administration on May 7. 
 
Excluding the border between Alaska and Canada, the combined length of the U.S. borders with Mexico and Canada is about 6,000 miles (with almost 2,000 miles along the...

The U.S. Department of Homeland Security is planning to move several hundred Border Patrol agents away from the U.S.-Mexico border and will not secure a single additional mile of the U.S. border in fiscal 2010, according to the department's annual performance report. The document -- "Department of Homeland Security Annual Performance Report: Fiscal Years 2008-2010" -- was originally published by the Bush administration on Jan. 15 and was updated by the Obama administration on May 7. Excluding the border between Alaska and Canada, the combined length of the U.S. borders with Mexico and Canada is about 6,000 miles (with almost...

The Obama administration took an overhaul of the country’s immigration laws off its legislative agenda this year, but the prickly issue of public benefits for illegal immigrants has resurfaced in the health care debate. During the summer recess, members of Congress faced persistent questions from constituents worried that health care changes could leave taxpayers footing medical bills for illegal immigrants. President Obama has not been able to extinguish the doubts despite giving repeated assurances that illegal immigrants would be excluded from any subsidized benefits under proposals before Congress. ... Republicans argue that some of the voters’ concerns are justified because,...

A sleepy Montana checkpoint along the Canadian border that sees about three travelers a day will get $15 million under President Obama’s economic stimulus plan. A government priority list ranked the project as marginal, but two powerful Democratic senators persuaded the administration to make it happen. Discuss COMMENTS (83) Despite Obama’s promises that the stimulus plan would be transparent and free of politics, the government is handing out $720 million for border upgrades under a process that is both secretive and susceptible to political influence. This allowed low-priority projects such as the checkpoint in Whitetail, Mont., to skip ahead of...

MEDINA FOR TEXAS CAMPAIGN LAUNCHES BALLOT INITIATIVE DRIVE; "WE TEXANS MUST DEMAND ACCOUNTABILITY FROM REPUBLICAN CANDIDATES" Austin, TX, July 2009 - The Medina For Texas campaign, in an effort to bring about a restoration of accountability in government and to create new tethers insuring our elected officials serve the people, has launched an effort to place unprecedented provisions on the Republican Party primary ballot in March 2010. The campaign plans to gather signatures in support of six ballot initiatives at Tea Parties being held around the state this July 4th weekend. "We Texans must demand accountability from Republican candidates. We...

Mexican Army takes over customs operations on US border

Militia groups with gripes against the government are regrouping across the country and could grow rapidly, according to an organization that tracks such trends. The stress of a poor economy and a liberal administration led by a black president are among the causes for the recent rise, the report from the Southern Poverty Law Center says. Conspiracy theories about a secret Mexican plan to reclaim the Southwest are also growing amid the public debate about illegal immigration. Bart McEntire, a special agent with the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, told SPLC researchers that this is the most growth...

Senate Democrats have found a Republican in Sen. Lindsey Graham to help them push for passage of a comprehensive immigration overhaul this year. Democrats and Republicans say Mr. Graham of South Carolina is working behind the scenes with Sen. Charles Schumer (D., N.Y.) to gain support from other GOP members. The bill is still taking shape, but it is expected to include key features of unsuccessful 2006 and 2007 immigration proposals, including a path to legal status for many of the illegal immigrants already inside the U.S. and measures to strengthen border security. A new Gallup poll this week showed...

Once again a family is separated by the broken system we call our national immigration policy. The family of US Border Patrol Agent Robert Wiley Rosas will no longer have their husband, father, son, or brother with them as he was senselessly murdered by illegal aliens crossing an unsecured border near San Diego, California. Agent Rosas (aged 30) leaves behind a wife and two young children. He had no choice about this separation. He was simply out doing the job that you and I hired him to do: That of defending the security of the borders of this nation. He...

