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Recent reports that the U.S. Department of Homeland Security may cut back on the number of Border Patrol agents along the southern border have made U.S. Sens. John Cornyn and Kay Bailey Hutchison of Texas, John McCain and John Kyl of Arizona and several others very nervous. Nervous enough to write DHS Secretary Janet Napolitano a letter, asking for reassurance that no such cuts are being planned. “ we would like you to confirm that the current strength of 17,415 agents will be maintained or increased in fiscal year 2010,” the letter reads. Hopefully the reports of border agent cutbacks...

Border fence funds pulled at request of lawmakers WASHINGTON — A provision to build an additional 300 miles of pedestrian fence along the U.S.-Mexico border has been stripped out of a $42.8 billion spending bill for the Department of Homeland Security. The provision by Sen. Jim DeMint, R-S.C., was removed at the behest of House members from Texas, Arizona and California who called the fencing a waste of taxpayer money and an ineffective way to secure the border. “We need to invest and secure our border and our land ports without being tied down to an amendment that is out...

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.

The TERRY ANDERSON SHOW.. Articulating the Popular Rage! Sundays - 12-1 AM EDT, 11-12 PM CDT, 10-11 PM MDT, 9-10 PM PDT KRLA - 870 AM - Los Angeles -- KDWN - 720 - Las Vegas -- KFNX - 1100 - Phoenix If You Ain't Mad, You Ain't Payin' Attention!" Call-In Number - (866) 870-5752 Don't miss Terry's September 6th show with guest... JOE WILSON, member of the US House of Representatives from South Carolina, and the man who told the truth when he said "YOU LIE" to Barry Dunham-Soetoro... Can you guess WHO the most Horriblest Clown of the...

The TERRY ANDERSON SHOW.. Articulating the Popular Rage! Sundays - 12-1 AM EDT, 11-12 PM CDT, 10-11 PM MDT, 9-10 PM PDT KRLA - 870 AM - Los Angeles -- KDWN - 720 - Las Vegas -- KFNX - 1100 - Phoenix If You Ain't Mad, You Ain't Payin' Attention!" Call-In Number - (866) 870-5752 Don't miss Terry's September 6th show with guest... TOM TANCREDO, former member of the US house of representatives, and former candidate for president of the United States. Tom has been a leader in the fight against the invasion by illegal aliens. Can you guess WHO...

While construction on the border fence in Cameron County is at a standstill because of pending lawsuits, at least one local landowner is surprised by a California congressman’s introduction of legislation that calls for more fencing construction along the United States-Mexico border. The bill, known as the Unlawful Border Entry Prevention Act and introduced Wednesday by U.S. Rep. Duncan Hunter, R-California, gives Department of Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano discretionary authority to build 350 miles of additional reinforced fencing where she deems is necessary. More than 650 miles of fence have already been approved along the U.S.-Mexico border. If approved...

WASHINGTON, (AP) -- A federal judge has thrown out a lawsuit to stop construction of the U.S.-Mexico border fence ordered by the Bush administration. The Texas Border Coalition, a coalition of mayors and business and community leaders, sued the Homeland Security Department last year. The group said the department did not fairly negotiate compensation with landowners for access to their land for six-month surveys to choose fence sites.

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...

TUCSON - Groundbreaking will begin next week in southern Arizona for the virtual fence project's first permanent detection towers, a spokeswoman in Washington said Friday. Contractors preparing sites for the towers "will start moving earth next week," Customs and Border Protection spokeswoman Jenny Burke said. The towers will hold sensors, cameras and communications equipment designed to detect illegal immigrants and drug smugglers and to enhance the ability of Border Patrol agents to intercept and apprehend them. The towers are to be built first in Arizona, the busiest corridor for illegal entries along the Mexican frontier over the past decade. Plans...

WASHINGTON – President Barack Obama's budget blueprint Thursday canceled plans to extend the border fence along the U.S.-Mexico border beyond the 670 miles already completed or planned, symbolically breaking with a much-heralded approach to border security advocated by President George W. Bush. The Obama administration's turnabout left limited funds for roads, lights and so-called tactical infrastructure – but not a dime 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 construction of the barrier...

