DHS TODAY
|
July 28, 2005
President Points to DHS Programs, People in Protecting Country
In a speech at the port of Baltimore last week, President Bush pointed to the work and programs of the Department of Homeland Security in helping to protect the nation against further terrorist attacks.
Secretary Says DHS to Focus on Guiding Principles
In his first major speech since announcing the results of the Second Stage Review (2SR), Secretary Chertoff today said the department will be guided by certain principles as it moves forward with implementing the 2SR recommendations.
Operation Predator Nets Over 6,000 U.S. Arrests in First Two Years
ICE arrests average of 250 child sex predators per month under the initiative
Secretary Michael Chertoff and Michael J. Garcia, Assistant Secretary for Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), on Tuesday announced the two-year results of Operation Predator, ICE’s comprehensive initiative to safeguard children from foreign national pedophiles, international sex tourists, Internet child pornographers, and human traffickers.
CBP Releases 2005-2010 Strategic Plan
U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) last week released U.S. Customs and Border Protection 2005-2010 Strategic Plan: Protecting America, which outlines the agency’s goals and objectives for fiscal years 2005 through 2010. The plan provides a comprehensive strategy to accomplish CBP’s border security responsibilities, facilitate trade and travel, and enforce the laws at America’s borders.
Border Patrol Agent Saves Life of Accident Victim
A U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) Border Patrol agent saved a woman from drowning when he helped rescue her from the All American Canal east of Calexico, Calif.
Coast Guard Cutter Seizes Cocaine Valued at $220 million
The crew of Coast Guard Cutter Campbell seized 6,700 pounds of cocaine and detained five suspected smugglers earlier this month off the coast of Colombia. The cocaine has an estimated street value of $220 million.
Deputy Secretary Michael Jackson last week marked the first anniversary of President Bush’s Executive Order on Individuals with Disabilities in Emergency Preparedness by releasing a report to the president and announcing the completion of several major initiatives that will better integrate people with disabilities into the national preparedness effort.
Collins Testifies on Integrated Deepwater System Implementation Plan
Commandant of the U.S. Coast Guard, Adm. Thomas H. Collins on Wednesday presented a congressional subcommittee with the details of a revised Integrated Deepwater Implementation Plan, which remains the service’s number one priority now and well into the future.
Virginia Man Pleads Guilty to Concealing Ties to Militant Groups, Bomb Training
Allan J. Doody, Special Agent-in-Charge of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) in Washington D.C., joined with other federal officials July 15 in announcing the plea of Maher Amin Jaradat, a 43-year-old Israeli-born Palestinian and naturalized U.S. citizen, to fraudulently procuring U.S. citizenship. Jaradat faces a maximum sentence of 10 years imprisonment and a $250,000 fine when sentenced on Sept. 2.
President Points to DHS Programs, People in Protecting Country
In a speech at the port of Baltimore last week, President Bush pointed to the work and programs of the Department of Homeland Security in helping to protect the nation against further terrorist attacks.
Following the bombings in London on July 7, the president said he agreed with the extra precautions—including the raising of the threat level—in the transportation sector that were recommended by Secretary Chertoff.
The president, Chertoff, and other officials, including Attorney General Albert Gonzales and Maryland Gov. Robert Ehrlich, were given a tour of the Dundalk Marine Terminal at the port of Baltimore by U.S. Customs and Border Protection Assistant Commissioner Jayson Ahern.
“We’re going to continue to make sure that we assess our weaknesses and strengthen our transportation systems,” the president said, noting in his speech that since 9/11, the administration has provided more than $350 million to help state and local authorities improve security on mass transit systems throughout the country.
In addition to these steps, the president said that increased security at all ports is critical, and he referenced CBP’s Container Security Initiative as an example of how port security has been increased. During the tour, CBP Officer Chad Wood demonstrated how a mobile VACIS is used to scan cargo containers upon arrival at a U.S. port. The president was also given a demonstration using a Radiation Isotope Identifier (RII) and a Personal Radiation Monitor.