Border Patrol Update by: Anthony Kang, August 03, 2009 The fact that U.S. government officials have successfully been able to deter another terrorist attack on U.S. soil for almost eight years has made the public altogether forgetful or indifferent to the issue of border and national security. But every day members of the U.S. Customs and Border Patrol (CBP) have been working tirelessly just as hard as they were on the morning of September 11, 2001 as they are presented with the daunting task of keeping terrorists and their weapons outside of our nation’s borders (in addition to enforcing hundreds...

More than Mexicans Crossing the Border byPaul L. Williams, Ph.D.thelastcrusade.org [caption id="attachment_887" align="aligncenter" width="480" caption="MS-13 Member with Arabic tatoos (Police Photograph)"][/caption] Al Qaeda and the Latino Gang-Bangers The situation at the border now poses a grave threat to national security. Agent Mike Scioli of the U.S. Border Patrol confirms that the Tucson sector of the Border Patrol is facing a worsening problem with Mara Salvatrucha, a Salvadoran street gang that now controls the flow of arms, drugs, and illegal aliens into the U.S. Two members of the violent gang were collared last week in Tucson and Nogales. Twenty have...

Situation Worsens Back Door Remains Open ByPaul L. Williams, Ph.D.thelastcrusade.org The Real Face of Obama's Open Immigration Policies Something bad is taking place at the border."We're seeing a lot of MS-13,” says Agent Mike Scioli of the U.S. Border Patrol. "They're typically known to be guns for hire, they're known to smuggle narcotics and human traffic across the border illegally."MS-13 stands for Mara Salvatrucha, the most violent street gang in the western hemisphere.Last week Border Patrol agents arrested two MS-13 members: one in Tucson and one in Nogales. The Nogales arrestee was identified by his tattoos - - the...

Mr. President, I come to the floor today to talk about the violence that continues to plague our southern border region by Mexico’s well armed, well financed, and very determined drug cartels. Despite the increased efforts of President Calderon to stamp out these blood-thirsty and vicious drug cartels, violence has increased dramatically, claiming over 6,000 lives in Mexico last year alone. The murderers carrying out these crimes are as violent and dangerous as any in the world. Many have extensive military training and carry out their illegal activities with sophisticated tactical weapons and no regard for human life. Last week,...

Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio said Saturday he ordered his deputies to tape conversations with federal officials after a dispute over who called for the release of illegal immigrants arrested in a crime sweep. Arpaio said a total of 13 illegal immigrants have been released — three on Thursday and 10 on Friday — after federal officials said their arrests didn’t fit new Department of Homeland Security policies and ordered the deputies to release them. The sheriff’s claim over the releases was initially contradicted by a Homeland Security official. In the recording, multiple tracks detail conversations between deputies and ICE...

(snip) McCain said the presence of the Guard will not only help prevent the violence in Mexico from spilling across the border, but will also take some pressure off of the Border Patrol and U.S. Customs. "When the bad guys see Americans in uniform, it has an effect on them, no doubt about it," McCain said. "But also there is work that Guard personnel could do to relieve the burden from Border Patrol and Customs." That being said, McCain added that cooperation with Mexico on border issues will continue to be important. As part of his trip to Yuma, McCain...

New Curbs Set on Arrests of Illegal Immigrants Revamped 287g Program Will Target Only Serious Crimes, not Minor Infractions; Sheriff Arpaio Refuses to Ease Up MIRIAM JORDAN The Department of Homeland Security said Friday it was revising a program that authorized local police to enforce federal immigration law -- a controversial aspect of U.S. border policy. In San Diego, illegal immigrants wait to be deported to Mexico at a gate next to the pedestrian border crossing into Tijuana last month. About 800 people are deported there every day. Opponents said the program, known as 287g, was intended to identify criminal...