Federal officials within weeks plan to start construction on a new "virtual fence" along the U.S.-Mexico border. Plans are expected to be formally announced tomorrow. Supporters say the system could almost completely cover the nearly 2,000-mile frontier within five years. The first permanent towers with sensors, cameras and communications gear to detect drug smugglers and illegal immigrants will be built along 53 miles of Arizona. Customs official Mark Borkowski says more towers will follow on the remaining 320 miles of Arizona's southern border. Borkowski says virtual fencing then will go up in New Mexico, followed by California and most of...

Wouldn't allow DHS to single-handedly override federal laws A bill introduced in Congress would overturn the ability of the Department of Homeland Security to override as many as 35 federal laws to allow the agency to build fences and physical barriers along the United States-Mexico border. A similar bill was introduced in 2007 by U.S. Rep. Raul Grijalva, D-Ariz., who along with nine co-sponsors introduced the latest proposed legislation. The purpose of the Border Security and Responsibility Act of 2009 is to provide “the highest protection possible from the effects of unauthorized immigration, human and drug smuggling, and border enforcement...

McALLEN, Texas — Millions of state tax dollars tagged for increased border security were spent on law enforcement equipment and positions away from border areas, according to a state audit. The Office of Emergency Management spent most of more than $79 million between September 2005 and November 2008 to combat crime in border regions, but the report from the State Auditor's Office cited several examples of squad cars, helicopters and new positions that landed elsewhere in Texas. The Department of Public Safety, Parks and Wildlife Department and the Governor's Division of Emergency Management received about $142.3 million in state and...

(Critics: They're useless; Supporters: They're absolutely essential) NOGALES — Three men prop a ladder on top of a tree branch and lean it against a 15-foot border fence made of steel tubes so close together a man can't fit his head through. One by one, they climb over and shimmy down the other side, landing in the United States at the bottom of the Mariposa Wash, about two miles west of Nogales. They jog north across a concrete road, fading into the brush. On a nearby ridge, a U.S. Border Patrol agent watches, then jumps in his SUV and speeds...

It could take years to fully comprehend the environmental toll of border fencing, but critics say it is bound to create problems for the land and wildlife. The attempts by environmentalists and public-land managers to address their concerns were brushed aside early on by former Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff, who invoked a provision of the 2005 Real ID Act that allowed a waiver of environmental and other federal regulations for border projects. And it wasn't long after that problems began cropping up. In testimony last year, Tohono O'odham Chairman Ned Norris Jr. told a House subcommittee that near Douglas...

"My country has let me down." That's the assessment of an Arizona rancher who was sued by six illegal immigrants he detained on his property and turned over to the Border Patrol in 2004. On Tuesday an eight-member federal jury in Tucson threw out the claim brought by the six illegal aliens that Roger Barnett violated their civil rights when he detained them at gunpoint on his ranch nearly five years ago. The panel also ruled against the plaintiffs' claims of battery and false imprisonment. But the jury did find Barnett liable on four claims of assault and four claims...

Border crossings to Mexico closed by protests Largest display of discontent against the army's crackdown on drug cartels Protesters block a main avenue during a demonstration against the Mexican army in Monterrey, northern Mexico, on Tuesday. The army has blamed protests on drug cartels targeted by the government. Monterrey is not on the border but is southwest of Nuevo Laredo. CIUDAD JUAREZ, Mexico - Hundreds of people blocked bridges to the United States in three border cities Tuesday, demanding the army leave in another challenge for the Mexican government as it struggles to quell escalating drug violence. The protests in...

Homeland Security hopes to begin construction next month on the latest version of its much-maligned and costly "virtual fence" on the U.S.-Mexico border. More than two years have passed and more than $400 million in taxpayers' dollars have been spent on the Secure Border Initiative Net (SBInet) project, which still hasn't produced an effective virtual fence. The only system operating along the border is the "Project 28" prototype near Sasabe, southwest of Tucson, a grid of nine sensor towers that is still plagued with problems. It will be replaced by the new version — whenever it goes up.

