National Security

The Government Accountability Office released a new report, stating that between 2006-2010, illegal aliens started 40% if the human-ignited wildfires along the U.S. - Mexico border. The study was carried out by the independent GAO, the investigative arm of the Congress, at the request of Senator John McCain of Arizona. The GAO investigated 77 of the reported 422 human-caused fires. Of the 77 fires investigated, federal officals concluded that 30 were ignited by illegal border crossers. 

The National Association of Former Border Patrol Officers (NAFBPO) released a statement early last week voicing their opposition to President Obama's plan to individually review the deportation cases of 300,000 illegal aliens. The plan will permit hundreds of thousands of illegal aliens to remain in the U.S. despite their involvement in deportation proceedings.

Reps. Randy Forbes (R-Va.), David McKinley (R-W.V.), and Bill Posey (R-Fla.) have co-sponsored the bi-partisan SAFE for America Act of 2011 that would end the Visa Lottery. The Visa Lottery issues 50,000 green cards based on "random selection" instead of humanitarian need, family connection, or other economic or cultural value to the United States.

A new report by the Center for Immigration Studies finds that 200,000 children were born to women who were lawfully admitted to the United States on a temporary basis. These 200,000 children receive automatic citizenship to the United States despite the mother's allegiance to another nation. The Birthright Citizenship Act of 2011 (H.R.140) would end the practice of birthright citizenship.

Reps. Lamar Smith, Peter King, and Jim Sensenbrenner have written a letter to DHS Secretary Napolitano urging her to not extend the deadline for REAL ID implementation

After spending more than $1 billion, the Department of Homeland Security is ending a program to build a virtual fence along the Southwest border with Mexico. DHS Secretary Janet Napolitano called the project ineffective and too costly and said that it didn't meet the department's current standards for viability.

Christos Papoutsis, the Greek Citizen Protection Minister, says his country wants to build a 130-mile fence to keep illegal aliens out. The Greek border with Turkey is one of the most popular locations for people from Afghanistan, Algeria, Iraq, Pakistan and Somalia to illegally gain access to the European Union.

A Border Patrol agent was shot and killed late Tuesday in Southern Arizona, according to the Associated Press. The U.S. Border Patrol confirmed that four suspects are in custody. Another is being sought.

The Border Patrol's increased efforts along the U.S. - Mexico land border are forcing more and more would-be illegal aliens to sea in their efforts to come to the United States

A Wall Street Journal article from guest columnist Leo Banks (Tuscon Weekly) captures the fear for personal safety among residents of the Southwest border. Last week, Banks' visited a service for Arizona rancher Robert Krentz who was recently killed on his property by a suspected illegal alien, and he said that the issue of illegal immigration is different from most Americans.

Homeland Security Assistant Inspector General Frank Deffer told Congress on Tuesday that the agency is not prepared for a mass amnesty, and Congress should consider this if and when they take up comprehensive immigration reform. Deffer called a mass amnesty "the mother of all backlogs."

President Barack Obama announced yesterday that Greece would join more than 30 other nations that make up the Visa Waiver program - a program that allows citizens of the country to visit the United States for less than 90 days without a visa. Ranking Member of the House Judiciary Committee Lamar Smith, however, believes expanding the program to Greece will increase illegal immigration and threaten national security.

The Department of Homeland Security has announced that it's finalizing plans to collect information from foreign visitors exiting the country through the nation's airports. DHS plans to collect fingerprints or eye scans as foreigners leave.

After the tragic events of eight years ago, the bi-partisan 9/11 Commission recommended changes to our nation's faulty immigration system that allowed terrorists to obtain identification and board planes. It was the one recommendation that Congress acted on, passing the REAL ID Act of 2005. But Congress, as recommended by Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano, is now considering a repeal of REAL ID.

A new report from the Center for Immigration Studies shows that America's refusal to secure our borders has fueled a marked increase in the level of gang violence.

ICE has conducted its second raid of the week at a critical infrastructure facility, this time at Dulles International Airport in Virginia where agents arrested 42 illegal aliens yesterday. Earlier in the week, an ICE raid at a military parachute company in North Carolina resulted in the arrest of 59 illegal aliens. Dulles was the target of a similar operation in 2006 that netted 55 illegal aliens.ICE interviewed more than 200 individuals to verify their identities, immigration status, and eligibility for lawful employment in the U.S., according to a related ICE press release.