“Since September the 11th, we’ve provided more than $700 million in federal grants to close off the vulnerabilities at individual ports, including $15 million for this port right here,” the president said. He then thanked the Coast Guard and Border Patrol for helping to secure ports around the country, and noted that his proposed budget for FY 2006 would increase funds for port security as well as boost funds for Coast Guard patrol boats. He then urged Congress to follow through on these requests and provide the actual funds in the pending appropriations measure for DHS.
In his speech, the president praised the secretary’s efforts to make DHS more unified and effective. “So Chertoff’s job is to make sure everybody heads in the same direction. And we’re making good progress—changing cultures, streamlining cultures, and getting people to work under a unified department,” Bush said.
Secretary Says DHS to Focus on Guiding Principles
In his first major speech since announcing the results of the Second Stage Review (2SR), Secretary Chertoff today said the department will be guided by certain principles as it moves forward with implementing the 2SR recommendations.
Chief among those guiding principles, the secretary said, are outcomes, networking, flexibility, and setting priorities. The secretary spoke at the 2005 Excellence in Government Conference in Washington, D.C.
Regarding outcomes, the
secretary said, “The fact of the matter is that what matters to Americans in the
area of homeland security is not our process but our outcome. Are we making
people safer? And we have to begin every day and end every day by asking
questions like: Are we keeping bad people and bad things out of the country? Are
we doing what we need to do to harden and protect our infrastructure and our
transportation? Are we preparing ourselves to respond and recover if there
should be an attack?”
The secretary went on to explain that all DHS employees, whether they are on the border or looking to apply the lessons of intelligence to protect our infrastructure, need to be focused on those fundamental questions. “All of us have to have a common picture of our mission and our goal, and must consider that what we do is not merely limited by our individual assignments, but by the need to make sure that we are always driving to that objective,” he said.
Networking, the secretary said, “is the very touchstone of organizations of the 21st century” and therefore, “part of the very DNA of what makes this Department of Homeland Security.” He explained that since most of the nation’s infrastructure is in the hands of the private sector and under the jurisdiction of state and local governments, protection of these assets has to flow from partnerships at all levels of government, with the private sector, with international entities, and with individual Americans.
Flexibility is another guiding principle, the secretary said. “We need to be nimble and we need to be flexible as we survey the landscape, as we assess the changing threats, and as we adapt ourselves to meet those threats. Therefore, rigid structures and procedures cannot be the way we define our thinking. Instead, we have to build in our very culture an ability to change, even change urgently, as new threats develop, as new technologies develop, and as new infrastructure develops that we have an obligation to protect.”
The final and perhaps most important guiding principle is setting priorities, the secretary said. “A lot of this means more effective use of resources, use of resources that complement rather than supplant what state, local government, and the private sector do,” he said.
Following his speech, the secretary answered a number of questions from the audience. A transcript of the event is available at www.dhs.gov.
Operation Predator Nets Over 6,000 U.S. Arrests in First Two Years
ICE arrests average of 250 child sex predators per month under the initiative
Secretary Michael Chertoff and Michael J. Garcia, Assistant Secretary for Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), on Tuesday announced the two-year results of Operation Predator, ICE’s comprehensive initiative to safeguard children from foreign national pedophiles, international sex tourists, Internet child pornographers, and human traffickers.
"With an average of nearly 250 child sex predator arrests per month, ICE's Operation Predator has emerged as one of most successful efforts ever launched to protect America's children,” said Chertoff. “In enforcing the nation's immigration laws, ICE is systematically targeting those who pose the greatest threats, including criminal aliens who prey on our children.”
“Possessing child pornography is a crime; but when those images of abuse are found in the hands of teachers, camp counselors, coaches and clerics, uncovering that crime becomes more urgent,” said Garcia. “Investigations of those persons who hold positions of trust in the community and trade in these despicable images will remain a priority for this agency.”