BISBEE — Smugglers recently removed two mesh panels from U.S.-Mexico border fencing located east of the San Pedro River, and Border Patrol officials have repaired them. The precise location of these fence sections is near low-water crossing number 38, known as Gringo Wash. The damage to one section was discovered on Jan. 28. Officials fixed it late last week. Officials noticed the damage on the other section last Monday and it was fixed this week. Bill Odle, who owns land along the border near the San Pedro River, said the smugglers cut out the entire mesh fencing panels and then...

SNIPPET: “The ceasefire announced by Hamas on January 18, never a sterling example of the genre, further deteriorated on Sunday as over 15 rockets and mortar shells were fired at Israel from Gaza. That night, when Israeli planes struck back at Hamas targets, many Palestinians reported that Israel had telephoned them warnings to evacuate. There were no casualties in the strike. During Operation Cast Lead, Israel reduced Palestinian casualties with such measures as disseminating warnings in leaflets or SMS messages and dropping small, harmless bombs on rooftops before attacks. It prompted former British colonel Richard Kemp to say that “I...

WASHINGTON -- If you're a criminal and you're not entitled to be in the United States, Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano wants you out of the country. Napolitano wants what she calls "criminal aliens" off American streets. She is looking at existing immigration enforcement programs to see if taxpayers are getting the most bang for their buck. "That sounds very simple, but it's historically not been done," Napolitano said, speaking to reporters and senior Immigration and Customs Enforcement officials Thursday. About 113,000 criminals who were in the U.S. illegally were deported last year, Immigration and Customs Enforcement said. The agency...

(IsraelNN.com) Terrorists in Gaza set off an explosive device they had planted along the Gaza security fence as an Israel army vehicle patrolled near Kissufim, shortly after 8 am on Tuesday. The terrorists also fired a number of rocket-propelled grenades at Israel. The army responded with machine-gun and tank fire. No Israeli casualties were reported. Gaza sources report one dead, apparently a farmer, in an exchange of fire between soldiers and terrorists. Two explosions were heard in Gaza City. The attack represents the first violation of the cease-fire announced by Gaza terrorists since Israel withdrew its forces last week, at...

(This column is based on a report submitted to the National Association of Chiefs of Police by the US Department of Homeland Security.) During Monday's edition of Fox News Channel's Glenn Beck Show, the decidely conservative host asked his viewers to answer a question: outgoing CIA Director Michael Hayden had stated that Iran was the Number One threat to the security of the United States; what country did Hayden rank as Number Two? The answer was Mexico. Meanwhile, retired U.S. Army General Barry McCaffrey, the former U.S. drug czar, told the Los Angeles Times that the Mexican government "is fighting...

Federal bureaucrats call it the "border fence." The residents along the Texas-Mexico border say it's a wall echoing the Cold War. And south of the Rio Grande,Governor Humberto Moreira of the Mexican state of Coahuila has dubbed it a "wall of hate."But no matter what the controversial barrier being constructed between Mexico and the U.S. is called,the $1.6 billion,670-mile-long first phase is close to completion as President Barack Obama enters office. And for Obama,who voted for the border-fence bill back in 2006, the barrier may be best described as a big potential headache. Opponents are already appealing to him to...

   Dallas Streets to be Blocked in President's New Neighborhood BJ Austin, KERA NewsDALLAS, TX (2009-01-14) A Preston Hollow neighborhood in Dallas is expected to become a "gated" community today. KERA's BJ Austin says it's preparation for the arrival of the Bush's - the President and First Lady Laura Bush. The Dallas City Council is expected to approve a request for access gates, related fencing and structures at Daria Drive and Meaders Lane. That would restrict access to Daria Place, a cul du sac, and the new address for President Bush after he leaves office next week. Council member Mitchell...

