After a more than four-year hiatus, U.S. and Cuban security officials officially resumed the U.S.-Cuba Law Enforcement Dialogue.

U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) announced in a press release last week that it is launching an initial body worn camera program. CBP has begun outfitting an initial group of officers and agents with body worn cameras to enhance accountability and transparency in its policing.

When President Biden issued a solicitation back in March requesting help from the federal workforce to handle the influx of unaccompanied children at the Southern border of the U.S., hundreds of employees from several agencies volunteered.

The Biden administration is launching a new inter-agency operation, dubbed Operation Sentinel, targeting transnational criminal human smuggling organizations against the backdrop of Border Patrol locating 250 migrants who died during their journey in Fiscal Year 2020.

Last week, a bipartisan group of Senators and House members unveiled The Bipartisan Border Solutions Act intended to “respond to the surge in migrants coming across our southern border.” The bill comes after Customs and Border Protection (CBP) apprehended more than 170,000 people at the U.S.-Mexico border in March, the highest number in at least 15 years.

On April 12, 2021, President Joe Biden announced his nominations to fill top posts in the Department of Homeland Security (DHS). The administration has also made changes to the DHS advisory board as pressure builds to handle the influx of migrants to the southern border.

On March 25, 2021, the Office of Personnel Management (OPM) issued an urgent memorandum for current GS-9 to GS-15 federal employees to volunteer for 120-day details to the southern border. The number of unaccompanied children at the southern border of the United States has increased significantly since the beginning of 2021, causing the Biden administration to request additional support to care for and place the unaccompanied children.

The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) released a Privacy Impact Assessment of CBP One™, a mobile app launched by Customs and Border Protection (CBP) that provides the public a single portal to a variety of CBP services. The app is meant to streamline services for travelers, importers, brokers, airlines, and international organizations by asking them a series of questions that determine the correct services, forms, or applications to meet their needs. CBP maintains that the app increases transparency at CBP and streamlines the process for foreign travelers without sacrificing security.

Secretary of Homeland Security Alejandro Mayorkas directed the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) to launch an effort to care for unaccompanied children who are entering the United States from the southern border.

Secretary of Homeland Security Alexander Mayorkas recently signed an Interim Final Rule (IFR) to help U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) implement provisions from the Synthetics Trafficking and Overdose Prevention (STOP) Act.

In fiscal year 2020, U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) processed over $2.4 trillion in imports and more than 238 million travelers. Learn more about the innovative methods used by CBP- even in the midst of a global pandemic.

Plaintiffs, ten U.S. citizens and one lawful permanent resident, brought suit against the Secretary of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Kirstjen Nielsen, Acting Commissioner of the U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) Kevin McAleenan, and Acting Director of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) Thomas Homan, alleging that certain CBP and ICE policies and practices violated their Fourth Amendment rights.

Department of Homeland Security Inspector General Joseph Cuffari plans to conduct an audit into the agency’s surveillance and data collection practices after an October 23rd letter from Senators raised questions about Customs and Border Protection (CBP)’s domestic surveillance practices. IG Cuffari’s November 25th letter responding to the Senators indicates he will he complete an audit to ensure that DHS and its components “have developed, updated, and adhered to policies related to cell-phone surveillance devices.”

U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) announced their second largest methamphetamine bust along the southern border in a press release on October 11, 2020. With help from the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) and Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), CBP officers seized over 3,100 pounds of methamphetamine, fentanyl powder, fentanyl pills and heroin at the Otay Mesa commercial facility.

Acting Secretary of Homeland Security Chad Wolf gave the annual 2020 State of the Homeland address this week. Wolf covered issues including COVID-19, law enforcement, immigration, terrorism, and the upcoming election.

Senior U.S. District Judge Richard Leon of the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia recently granted an injunction preventing U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) officers from making asylum determinations based on “credible fear interviews.”

A bipartisan group of around 100 homeland and national security experts contributed to a report calling on the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) to restructure and refocus its priorities. They are calling for a shift in focus to nonmilitary threats such as the global pandemic, climate change, and cyber-attacks.

Watch Border Patrol Search, Trauma, and Rescue (BORSTAR) agents from Tucson Sector Border Patrol conduct a rescue of three men in the Arizona desert. The men entered the country illegally and were treated for dehydration after the BORSTAR agents responded to their 9-1-1 call.

Learn what it takes to become a Border Patrol Agent. Training can be emotionally and physically taxing.

U.S Customs and Border Protection (CBP) has received $15 million from the Technology Modernization Fund (TMF) to update its systems relating to tracking and processing imported goods. The fund was created in 2018 through the Modernizing Government Technology Act and allows agencies to apply for funds that are to be repaid over three to five years.