Since Operation Predator began on July 9, 2003, the initiative has resulted in 6,085 child predator arrests throughout the country. While arrests have been made in every state, the most have occurred in the following locations: Arizona (207), California (1,578), Florida (255), Illinois (282), Michigan (153), Minnesota (190), New Jersey (423), New York (367), Oregon (148), and Texas (545).
Operation Predator also has an important international component, as leads developed by domestic ICE offices are shared with ICE Attaché offices overseas and foreign law enforcement for action. To date, leads shared by ICE with foreign authorities have resulted in the arrest of roughly 1,000 individuals overseas.
Operation Predator targets four different types of violators:
Criminal Alien Child Sex Predators: Operation Predator evolved out of ICE’s mission to find and deport illegal aliens, particularly those with criminal records. The majority of the arrests under Operation Predator—roughly 85 percent—have involved foreign nationals in this country whose child sex crimes make them removable from the United States. By matching immigration databases with state Megan’s law directories, ICE agents have identified and arrested more than 1,800 registered sex offenders.
Internet Child Pornographers: Drawing on its cyber crime investigative expertise and assets such as the ICE Cyber Crimes Center, ICE is targeting those U.S. citizens and foreign nationals who possess, manufacture, or distribute child pornography via the Internet. In one of the largest Internet child pornography cases ever conducted, ICE targeted a Belarus-based company and its affiliates that operated and processed credit card payments for 50 child pornography Web sites. To date, this case has resulted in 236 arrests in the United States and more than 1,000 arrests by foreign authorities acting on ICE leads. Those arrested include elementary school teachers, coaches, ministers, camp counselors, pediatricians, circus clowns, Boy Scout leaders, police officers, firefighters, and others with direct access to children. Four principals of the Belarus-based company have pleaded guilty in the United States.
International Child Sex Tourists: Working cooperatively with foreign governments through ICE’s Attaché offices worldwide, ICE agents investigate U.S. citizens who travel abroad to engage in sex with minors. ICE is also targeting individuals who come to this country to engage in sex with minors. Thus far, ICE agents have made 14 arrests under the new child sex tourism provisions of the PROTECT Act.
Child Traffickers & Smugglers: The criminal networks engaged in human smuggling and trafficking activities have become more violent and profit-driven than ever. At the same time, the victims of these organizations are often defenseless children and juveniles. Through long-term criminal investigations, ICE is aggressively targeting those organizations that traffic and exploit young people for sex.
To enhance all these efforts to protect children, ICE has formed partnerships with several non-governmental organizations, including the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children and World Vision’s child sex tourism prevention project, to provide prevention and deterrence information to the public. ICE plans to expand these partnerships in the coming year.
More information about Operation Predator is available on ICE’s Web site at www.ice.gov.
CBP Releases 2005-2010 Strategic Plan
U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) last week released U.S. Customs and Border Protection 2005-2010 Strategic Plan: Protecting America, which outlines the agency’s goals and objectives for fiscal years 2005 through 2010. The plan provides a comprehensive strategy to accomplish CBP’s border security responsibilities, facilitate trade and travel, and enforce the laws at America’s borders.
Commenting on the plan’s release, CBP Commissioner Robert C. Bonner noted that the agency intends to revisit it continually to keep pace with the dynamic, ever-changing nature of today’s terrorist threats. “We intend to update this strategic plan as frequently as necessary,” he said, “to accurately reflect significant organizational and operational changes introduced by the White House and the Department of Homeland Security, as well as results of our internal assessments, to better accomplish our mission to protect America.”
