News New Mexico: Security

Showing posts with label Security. Show all posts

U.S. Homeland Security "Beefed Up" in N.M.

From bostonherald.com -In May, around dozen undercover federal agents were dispatched to Roswell, N.M., a city of 48,000 known for its annual UFO festival. For months, agents followed "small time drug dealers" and gang members, many of whom had been terrorizing this quiet section of rural southeast New Mexico for years while overwhelmed local law enforcement agencies cried out for help. After 60 undercover drug buys and four federal search warrants, federal agents and local police units in September moved against the suspected drug traffickers, and arrested 84 and seized numerous AK-47 and AR-15 rifles. More News New Mexico

Flight on 9/11 anniversary ends in handcuffs for housewife

From MSNBC.com - By Elizabeth Chuck - Shoshana Hebshi will never forget where she was on the 10th anniversary of Sept. 11. She and two other airline passengers were handcuffed and strip-searched after flying into Detroit on Sunday. No charges were filed against Hebshi, a self-described "half-Arab, half-Jewish housewife living in suburban Ohio," or the two men sitting next to her, who were flying in from Denver when the crew of Frontier Airlines Flight 623 alerted authorities that they were reportedly behaving suspiciously. In a blog post titled "Some real Shock and Awe: Racially profiled and cuffed in Detroit," Hebshi, an American citizen, told her tale of temporary detainment, which she had begun to share with Twitter followers in real-time — until handcuffs were placed on her wrists. Hebshi, a writer and editor and mother of twin sons, didn't know the other two passengers in Row 12. They were Indian men, she wrote. And they didn't know each other. But they got a lot closer when they were all crammed into the back of a squad car. What happened, according to Frontier spokesman Peter Kowalchuk, begins with a bathroom. "One of the males, who was not feeling well, got up to use the restroom during the flight. The other male got up at approximately the same time to use the restroom. The female remained seated in her row," the FBI said in a statement. Read more

Texas Officials Say Terrorists Are Crossing Border

From krgv.com Texas Department of Public Safety chief Steve McCraw testified before lawmakers in Washington on Wednesday. He says the majority of people from terrorist sponsored countries are getting into the U.S. along the Texas border. He pointed to Ahmed Muhammad Dhakane as one of those terrorists. He asked for asylum at an international crossing in Brownsville in 2008. Halfway through the request, Federal Bureau of Investigation Agents took a closer look at him. They say he was an Al Qaeda terrorist and human smuggler. Dhakane admits to smuggling seven members of Al Qaeda into the U.S. More News New Mexico

Obama to Decide if National Guard Will Stay on the Border

From dailypolitical.com -President Obama will soon decide on whether or not to keep a group of 1,200 National Guardsman currently deployed on the Mexican and U.S. borders to combat immigration violators. Funding for the mission is up in June. The president is speaking on the issue with his upcoming trip to the area to talk about immigration reform. The troops were authorized about a year ago after congressional Republicans and border state governors demanded that more be done to stop illegal immigration. The troops have authorization to help the Border Patrol with immigration enforcement operations in California, Arizona, New Mexico and Texas. More News New Mexico

Hezbollah Sets Up Base Near Mexican Border

From weaselzippers.us -A terrorist organization whose home base is in the Middle East has established another home base across the border in Mexico. “They are recognized by many experts as the ‘A’ team of Muslim terrorist organizations,” a former U.S. intelligence agent told 10News. The former agent, referring to Shi’a Muslim terrorist group Hezbollah, added, “They certainly have had successes in big-ticket bombings.” Some of the group’s bombings include the U.S. embassy in Beirut and Israeli embassy in Argenitina. However, the group is now active much closer to San Diego. “We are looking at 15 or 20 years that Hezbollah has been setting up shop in Mexico,” the agent told 10News. More News New Mexico

NM on Heightened Alert After Bin Laden Death

From therepublic.com -New Mexico is on heightened alert after the death of Osama bin Laden, but no specific threats have been made to the state, New Mexico's homeland security secretary said Monday. States were told to step up their alert status because of the uncertainty about what might occur in the wake of the al-Qaida leader's killing by U.S. forces in Pakistan, Secretary Michael Duvall said. He said residents should be more aware and report anything suspicious to local law enforcement. New Mexico's three Air Force bases and White Sands Missile Range also have heightened their security. More News New Mexico