BISBEE — Officials with Customs and Border Protection in Washington, D.C., announced last week that fence construction along the southern border of the U.S. has surpassed the 500-mile mark, with about 280 miles built in Arizona. The Secure Fence Act of 2006 authorized the construction of 670 miles of fencing in California, Arizona, New Mexico and Texas. CBP’s Secure Border Initiative program was established by the Department of Homeland Security in early 2007 to carry out the Congressional mandate.“As the result of a comprehensive operational analysis, the U.S. Border Patrol determined the need for tactical infrastructure — including fencing, patrol...

SANTA TERESA — Federal contractors are rushing to complete construction of the biggest barrier projects ever on New Mexico's southern border by the end of the year — nearly 90 miles of steel structures aimed at stopping vehicles and people from crossing illegally from Mexico. .....(skip).... contractors have nearly finished a stretch of about 49 miles pushing west from the Santa Teresa ......(skip...... 40 miles of vehicle barrier and 8.8 miles of pedestrian fence. That project is expected to be finished by the end of the month with the completion of the final two miles of the vehicle barrier. Where...

WASHINGTON (AP) — The government has completed 500 miles of fencing along the Southwest border, 170 miles short of its goal. At this pace, the administration expects to have at least 600 miles complete by Jan. 20, when Barack Obama takes over as president, Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff said earlier this month.

Removing All Doubt Obama Would Cede Southwest to Mexico American Patrol Report -- December 19 "We are all Americans, whether you are legalized or not" Anyone who still doubts that Barack Obama is determined to grant de-facto amnesty to millions of illegal aliens should explain to the rest of us why he picked Hilda Solis to be Secretary of Labor. A long-time supporter of la Reconquista, the Mexican takeover of the American Southwest, Solis is also a leader in the movement to silence Americans who speaks out against the invasion, specifically Lou Dobbs, Glenn Beck and Bill O'Reilly. At a...

By Michael Webster, Syndicated Investigative Reporter Early this month U.S. Border Patrol agents from the Tucson, Ariz. sector and agents of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement were again fired upon with what appeared to be military type automatic weapons by Mexican drug smugglers dressed in military garb. Agents after observing a Flatbed tow truck on the Mexican side of the U.S. Mexican border backed up to the new international border fence. According to witnesses the tow truck backed up on a newly constructed earthen dirt berm which put the truck almost even with the height of the fence. The tow...

Investigators say they believe 64-year-old Paulette Locklear was beaten to death outside her home Tuesday afternoon after confronting a man who was trying to break in. Julio Cesar Ramos, 45, is charged with first-degree murder in Locklear’s death. Ramos, who is from Honduras, has been deported from the U.S. several times and is in the country illegally, said Debbie Tanna, spokeswoman for the Cumberland County Sheriff’s Office. Ramos told investigators he is homeless and unemployed., Tanna said. Cumberland County sheriff’s deputies responded to Locklear’s home on the 1200 block of Wilmington Road after she called 911 Tuesday afternoon to report...

Link only due to copyright complaint.

On the heels of absymal job projections released Monday by the University of Colorado, outgoing Congressman Tom Tancredo, R-Littleton, is asking President-elect Barack Obama to consider creating new jobs by adding to the workforce required to build "the congressionally mandated fence between the United States and Mexico." TancredoFTS File Photo As Tancredo notes in a news release sent to reporters today, Obama has introduced new economic initiatives similar to ones supported under FDR's New Deal in 1933. Obama has publicly said that he hopes his strategy will create 2.5 million new jobs and improve America's infrastructure, including roads, Internet, and...

President-elect Barack Obama and his former general election rival, Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz), have come to an agreement on immigration, Senate Majority leader Harry Reid told the Detroit Free Press in a recent interview. Reid said the two standard-bearers have agreed to move forward on immigration legislation during Obama's White House tenure. "On immigration, there's been an agreement between Obama and McCain to move forward on that," Reidsaid when how Congress would handle immigration and healthcare with expanded Democratic majorities and Obama in the White House. Early on in their general election campaign, both McCain and Obama pledged to enact...