Aligned with the larger DHS strategic plan published in 2004, as well as the priorities mandated by the Homeland Security Act of 2002, the CBP strategic plan articulates, through six tactical goals, a vision for the agency’s future. These include:
· Preventing terrorism at the ports of entry
· Preventing terrorism between the ports of entry
· Unifying as one border agency
· Facilitating legitimate trade and travel
· Protecting America and its citizens
· Modernizing and managing to achieve business results
Three interrelated elements act as the foundation of these goals, together forming a multi-layered approach to the agency’s mission. These include:
CBP intends to convey the substance and meaning of its strategic plan internally through a variety of employee communication vehicles. To obtain an electronic copy of the plan, visit www.cbp.gov and go to “About CBP.” Printed copies of the plan will be available from the General Accounting Office beginning in August.
Border Patrol Agent Saves Life of Accident Victim
A U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) Border Patrol agent saved a woman from drowning when he helped rescue her from the All American Canal east of Calexico, Calif.
On July 17, CBP Senior Border Patrol Agent Marco Ruiz, while patrolling the border fence east of Calexico, heard the sound of a nearby crash and went to the canal. When he arrived, he found a vehicle overturned and sinking into the swift water of the All American Canal. Agent Ruiz immediately called for assistance.
Ruiz then saw a woman struggle to the surface and begin drifting down stream. Immediately he retrieved the Save-A-Life rescue disc—a plastic disc with a rope wound upon it for retrieving people from the water—from his patrol vehicle and threw it to the struggling woman who he then brought safely to shore.
El Centro Sector spokesman, Supervisory Border Patrol Agent Kevin L. Miller commented on Ruiz’s performance: “Agent Ruiz’s actions in responding to this incident exemplify the diverse activities that CBP Border Patrol Agents are called upon to perform in addition to their national security responsibilities.”
Coast Guard Cutter Seizes Cocaine Valued at $220 million
The crew of Coast Guard Cutter Campbell seized 6,700 pounds of cocaine and detained five suspected smugglers earlier this month off the coast of Colombia. The cocaine has an estimated street value of $220 million.
The cutter arrived last week at Naval Station Mayport in Florida to offload the cocaine and suspects.
The Campbell, on routine patrol in the Caribbean Sea, spotted someone aboard the 65-foot Honduran fishing vessel Ocean Mistery dumping bales into the water. One of the bales was recovered by Campbell crewmen and tested positive for cocaine. The Campbell directed the Ocean Mistery to stop.
The captain of the Ocean Mistery did not comply with the order to stop his vessel. The Campbell pursued the Ocean Mistery for more than an hour, attempted to contact over VHF radio, and eventually fired warning shots from their .50-caliber machine gun.
The Ocean Mistery's captain complied after the warning shots and a law enforcement team from the Campbell boarded and took control of the vessel and crew without incident.
The contraband and five suspected smugglers will be turned over to law enforcement and Department of Justice officials for prosecution. The Ocean Mistery was turned over to the Honduran government.
"This illustrates the value of a Coast Guard presence in deep water," said Cmdr. Matthew von Ruden, Campbell's commanding officer. "The Campbell's crew prevented more than three tons of cocaine valued at $220 million from reaching our streets."
Campbell is a 270-foot medium endurance cutter based in Kittery, Maine.
Jackson Addresses Interagency Coordinating Council on Emergency Preparedness and Individuals with Disabilities
Deputy Secretary Michael Jackson last week marked the first anniversary of President Bush’s Executive Order on Individuals with Disabilities in Emergency Preparedness by releasing a report to the president and announcing the completion of several major initiatives that will better integrate people with disabilities into the national preparedness effort.
Jackson and the department’s Officer for Civil Rights and Civil Liberties, Daniel Sutherland, convened a meeting of the Interagency Council to release the council’s report to the president. Officials from the Labor, Education, Justice, and Health and Human Services departments as well as the Federal Communications Commission spoke at the meeting.
Addressing the meeting, Jackson said, “The Department of Homeland Security is committed to this work. We will continue to work with this council to significantly increase the level of preparedness among the disability community, and increase the level of awareness of these issues among emergency management officials and first responders.”