Border Agent Convicted for "Pulling Cuffs"

From examiner.com -Agent Jesus Diaz facing 10+ years in prison for “pulling handcuffs” during arrest in Texas.In what appears to be yet another case of the Mexican Government orchestrating a fake crime against one of their drug smuggling criminals hauling dope into the U.S., Border Patrol Agent Jesus Diaz, a 7-year Border Patrol veteran, was convicted in Federal Court on February 24 of one count of excessive force (under color of law) and 5 counts of lying to Internal Affairs. He is facing a maximum of 35 years in prison when he is sentenced in November. Meanwhile, he’s been in jail since the verdict nearly two months ago. He’s in solitary confinement 23 hours per day for his safety. So far, the judge has refused to allow bond while Diaz awaits sentencing. More News New Mexico

Mexico Ambassador:Our Cartel Leaders Are Businessmen, Not Terrorists

Arturo Sarukhan

From Dallas News -In a letter to the editor today, Mexico's ambassador, Arturo Sarukhan, comes to the defense of these mass murdering, torturing, dismembering, bombing, beheading, kidnapping and drug trafficking organizations, arguing that they are businessmen, not terrorists. Folks, we have a first here. You will not, until now, have seen any top Mexican official actually defending the cartels to this extent. But Sarukhan, taking issue with our editorial last week in defense of a bill before Congress to put Mexico's six biggest cartels on the State Department's list of Foreign Terrorist Organizations, strongly disagrees. Yes, they are very violent criminal organizations, he says. But "they pursue a single goal. They want to maximize their profits and do what most business do: hostile takeovers and pursue mergers and acquisitions." Again, in their defense, he says they have "no political motivation or agenda whatsoever beyond their attempt to defend their illegal business." More News New Mexico

Border Agents Confirming Feds' No-Apprehension Policy

From foxnews.com -An Arizona sheriff says he has been flooded with calls and emails of support from local and federal agents who back his claims that the U.S. Border Patrol has effectively ordered them to stop apprehending illegal immigrants crossing the U.S.-Mexican border. “Upper management has advised supervisors to have agents ‘turn back South’ (TBS) the illegal aliens (aka bodies) they detect attempting to unlawfully enter the country … at times you even hear supervisors order the agents over the radio to 'TBS' the aliens instead of catching them,” one San Diego border agent wrote in an email to Cochise County Sheriff Larry Dever. More News New Mexico

Details Regarding Illegals Wearing Marine BDUs

From hstoday.us -According to the criminal complaints, intelligence derived from investigation of both the illegals and their alleged smugglers - three US citizens and one Mexican national - who were all arrested at the same time, indicated that the alleged smugglers were part of an on-going and highly organized human trafficking operation with participants on both sides of the US-Mexico border. While this seems to be the first known instance in which human traffickers have tried to disguise illegals as members of the US military and to transport them in a vehicle bearing stolen and altered US government license plates (the plates in this case were registered to a US Marine Corps cargo van at the Marine Corps Air Station at Yuma, Ariz.), the methodology has raised troublesome questions for homeland security officials. They include questions not only about whether this indicates a potentially disturbing new and widespread trend on the part of human smugglers, but also whether similar methods could somehow be exploited by terrorists. “And don’t think that Al Qaeda isn’t paying attention to this,” said a senior counterterrorism official on background because of the sensitivity of his position. “If people are pretending to be Marines for criminal reasons, we want to know why," More News New Mexico

DOJ Memo Confirms Terrorists Have Crossed The Border

From pajamasmedia.com -A potentially explosive admission by federal prosecutors in the pending sentencing of Ahmed Muhammed Dhakane in a San Antonio federal courtroom could aid the case of border states looking to take the initiative to stem the flood of illegal immigrants coming into the U.S. Dhakane, who ran a human smuggling ring based in Brazil for the Somali Al-Shabaab terrorist group, transported “violent jihadists” into the country. He stated that “he believed they would fight against the U.S. if the jihad moved from overseas locations to the U.S. mainland.” He admits that he knowingly believed he was smuggling violent jihadists into the United States with the full knowledge that if the decision was made by the SDGT, for which he was associated with in the past, to commit terrorist acts in the United States, these jihadists would commit violent acts in and against the United States. Thus, the preponderance of the evidence proves that the other obvious motivation for him to lie on his asylum application was to cover up and obstruct the fact from United States authorities that he facilitated the smuggling of violent jihadists who are now present into the United States More News New Mexico