Four of the September 11 hijackers would have got through America's travel screening procedures introduced since the attacks, the US Secretary of Homelands Security has said. In an interview in London, Janet Napolitano said screening procedures have been improved since the attacks eight years ago, adding: "All but four of the attackers would have been picked up." But she said: "You can't thermoseal entry to the US. We have to be ever vigilant." The US has seen Britain as a potential jumping-off for terrorists attacking the US but Ms Napolitano emphasised the country was a "close ally" and had much...

Texas wildlife officials say there are six alligators living in the Rio Grande, east of Fort Hancock in Hudspeth County. "There were approximately six alligators that were observed, three of them that were in the 2- to 4-foot range, and about three of them in the 5- to 6-foot range," Texas Game Warden Ray Spears told KFOX-TV, El Paso, Texas. Spears said the alligators are in a rural area, so they don't pose much danger to humans. He said it is believed they were dropped off in the area by someone who was previously keeping them. The warden said his...

Another tunnel apparently dug by drug smugglers has been found beneath the U.S.-Mexico border in Nogales, Ariz. Scioli said it’s the 63rd smuggling tunnel found beneath the border in the Nogales area since October 1995, and the 16th since last October.

Authorities have found a massive underground drug smuggling tunnel snaking through the U.S.-Mexican border, and law officers are marveling over its sophistication. "This is one of the most elaborate tunnels I've seen," Border Patrol agent Michael Scioli said. Border Patrol agents found the uncompleted tunnel last week, the patrol said in a statement. Measuring 48 feet in the United States and 35 feet in Mexico, the tunnel contains side walls framed with 2-by-4 wooden studs and ceiling construction. "It's elegant in the sense it has electrical work wired into the Mexico side. It even has a hose for ventilation and...

“... Those who claim to be “conservative” are either for regulation and government intervention, or against it. If our leaders continue to claim they are “conservative” but argue for government intervention in the hiring of persons (legal or not), the permits for working, the classification of jobs, etc - then they are not conservative (or are, and are just racist).”

(05-18) 18:10 PDT San Bernardino, Calif. (AP) -- Arrest warrants have been issued for two illegal immigrants suspected of bursting into a family's home and kidnapping a 3-year-old who was later found wandering the streets in Mexico, authorities said Monday.

Obama reverses stance on immigration Co-opts policy he once mocked By Stephen Dinan May 8, 2009 On the thorniest of political issues, President Obama has embraced the enforcement-first position on immigration that he criticized during last year's presidential campaign, and he now says he can't move forward with the type of comprehensive bill he wants until voters are convinced that the borders can be enforced. Having already backed off his pledge to have an immigration bill this year, Mr. Obama boosted his commitment to enforcement in the budget released Thursday. The spending blueprint calls for extra money to build an...

WASHINGTON – President Barack Obama's budget blueprint cancels plans to extend the border fence along the U.S.-Mexico border beyond the 670 miles already completed or planned. The move marks a significant shift from the much-heralded approach to border security advocated by President George W. Bush. The Obama administration's turnabout left limited funds for roads, lights and the so-called tactical infrastructure – but left no money to extend the pedestrian fencing and vehicle barriers erected along roughly one-third of the nation's 1,947 mile border with Mexico. As a Democratic senator representing Illinois, Obama joined 79 other senators in 2006 to support...

WASHINGTON — It’s no longer a question of whether additional National Guard troops will be sent to the nation’s southwest border to help combat drug trafficking, arms smuggling and southbound shipments of drug cash. It’s only a question of when — and who pays for it, Uncle Sam or the taxpayers of Texas, New Mexico, Arizona and California. The Obama administration and the governors of the border states are wrangling over prospective duties for the 1,500 additional citizen soldiers requested by the four states to augment local law enforcement along the 1,947-mile frontier with Mexico. Those talks have serious financial...