The report documents the significant progress federal agencies have made to better prepare the disability community and raise awareness of these issues among emergency management officials. The report also includes eight recommendations that represent coordination-based solutions that the council believes will better integrate people with disabilities into the nation’s disaster and emergency mitigation, preparedness, response, and recovery efforts.
In addition, the council made several major announcements in this area, including:
· Launch of the “Disability and Emergency Preparedness Resource Center,” a Web-based portal for information covering topics on emergency preparedness and response for individuals with disabilities. This resource will provide people with disabilities easy access to critical emergency preparedness and planning resources. Additionally, it will aid emergency managers and planners seeking information pertaining to their planning and response efforts related to people with disabilities. It was developed by a working group chaired by the Civil Rights Division of the Department of Justice.
· Release of the “Workplace Emergency Preparedness Guidelines,” a tool for federal emergency planners, managers, and employees that captures effective practices and lessons learned by federal departments and agencies. The guidelines were developed by a working group chaired by the Department of Labor.
· Launch of a new Web site containing information to help ensure safe and secure transportation for persons with disabilities in the event of disaster or emergency. This Web site was developed by a working group chaired by the Department of Transportation.
Claudia Gordon, who works within the DHS Office of Civil Rights and Civil Liberties, and who pulled together much of the council’s report, said that one of the central messages of the report is that the needs of people with disabilities must be integrated at all levels of emergency planning for disasters.
Collins Testifies on Integrated Deepwater System Implementation Plan
Commandant of the U.S. Coast Guard, Adm. Thomas H. Collins on Wednesday presented a congressional subcommittee with the details of a revised Integrated Deepwater Implementation Plan, which remains the service’s number one priority now and well into the future.
Collins told the House Appropriations Subcommittee on Homeland Security that the revised plan addresses the Coast Guard’s dual challenges of legacy-asset deterioration and performance gaps. It does this, Collins said, by enhancing the performance of selected Deepwater assets through added capabilities and conversions, while adjusting the implementation schedule and mix of individual assets over the life of the program.
It will also provide necessary balance based on the DHS strategic goals, Collins said, while taking into account current and emerging mission requirements and continuing the commitment to a high-quality workplace for Coast Guard men and women.
Reiterating that the Deepwater is the Coast Guard’s number one priority and the cornerstone of the service’s maritime capabilities now and into the future, Collins provided the subcommittee with the single implementation plan, which calls for funding of $24 billion over the next 25 years.
Collins said the final number of ships and aircraft in the Deepwater plan includes eight National Security Cutters, 25 Offshore Patrol Cutters, 58 Fast Response Cutters, 33 Long Range Interceptors, 91 Short Range Prosecutors, 22 Long Range Surveillance Aircrafts (HC-130), 36 Medium Range Surveillance Aircraft (CN-235), 42 Medium Range Recovery Helicopters (HH-60), 95 Multi-Mission Cutter Helicopters (HH-65), 45 HV-911 Eagle Eye Tiltrotor VUAV, and four High Altitude Endurance Unmanned Air Vehicles.
Collins assured the subcommittee that the Coast Guard would measure the performance of Deepwater at three different levels—the mission, the system, and the asset levels. In April 2005, the Coast Guard submitted to Congress an initial legacy asset maintenance report, a report that will serve as the Coast Guard’s primary tool to ensure that Congress is kept apprised of plans for legacy assets maintenance. This report will be updated quarterly, he said.
The commandant further discussed the decision to stop the conversion of the 110 foot Island Class patrol boats following the first eight. The Coast Guard discovered the hulls were in much worse condition than originally anticipated. The conversion of these ships was a bridging strategy until the Fast Response Cutters (FRC) were built and delivered to the fleet in 2018. The Coast Guard decided to advance the design and construction of the new FRC by a full decade, with the first FRC to be built by late 2007, Collins said.