SEIU Blasts Obama Admin for Immigration Enforcement

From politico.com -Impatient immigration advocates typically view the Obama Administration as an ally, but a key force in the debate, the Service Employees International Union, is openly criticizing the Department of Homeland Security's shift in enforcement efforts for the first time. The Obama Administration has shifted the emphasis of enforcement away from workplace raids -- which immigrant advocates had long described as punishing immigrant workers instead of their employers -- and toward so-called "I-9 audits," in which federal agents ask companies to verify their employees' legal status. Groups pushing to legalize most immigrant workers are broadly uncomfortable with the audits, which often cost workers their jobs, but have largely avoided criticizing the Administration publicly. But SEIU has seen hundreds of members lose their jobs after I-9 audits: According to the union, 1,200 SEIU janitors in Minneapolis were fired following an I-9 audit last December, and just this week, 250 SEIU janitors in Minneapolis were fired after an I-9 audit, adding to 500 in the area who were fired from Chipotle after the company was examined by the feds. More News New Mexico

With Stroke of a Pen, Obama Gives Terrorists an Edge

From usatoday.com -Under the guise of "reaffirming America's commitment to humane treatment of detainees," the Obama administration announced last week a revolution in the rules governing how the United States protects itself from al-Qaeda and other terrorists. From now on, according to Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, the U.S. will comply with part of a treaty known as Protocol I Additional to the Geneva Conventions "out of a sense of legal obligation." These are code words, which mean that the U.S. acknowledges this particular provision, Article 75, which extends "fundamental guarantees" to any detainee, as a binding form of international law — even though the Senate has never consented to its formal ratification. Today, the Geneva Conventions include four treaties: governing the treatment of wounded soldiers on land, those wounded or shipwrecked at sea, prisoners of war and civilians in occupied territory. These agreements date to 1949 and have been ratified by more than 190 countries, including the United States. More News New Mexico

NM Ranks 7 in the Nation for ID Theft

From bizjournals.com - New Mexico has been ranked No. 7 in the nation for identity theft in 2010. Nationwide, ID thieves topped the annual ranking of 2010 consumer complaints compiled by the Federal Trade Commission for the 11th year in a row. The agency said that it got 250,854 complaints about identity theft last year, or about 19 percent of all complaints filed. There were 1,773 complaints registered from New Mexico, for an average of 86.1 complaints per every 100,000 people. More News New Mexico

Feds Caught 663 Illegals Suspected of Terrorist Ties

From washingtonexaminer.com - Judicial Watch is set to release later today new documents it has obtained in a Freedom of Information Act request that include data showing U.S. officials apprehended 663 illegal immigrants last year with suspected ties to terrorist groups. Among the highlights from the documents: * U.S. Border Patrol agents apprehended 463,382 individuals smuggled across the border, including 8,905 smugglers. (3,027 of the smugglers apprehended were deemed “deportable.”) * U.S. Border Patrol agents apprehended 59,017 “Other Than Mexican” illegal aliens through October 7, 2010. * Among the nations represented in apprehension statistics are the four countries currently on the State Department’s list of “State Sponsors of Terrorism,” Cuba (712), Iran (14), Syria (5) and Sudan (5), as well as Somalia (9), Afghanistan (9), Pakistan (37), Saudi Arabia (5) and Yemen (11). More News New Mexico