(CNSNews.com) – Former Mexican President Ernesto Zedillo said he and his countrymen “regret” and “resent” the construction of a security fence on the border between the United States and Mexico and called for more “intelligent” security between the two countries on Monday. Zedillo also blamed drug violence largely on Americans’ use of illegal drugs “I personally find (the fence) profoundly offensive,” said Zedillo, co-chairman of the Brookings Institution’s Partnership for the Americas Commission, which released its report “Rethinking U.S.-Latin American Relations” on Monday. Zedillo told CNSNews.com that the United States needs to have a “frank discussion” about the role domestic...

Stanford law Professor Tino Cuéllar was named this week to lead President-elect Barack Obama's transition working group on immigration, putting him among the many scholars from the Bay Area who are helping shape the next administration.lawyers and immigration experts across the country praised him Friday for his intellect and his grasp of both regulatory minutiae and the big picture of American immigration policy. "He's brilliant beyond his years," said John Trasviña, president of the Mexican American Legal Defense and Educational Fund, who met Cuéllar when he was a law student at Yale and encouraged him to go to work in...

It was just an ordinary Wednesday evening for me. Run to the bank, grab some groceries, and head home. As I approached a busy intersection, I watched as a pick-up truck made a crazy, unexpected left turn directly into the path of an oncoming car. The crash sent pieces of metal flying in all directions. Smoke poured from the front of the sedan occupied by a young woman. The pick-up driver backed up a few feet -- and then, unbelievably, he sped off. It took my brain a few seconds to comprehend what was happening: in broad daylight, during rush...

San Diego, CA (AP) -- The Border Patrol has installed razor-sharp, curled wire atop a fence on the Mexican border, saying it has contributed to a sharp drop in attacks on its agents by assailants hurling rocks, bottles and bricks. The barbed wire on a violent, 5-mile stretch separating San Diego from Tijuana, Mexico, resembles a prison fence, riling critics who say it is a heavy-handed move and a menacing eyesore. The Border Patrol began firing tear gas and powerful pepper-spray weapons last year into a hardscrabble Mexican neighborhood where some pelted agents, catching innocent families in the crossfire. Those...

The Texas House of Representatives' Mexican American Legislative Caucus will hold a hearing Thursday to discuss border fence, in an early attempt to bring the issue to the attention of President-elect Barack Obama and his administration. The hearing chairman, Rep. Eddie Lucio III, D-San Benito, wants to act quickly to inform Obama's transition team of the issue that has weighed heavily on many border residents. "We may have a fresh set of ears (in Washington)," Lucio said. "Hopefully, they'll have an interest in the issue." The hearing will be attended by South Texas landowners, border mayors, including Brownsville Mayor Pat...

BROWNSVILLE — U.S. Customs and Border Protection is putting off construction of 14 miles of border fence in what Rep. Henry Cuellar, D-Laredo, said Friday is an indication parts of the fence in Texas may not stand under the next administration. But CBP spokeswoman Angela de Rocha said the decision was made because of engineering difficulties presented by the Rio Grande flood plain and has nothing to do with politics. She said the areas are documented as high-traffic spots for drugs and unauthorized immigration and that the need for a fence wouldn't change. “There is a law-enforcement need for fence...

The October 2nd issue of The Economist ran an article with the strongly-worded title: “The U.S.-Mexican Border: Good Neighbours Make Fences.” Over the past year, the United States has been intent on expanding its security against unregulated immigration along the Mexican border as fast as possible by increasing the number of border patrol officers from about 6,000 to 18,000. At this point, both U.S. political parties - supported by U.S. public opinion - have become avid supporters of an impregnable border, and are prepared to freely expend even greater resources in building protective barriers instead of solving what could be...

Will the presidential administration of Barack Obama derail the border fence set to soon run through Brownsville's backyard? Probably not, according to academics and former policymakers. But South Texas landowners have not given up hope. With the country embroiled in two wars and a devastating financial crisis, Obama - who voted for the fence in 2006 - is unlikely to upend the project, experts said. Construction will likely drag into the early days of Obama's administration. "It's not politically palatable to say you're no longer for a fence," said Veronica Vargas Stidvent, director of the Center for Politics and Governance...