Virginia Man Pleads Guilty to Concealing Ties to Militant Groups, Bomb Training
Allan J. Doody, Special Agent-in-Charge of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) in Washington D.C., joined with other federal officials July 15 in announcing the plea of Maher Amin Jaradat, a 43-year-old Israeli-born Palestinian and naturalized U.S. citizen, to fraudulently procuring U.S. citizenship. Jaradat faces a maximum sentence of 10 years imprisonment and a $250,000 fine when sentenced on Sept. 2.
ICE and FBI special agents assigned to the Joint Terrorism Task Force conducted the investigation that resulted in the arrest and indictment of Jaradat. In March 1995, Jaradat submitted an application for U.S. citizenship with immigration authorities and, in June 1995, appeared before immigration authorities where he swore under oath that the contents of the application were true, even though he knew the application contained false statements.
Jaradat failed to disclose that he had been a member of the Democratic Front for the Liberation of Palestine (DFLP) for 16 months beginning in 1980; that he had also studied bomb-making and the use of small arms at a training camp in Syria run by DFLP, an organization involved in terrorist activities; and that he had engaged in security duties in Lebanon.
Jaradat also did not disclose that, beginning in 1981, he had also been a member of al-Fatah, an organization responsible for numerous terrorist attacks and airplane hijackings
In addition, Jaradat falsely claimed that he had never been arrested, cited, charged, indicted, convicted, fined, or imprisoned for breaking or violating any law or ordinance, when in fact, he had been arrested for assault and battery in the city of Alexandria in 1990.
“U.S. citizenship is a privilege. Those who attempt to gain it through fraud, especially by concealing their affiliation with violent militant groups, will be pursued vigorously by ICE,” said ICE Special Agent-in-Charge Doody.
TSA ANNOUNCES NEW FSD FOR HECTOR INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT
ARLINGTON, Va., July 25 – The Transportation Security Administration (TSA) appointed Mollie Crawford the Federal Security Director (FSD) for Hector International Airport in Fargo, N.D. Crawford, a native of North Dakota, assumes this position after serving as the TSA Assistant Federal Security Director for Screening in Tucson, Ariz., since November 2002. “Mollie Crawford’s extensive experience in aviation security, regulatory compliance, and crisis management will continue to serve TSA well in her new position,” said Kenneth Kasprisin, Acting Assistant Secretary for TSA. “As FSD, she will oversee security and regulatory functions to ensure freedom of movement of people and commerce.” Before joining TSA, Crawford served as Director of Security for National Airlines, Director of Security and Regulatory Compliance for SonicAir, and FAA Security Liaison for America West Airline. She also was a Federal Air Marshal and Civil Aviation Security Inspector with the Federal Aviation Administration. Crawford attended the University of North Dakota in Grand Forks, and has a bachelor of science degree in criminal justice from Arizona State University.
MONEY RETURNED TO 82-YEAR-OLD TELEMARKETING VICTIM
WASHINGTON, July 22 – Special agents from U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) returned $2,750 to an elderly Chicago man who has lost approximately $60,000 of his savings to telemarketing con artists operating from Canada. The victim’s money was recovered by Project COLT, a multi-agency joint initiative targeting telemarketing fraud comprised of ICE, the Royal Canadian Mounted Police, the FBI, and the U.S. Postal Service Inspection Service. The 82-year-old victim was first contacted early this year by telemarketers claiming to be attorneys and/or government officials who told him he won the Canadian lottery. The victim was instructed to send money to cover the insurance and taxes on the lottery winnings before the money could be released. Since February the victim has sent approximately $60,000 via Western Union, Money Gram, or standard mail to the telemarketing con artists. The victim recently disconnected his phone and moved in with a family member because of the sheer volume of telemarketing calls he was receiving.
Last November, ICE agents returned $3,800 to an elderly Chicago man who had sent $7,600 to telemarketing con artists. In another Illinois case, ICE agents recovered $12,200 and returned it to an elderly Barrington, Ill., man bilked out of more than $250,000 over a two-year period in a similar version of the long-running telemarketing scam.