1 US Immigration Agent Dead, 1 Injured in Mexico

From insidebayarea.com -A U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agent was killed and another wounded while driving through northern Mexico Tuesday, in a rare attack on American officials in this country which is fighting powerful drug cartels. Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano said one agent was critically wounded in the attack and died from his injuries. The second agent was shot in the arm and leg and remains in stable condition. "I'm deeply saddened by the news that earlier today, two U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) special agents assigned to the ICE Attache office in Mexico City were shot in the line of duty while driving between Mexico City and Monterrey by unknown assailants," she said. U.S. and Mexican officials said they were working closely together to investigate the shooting and find those responsible. "Let me be clear: any act of violence against our ICE personnel—or any DHS personnel—is an attack against all those who serve our nation and put their lives at risk for our safety," Napolitano said. "We remain committed in our broader support for Mexico's efforts to combat violence within its borders." More from News New Mexico

The Pirates Are Winning

From captainsjournal.com -I talked with one Marine Scout Sniper (on the 26th MEU, before this incident) who had a boatload of pirates in the sights of his Sasser .50 sniper rifle from a Helicopter, and he refused to take the shot because, well, “Hell, who wants to get tangled up with the lawyers when he gets back to the ship?” In fact, taking the shots to save the Maersk Alabama required approval of the POTUS. Folks, pirates aren’t that hard to find. The Marines of the 26th MEU did it frequently in the Gulf of Aden. While in the Persian Gulf, they also had an Iranian helicopter virtually land on board the deck of the USS Iwo Jima with Iranian gunners laughing at the Marines, and the U.S. Navy ordering the Marines NOT to engage for fear of creating an “international incident” (how’s that for “rules of engagement”?) One of my points was that with aircraft, radar, LCACs and other sea-based craft, there is adequate means of locating and interdicting pirates, regardless of the size of the Gulf of Aden. The problem isn’t finding them. The problem is what happens then. Now with that background, let’s cover recent data concerning pirates. More from News New Mexico

WMD Have Been Found in the US

From dailymail - A port official has admitted that a 'weapon of mass effect' has been found by 'partner agencies' in the U.S., raising major questions over a possible government cover-up. The disturbing revelation came in an interview with San Diego's assistant port director screened by a television channel in the city. The Customs and Border Protection Department tried to dampen speculation over his remarks, but doubts remained over whether he had inadvertently revealed a dirty bomb plot to attack the U.S. mainland. Wikileaks whistleblower website revealed terror groups were plotting a 'nuclear 911.' In the interview screened by San Diego’s 10News, Al Hallor, assistant San Diego port director, said ‘weapons of mass effect’ had been found, although he did not specify exactly where or what they were. Reporter Mitch Blacher asked Mr Hallor: ‘Do you ever find things that are dangerous like a chemical agent or a weaponised device?’ ‘At the airport, seaport, at our port of entry we have not this past fiscal year, but our partner agencies have found those things,’ the customs official replied.
Television interview and more here

Napolitano Goes on Offense

From americanthinker.com - We have a big problem the country needs to understand, free of Napolitano's spin and political hackery. Her argument includes two key points -- the positive crime numbers coming from Southwest border towns and the plunging arrests of illegals. Both true. But let's complete the picture. The border towns are safe because that's where the feds have poured in money and agents, and built better fencing. In places like Nogales, as elsewhere, that has pushed the traffic into the back-country. Out of sight, out of mind is part of the strategy, says Brandon Judd, president of the Tucson chapter of the National Border Patrol Council, the agents' union. He says the feds are deliberately under-staffing remote areas, cutting arrests and allowing Napolitano to claim the border is more secure. This is a prelude to Obama's real goal of comprehensive immigration reform. As for the mountains and deserts, Judd says, "The border in those areas is as wide open as it has ever been." More here

Surge of Illegals from India Baffles Border Officials in Texas

From latimes.com -Thousands of immigrants from India have crossed into the United States illegally at the southern tip of Texas in the last year, part of a mysterious and rapidly growing human-smuggling pipeline that is backing up court dockets, filling detention centers and triggering investigations. The immigrants, mostly young men from poor villages, say they are fleeing religious and political persecution. More than 1,600 Indians have been caught since the influx began here early last year, while an undetermined number, perhaps thousands, are believed to have sneaked through undetected, according to U.S. border authorities. Hundreds have been released on their own recognizance or after posting bond. They catch buses or go to local Indian-run motels before flying north for the final leg of their months-long journeys. More here

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