Barack Obama is a "decidedly liberal" senator "who was finding his feet, and then got diverted by his presidential ambitions", according to a frank verdict delivered to Gordon Brown by the British ambassador to the United States.

WASHINGTON – Congress approved a shift of $400 million from technology accounts to construction of the U.S. border fence despite a Customs and Border Protection admission that it cannot be completed by year's end, officials said Monday. The House Appropriations Subcommittee for Homeland Security agreed to a CBP proposal to transfer funds from other accounts to build the remainder of the 670 miles of border fence. Eagle Pass Mayor Chad Foster, chairman of the Texas Border Coalition, voiced disappointment over Congress' decision to continue to fund “the border wall.” “It won't work. It is lethal to people and wildlife and...

Completion of fence along U.S.—Mexico border hinges on Congress approving the transfer of $400 million in existing infrastructure and technology funding Washington, D.C. – U.S. Congressman Duncan Hunter (R-CA) today commended the Department of Homeland Security’s (DHS) proposal to reprogram available border infrastructure and technology funding for the completion of physical fencing on the U.S.-Mexico border. Congressman Hunter also received confirmation from DHS that such action, if approved by Congressional Appropriations Committees, will not impede the fence construction project at “Smugglers Gulch” in San Diego, California. I strongly support the proposal by DHS to take money from virtual fence and...

It is interesting to note the wording about the issue of national security and immigration in the Republican Party platform for this election cycle. By adding a misbegotten phase to the end of some pseudo reassuring sentences, the Republicans have sent an alarm through a group of hold outs that they may have been hoping to win to their side. What did the Republican platform committee intend as the exact meaning of the fragment that was tucked at the end of one of a sentence; “except as provided by federal law”? The complete sentence appears to be strong and nationalist:...

HEAVY-METAL superstar James Hetfield of the band Metallica has erected a metal fence on his property on a Terra Linda hilltop, closing off a popular trail and angering hikers, bikers and equestrians. Someone scrawled "SHAME DISGRACE" on the 300-foot-long, 8-to 10-foot-high corrugated metal silver fence adorned with barbed wire at its far edges. "Look at the barbed wire. This a serious fence," said hiker Tom McMillan of San Rafael, as he walked along the shiny behemoth late last week. The fence, at the end of a fire road in the Terra Linda-Sleepy Hollow Divide open space preserve, went up in...

The sea crashes on to the rocky beach, with the marbled sand black and white, looking like paradise with the sound of norteño music lingering in the background, but this view is violently interrupted by a metallic wall, penetrating the sea, salted water responding to the aggression by corroding the metal sheets. Here, right under the light house, thousands of families have gathered for summer days, weekends and holidays, meeting to share, kiss, and hold hands, for over 30 years. Lone men coming from the US side to see their kids grow across the fence, while they cry in their...

Just west of El Paso, near where Spanish conquistador Juan de Onate crossed the Rio Grande from Mexico in 1598, construction crews have completed a steel fence authorities say is a new model for border security. The five-meter (18-foot) tall fence has a mesh woven so tightly that feet and fingers cannot grab hold, but it still allows people to see through. Steel pylons are set close enough to stop a truck from bursting through, and two meters of reinforced concrete underground deters any tunneling. The structure is designed to push would-be illegal immigrants and drug smugglers out into the...

Crews could begin filling in Smuggler's Gulch as early as this week for the border-fence construction project that environmentalists had opposed for years. The gulch is a deep canyon west of the San Ysidro port of entry. Yesterday, Reps. Duncan Hunter, R-Alpine, and Brian Bilbray, R-Carlsbad, held a news conference there to announce the expected start of the cut-and-fill phase. “This is the last hole in the border fence,” Hunter said. “It's important to get this done.” Earth-scraping equipment was scheduled to arrive yesterday, he said. A Border Patrol spokesman later confirmed that the contractor handling the fence project is...