NEWEST COAST GUARD SECTOR STANDS UP IN HAMPTON ROADS
PORTSMOUTH, Va., July 22 - Coast Guard Sector Hampton Roads was formally established at a ceremony Friday at Nauticus in Norfolk, Va. Sector Hampton Roads, comprised of Group Hampton Roads, Group Eastern Shore, and Marine Safety Office (MSO) Hampton Roads, is the latest of new sector commands created Coast Guard-wide. The sector will continue providing for the safety and security of the Hampton Roads and Eastern Shore regions. The Coast Guard is establishing sector commands by integrating groups, marine safety offices, vessel traffic services, and, in some cases, air stations, to more effectively manage the sweeping changes to the service’s operational environment resulting from the attacks of Sept. 11, 2001. Under the sector model, the Coast Guard’s command and control functions will be unified beneath one local operational commander, resulting in increased interaction and coordination across the Coast Guard's range of missions. This single interface will also facilitate more efficient execution of homeland security missions by improving the ability to share information and intelligence with federal, state, and local homeland security partners, as well as the maritime community. The new sector commander will be Capt. Robert O'Brien, currently Captain of the Port and commander of MSO Hampton Roads.
27,834 ILLEGAL ALIENS ARRESTED, MANY WITH CRIMINAL RECORDS, INCLUDING MURDER SUSPECT
WASHINGTON, July 20 – U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) Border Patrol agents of the Tucson Sector apprehended an illegal alien with an outstanding warrant for his arrest on murder charges in New York City. On July 17, Border Patrol agents from the Casa Grande station apprehended a group of 13 illegal aliens west of Sells, Arizona. All 13 subjects were transported to the Nogales Processing Center where their fingerprints were entered into the Integrated Automated Fingerprint Identification System (IAFIS), for comparison with the FBI fingerprint database. In another incident on July 18, CBP Border Patrol agents in the Tucson Sector apprehended yet two more illegal aliens with previous criminal convictions in the United States.
Since Oct. 1, 2004, the CBP Border Patrol Agents in Tucson Sector have apprehended 27,834 illegal aliens with criminal records, 74 of which were for homicide. Last fiscal year, the Tucson Sector apprehended 14,506 illegal aliens with criminal records.
AUXILIARISTS AWARDED SILVER MEDAL FOR LIFESAVING
WASHINGTON, July 20 – Three U.S. Coast Guard Auxiliarists, the uniformed volunteer component of the Coast Guard, later this year will receive the Association for Rescue at Sea's (AFRAS) Silver Lifesaving Medal. Richard Runde of Cedarburg, Wis., and Jay and Linda Croy of East Grand Fork, Minn., were crew members on an Auxiliary facility providing a safety patrol for the 33rd Annual Leech Lake Regatta and Sailboat Race held in August 2004. The weather took a turn for the worse, and the crew of the sailing vessel Wind Dancer became hypothermic and was unable to sail their vessel. The Auxiliarists took the 25 foot Wind Dancer in tow, under extremely dangerous conditions, where winds were 15-20 knots, with gusts to 30-35 knots and seas topping five feet. Both the crew of the Wind Dancer and the Auxiliary facility returned safely to port. Each year, AFRAS awards a Gold medal (given to Active Duty or Reserve members of the Coast Guard) and a Silver medal for Coast Guard Auxiliarists. The silver award was established in February 2000, and only one other Auxiliarist, Henry Chandler has been awarded this in 2002.