WASHINGTON – Pressure mounted on federal officials Wednesday to tighten health screening or even close border crossings with Mexico to stem the spread of a new strain of influenza. Rep. Michael Burgess, R-Flower Mound, who is a physician, said the federal government should close the border "to the extent that you can. Our surveillance needs to be a lot tighter than I hear it is right now," Burgess said. "I'm very concerned with the way this is developing. I'd much rather be criticized for doing too much than not enough..." The 2009 H1N1 influenza virus...mixes genetic material from humans, swine...

Weld County District Attorney Ken Buck announced today that he’s now an official candidate for the Colorado U.S. Senate seat up for election next year. “For too long, Washington has forgotten the values of the rest of the country. I believe the strength of America is the work ethic, innovation and persistence of the American worker,” Buck, a Republican, said in a statement. Buck, who said he’d filed his candidacy papers today, is one of several Republicans who have been openly considering runs for the Senate post now filled by Denver Democrat Michael Bennet. Gov. Bill Ritter appointed Bennet to...

Napolitano: Closing border not the answer to flu By Bridget Johnson Posted: 04/27/09 04:05 PM [ET] Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano defended the government's response at a press conference Monday afternoon as reporters asked her about the risk of asymptomatic swine flu carriers entering the country. Napolitano said the strategy of identifying and isolating those who seem ill and try to cross into the United States was adequate given the circumstances, as a reporter asked if closure of the border had been considered. "We're already doing passive surveillance at the border," Napolitano said. "You would close the border if you...

WASHINGTON, April 26 (Reuters) - The United States is not testing airplane travelers from Mexico for the swine flu virus that has heightened fears of a possible pandemic, U.S. Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano said on Sunday. "Right now we don't think the facts warrant more active testing or screening of passengers coming in from Mexico," she said at a White House briefing.

<p>WASHINGTON (AP) - U.S. officials will begin asking travelers about illness if they're entering the country from areas with confirmed swine flu.</p>

With growing violence on the U.S.-Mexico border fueled by powerful drug cartels, officials from both countries have been repeating a shocking statistic to suggest this isn't just a Mexican problem. But Obama, Clinton and others have left out important qualifiers when citing the 90 percent statistic, which originates from the U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives. The agency doesn't have statistics for all weapons in Mexico, where gun sales are largely prohibited; it is based on only guns that the Mexican government sent to the ATF for tracing and that the ATF found were traceable.

PHOENIX, April 20 (Reuters) - Arizona's governor and two U.S. senators urged the federal government on Monday to send hundreds of additional troops to secure the porous Mexican border, along which ruthless drug cartels are waging bloody turf wars. The violence has gained high-level attention in both the United States and Mexico in recent months, amid concerns that it is bleeding into U.S. border states. . . . . . Arizona Senator John McCain, a Republican defeated by the Democrat Obama in the November 2008 presidential election, also called on Washington to allocate additional resources including troops to the border....

Daniel Ortega at the Summit had a 50 minutes anti American rant, this, a portion of that speech translated, from the CNN.com webcast. Obama didn't respond to this, being previously made comfortable from sitting in Jeremiah Wright's church for 20 years, probably felt right at home..

Senator John McCain is wearing a small band aid on his forehead these days from a biopsy taken recently. He says the doctors told him it's fine. He also says a recent physical has pronounced him fit for the campaign ahead. After just finishing and losing a run for the White House, he'll now run a fifth time for his U-S Senate seat.

Link only, per FR copyright and excerpt policyRead last three paragraphs.* McCain says he will not support the upcoming immigration bills unless they include temporary guest worker programs and border security. * McCain also admits that the Government has "failed to secure our borders."

Demography: The great British broadcaster Sir David Attenborough has become the latest in a long line of illustrious people to say we need to cut population growth sharply or face a grim future. Is he right?We have nothing against Attenborough, but in supporting Britain's Optimum Population Trust, a group that advocates reducing human numbers, he's put himself on the wrong side of one of the great questions of our time. Today's world population is about 6.8 billion, give or take a hundred million or so. By 2050, most estimates show the population will be about 9 billion — roughly a...

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