Martinez of New Mexico only governor from border states to attend conference in Mexico

Gov. Susana Martinez is the only U.S. governor in attendance at this year’s Border Governors Conference in Ensenada, Baja California, Mexico, which brings together representatives from the governments of the states along the U.S.-Mexican border.

Arizona Gov. Jan Brewer (R), who was set to host the conference last More…

Rick Perry not likely to receive respite from immigration criticism in Iowa

Criticism hasn’t eased for Texas Gov. Rick Perry in the wake of his statement during a recent debate that the border can’t be secured and defense of his state’s tuition policy for some undocumented immigrants — and a two-day tour in Iowa this week doesn’t look like it will More…

ATF director reassigned, U.S. attorney resigns after ‘Operation Fast and Furious’

U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder announced Tuesday the resignation of U.S. Attorney in Phoenix Dennis K. Burke and the reassignment of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives acting director Kenneth E. Melson, both of whom were associated with the failed gun-running cross-border operation dubbed “Fast and Furious.” More…

U.S.-Mexico border more secure than ever, officials say

The U.S.-Mexico border is more secure than it’s ever been, according to current and former top border officials who appeared at a panel hosted by the Center for American Progress on Thursday.

Report calls for improvements to U.S. efforts to stop gun trafficking into Mexico

United States firearms officials will likely make changes to their efforts to stop firearms from reaching Mexican drug cartels after criticism from a Justice Department report released yesterday, CNN reports. The report indicates some successes: Authorities have intercepted more than 5,400 firearms and charged almost 800 defendants with More…

GOP aims to bolster immigration enforcement, but little change is likely

During his campaign for the presidency in 2008, Barack Obama made the now-broken promise to Latino supporters that he would pass comprehensive immigration reform in his first year as president. But in remarks to the press on Wednesday, after Republicans took control of the House and won back several More…

How Would a Republican Congress Handle Immigration?

According to supporters of progressive immigration reform, not very well. A Republican-run House would put Rep. Lamar Smith (R-Texas) in charge of the Judiciary Committee and Rep. Steve King (R-Iowa) atop its immigration subcommittee — meaning the two border security hawks would have a major say in all immigration-related legislation More…

Border Enforcement Program Critics Say It’s Expensive, Ineffective and Unfair

As Republicans push for increased border enforcement, many have sought to expand Operation Streamline, a “zero tolerance” immigration enforcement program that automatically slates all migrants caught crossing the border illegally for criminal prosecution. (Immigrant deportation is generally a civil, not a criminal, matter.) But critics of the program More…

Miller Argues for East Germany-like Border Security Plan

Speaking of border security, Alaska Senate candidate Joe Miller, a Tea Partier who ousted Sen. Lisa Murkowski in the state’s Republican primary, has a proposal for how to make the borders safer: Emulate East Germany.

“The first thing that has to be done is secure the More…

Report Blames DHS and Boeing for Delays With Border Security Project

One of the major tenets of the Bush administration’s border security plan was the Secure Border Initiative Network, or SBInet, a system of high-tech radars, satellites and cameras to monitor the borders. The “virtual wall” is being developed by Boeing, but four years after a contract was awarded More…