IMAM AND SON TO BE DEPORTED FROM THE UNITED STATES
SAN FRANCISCO, Calif., July 19 – A Lodi, Calif., imam and his son who were arrested last month on immigration charges in connection with an ongoing investigation have agreed to accept orders of removal to their native Pakistan. At a hearing this afternoon before Immigration Judge Anthony Murry, Mohammad Adil Khan, 47, and his son Mohammad Hassan Adil, 19, advised the judge they were abandoning their legal fight to remain in the United States and would return to Pakistan. Kahn and Adil were taken into custody by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) June 6 for violating the terms of their visas. “As part of this ongoing investigation, ICE and the other agencies involved are using a range of strategies, including both criminal and administrative proceedings, to remove any potential threat to the community,” said San Francisco Khan is a citizen of Pakistan and a trained Muslim cleric who holds a doctorate degree in Islamic Studies from the University of Sindh, Pakistan. He first entered the United States in April 2001 as a “Special Immigrant Religious Worker,” on a non-immigrant R-1 visa, to perform religious services at the Lodi Muslim Mosque near Sacramento.
13 MEMBERS OF BROOKLYN-BASED GANG INDICTED FOR RACKETEERING
NEW YORK, N.Y., July 19 – Martin D. Ficke, Special Agent-in-Charge, U. S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), New York, joined federal and New York City law enforcement officials in announcing the filing of federal racketeering and narcotics charges against Damion “World” Hardy and 12 additional leaders, members, and associates of the “Cash Money Brothers” or “CMB,” a violent Brooklyn street gang responsible for five murders, the attempted murder of a witness, the kidnapping and attempted robbery of a drug dealer, assault, and illegal firearms possession. The charges and arrests follow an 18-month joint ICE, FBI, and NYPD investigation coordinated by the U. S. Attorney’s Office, as part of an ongoing initiative to eliminate violent street gangs that erode the quality of life in many neighborhoods. The government’s investigation revealed that for more than 10 years, CMB members, lead by Hardy, controlled narcotics trafficking in the Lafayette Gardens Houses in the Bedford-Stuyvesant section of Brooklyn through violence and intimidation directed against their drug trafficking competitors, innocent civilians, and potential witnesses. Ficke stated, “Today’s arrests have dismantled a major criminal enterprise that has engaged in murder, kidnapping, extortion, and narcotics trafficking. These criminals have threatened our citizens and the well-being of our communities. No more. Today, they are off the streets and will be prosecuted for their crimes.”
COAST GUARD ESTABLISHES NEW AIS SITE IN UNIMAK PASS
JUNEAU, Alaska, July 18 - The Coast Guard, in partnership with the Marine Exchange of Alaska, has established an Automated Identification System (AIS) site in the Unimak pass to assist with maritime domain awareness. AIS is a shipboard broadcast system that acts like a transponder, operating in the VHF maritime band. The system allows shipboard radar to display a mark for every significant ship within radio range. The Unimak Pass AIS site is the ninth of 11 planned sites established in Alaska. AIS allows the Coast Guard command center here to monitor, in real time, the movements and positions of high capacity passenger vessels, Alaska Marine Highway System ferries, and most larger commercial vessels within major ports. The availability of real time position information allows the Coast Guard to better coordinate search and rescue efforts and patrols for homeland security.
BORDER PATROL AGENTS SEIZE 2,200 POUNDS OF MARIJUANA
MARFA SECTOR, Texas, July 18 – A Pecos, Texas, drug smuggler was unable to elude U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) Border Patrol agents from the Marfa Station July 14, as he tried to smuggle more than 2,200 pounds of marijuana worth an estimated $1.7 million into the United States. Agents were alerted by a rancher to a vehicle on his property south of Marfa. Agents located a 2002 Chevrolet Avalanche with a flat tire. Agents followed footprints and found the alleged driver of the vehicle hiding about 400 yards away. The man, a U.S. citizen, had the keys to the vehicle in his pocket. The driver, the vehicle, and the drugs were turned over to agents of the Drug Enforcement Administration. Since Jan.1, agents of the Marfa Sector have seized over $42 million in drugs, including over 46,000 pounds of marijuana. The sector has also apprehended 6,480 illegal aliens during the same period.
threat level: yellow
threat level mass transit: Orange