border security news stories on Newser

News Flash, Rick Perry: Texas Border Is Safe

Kevin Spak — Thu, 06 Oct 2011 12:44:18 CDT

GOP candidates love to talk about “securing” the border, especially Rick Perry. “It is not safe on that border,” the Texas governor said recently; last year, he even claimed, without any evidence at all, that bombs were exploding in the streets of El Paso. But “those of us who actually...

Arizona: Please Donate to Help Build Border Fence

Evann Gastaldo — Mon, 09 May 2011 13:20:05 CDT

If the federal government won't complete Arizona's border fence, then gosh darn it, the state is going to do it itself. Arizona lawmakers have a plan that would get the fence built using online donations and 50-cents-an-hour prison labor, and Gov. Jan Brewer recently signed a bill setting the plan...

Border Patrol Fights Boredom as Illegals Plummet

Rob Quinn — Fri, 22 Apr 2011 02:05:00 CDT

Border Patrol agents hired to keep illegal immigrants out are having trouble keeping boredom and sleepiness from creeping in. Illegal border crossings have plummeted to record lows in many areas, thanks to the US recession and tougher enforcement, leaving some agents with little to do but "watch the fence rust,...

GOP Wants Plan to Stop Every Illegal Immigrant

Kevin Spak — Thu, 31 Mar 2011 14:40:05 CDT

Congressional Republicans are working on a hardline anti-immigration bill that would call for more border fencing, more sensors, more border patrol agents, and aerial drones in an all-out attempt to prevent all illegal entry into the country. The bill is unlikely to pass the Senate, the LA Times observes, so...

Arizona Suing Feds Over Lax Border Security

Rob Quinn — Fri, 11 Feb 2011 01:19:00 CST

Arizona is taking the federal government to court for poor border security, alleging that it hasn't done enough to stop illegal immigration law, and protect the state from "invasion." The suit was filed as a counter suit to the federal government's legal challenge to the state's controversial immigration law, reports...

Good News: 32 Miles of US-Canada Border Secure

John Johnson — Wed, 02 Feb 2011 14:27:12 CST

Nobody tell the terrorists: The US shares a 4,000-mile border with Canada, and 3,968 of those miles don't meet an "acceptable level" of security, says a new federal audit. Border Patrol "does not have the ability to detect illegal activity across most of the northern border," say the...

White House Cans the 'Danged' Fence

Polly Davis Doig — Sat, 15 Jan 2011 10:40:31 CST

After four years, about a billion bucks, and lots of yelling on both sides ("Complete the danged fence," anyone?), the White House is officially canning the US-Mexico border fence, reports the AP. Homeland Secretary Janet Napolitano made the long-expected announcement yesterday, saying that there's no "one-size-fits-all" fix for border security,...

Hey, Border Guards: Stay Out of Our Computers

Evann Gastaldo — Tue, 16 Nov 2010 13:13:05 CST

Right now, border agents can search your computer without a warrant or probable cause—and it's long past time for that to change, asserts the New York Times in an editorial. Borders need to be protected, but there's "a big difference between government agents scanning items for explosives ... and searching...

Record Number of Illegals Found Dead in Arizona

Kevin Spak — Wed, 06 Oct 2010 13:42:00 CDT

Authorities have found the bodies of 252 illegal immigrants in the Arizona desert this year, an all-time high—even though the number of people crossing illegally is down. That’s in part because increased border security has driven would-be crossers to ever more remote and dangerous routes, NPR explains, and in...