Mercy dash family denied entry to US

AN AUSTRALIAN family on a mercy dash to a dying relative in the United States were detained without food or water before being sent to a detention centre and forced to spend the night with criminal suspects. Their ordeal finished with them being deported.

Mr Fazle Rabbi, his wife, Rokeya, and their two sons, Rakin, 14, and Raiyan, 8, left Sydney on Tuesday, January 13 to visit Mr Rabbi’s ailing 84-year-old father in Los Angeles.

However, instead of the emotional reunion they expected, the family was detained at Los Angeles International Airport by US Customs and Border Protection officers. (SMH)

DHS ranks high on GAO’s high-risk list

The Homeland Security Department is tied for second among federal departments for having the most high-risk management challenges on the Government Accountability Office’s biennial high-risk list released Jan. 22.

The Defense Department is first, with eight high-risk areas, and DHS and the Health and Human Services Department are tied for second, each with four high-risk areas.

GAO’s list identifies 30 federal programs and management areas at high risk of waste and abuse, up from 27 listed in 2007, including several risks that affect multiple departments. (FCW)

Homeland Security Department’s New Disaster Housing Strategy

The Department of Homeland Security’s Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) announced the release of the National Disaster Housing Strategy for natural (hurricanes, earthquakes, etc.) or man-made (terrorist attack) disasters.

The Strategy summarizes, for the first time in a single document, the many sheltering and housing capabilities, principles, and policies that guide and inform the disaster housing process. The Strategy also charts the new direction that our disaster housing efforts must take to better meet the disaster housing needs of individuals and communities moving forward. (Post Chronicle)

Secretary Napolitano Issues Additional Action Directives on Cyber Security and Northern Border Strategy

U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Secretary Janet Napolitano today issued a second round of action directives on cyber security and the northern border strategy.

These action directives instruct specific offices to gather information, review existing strategies and programs, and to provide oral and written reports back to her by mid February. In the coming days, Secretary Napolitano will continue to issue additional action directives focused on the missions critical to the department: Protection, Preparedness, Response, Recovery and Immigration.

“This continuing evaluation will unify our shared efforts and help me assess where improvements need to be made,” said Secretary Napolitano.

The full action directives are below:

* Cyber Security. Given the increasingly sophisticated number of threats to all areas of national cyberspace and considering the authorities provided by the Homeland Security Act, the Post-Katrina Emergency Management Reform Act, and Homeland Security Presidential Directive 23/National Security Presidential Directive 54, what are the authorities and responsibilities of DHS for the protection of the government and private sector domains, what are the relationships with other government agencies, especially the departments of Defense, Treasury, and Energy, and the National Security Agency, and what are the programs and timeframes to achieve the department’s responsibilities and objectives? An oral report is due by Feb. 3, with a final report due Feb. 17.

* Northern Border Strategy. The northern border of the United States has become, since 9/11, important to our national security. As we have designed programs to afford greater protection against unlawful entry, members of Congress and homeland security experts have called for increased attention to the Canadian border. What are the current vulnerabilities, the overall strategy for reducing those vulnerabilities, the requirements, the programs, the budget, and the timeframe for improving security along this border and what level of risk will remain once the programs are completed? An oral report is due by Feb. 10, with a final report due Feb. 17.

Secret Service countersnipers hunt for real snipers

On Tuesday at the inauguration, members of the U.S. Secret Service’s elite countersniper unit will be out in force, taking roof-top positions along Pennsylvania Avenue and elsewhere as the presidential motorcade glides past throngs of people for the swearing in of Barack Obama.

The Secret Service doesn’t mind you knowing they are up there. In fact, their mere presence at the inauguration has a deterrent effect, they say. But they are mum about many other details, including how many teams will be deployed, how long they work and about their custom firearms. (CNN)

Homeland security budget globally to see a huge jump

As the world grapples with the economic meltdown, one may think that this would result in cuts in global spending on homeland security. However, experts say this is not the case and expenditure on homeland security is expected to triple to $178 billion (Dh653bn) by 2015.

Over the years, the security-related spending has expanded to include more sophisticated technology and experts say budget on anti-terrorism goods and services is expected to keep growing. (Biz24×7)

Government document assesses inauguration security threats

The controversial security and surveillance website Cryptome.org has obtained a “threat assessment” document for inauguration week [Zip file], prepared jointly by the FBI, Department of Homeland Security, and others, looking at the dangers to Barack Obama and to the spectators at tomorrow’s swearing-in. (As noted at Swampland, it’s an unclassified document, intended for use by local law-enforcement officials.) (Guardian)

Super Bowl Security Tight; Streets Closed

The last Super Bowl hosted by Tampa was in 2001, the year that marked the end of the era of innocence. The game was played just eight months before terrorists attacked; it was a time of relaxed security, when law enforcement officers mostly tried to keep drunken fans from falling over the railings.

Since those days, security has tightened to throttling levels with authorities concerned about much more. Now, they are blocking off streets and banning items that previously had been acceptable at the games. Their concern is with explosions and mass casualties. (TBO)

Washington Assembles Largest Inauguration Security Force Ever

f, as expected, a record crowd turns out for Barack Obama’s inauguration, Washington will be ready with the largest number of security people ever assembled in the nation’s capital.

The U.S. Secret Service is overseeing a security force of more than 40,000 people, including 7,500 active duty soldiers, 10,000 National Guard troops and 25,000 law-enforcement officers.

That surpasses the 31,000 troops serving in Afghanistan.

Intelligence officials say there are no specific threats, but they acknowledge that the high visibility of the inauguration, the presence of dignitaries and the significance of swearing in the first black president make it a vulnerable target. (FoxNews)

Even people who work at Homeland Security don’t like Homeland Security

The Department of Homeland Security outpaced a long list of others in generating negative responses from its nearly 10,000 responding employees. It had one of the highest numbers of respondents who disagreed or strongly disagreed with the statement, “My work gives me a feeling of personal accomplishment.” Ditto for the statement, “I feel encouraged to come up with new and better ways of doing things.”

Questions regarding the outlook DHS employees had on their agency supervisors also elicited a comparatively higher number of negative responses, including those asking whether senior leaders seemed to exhibit honesty and integrity and whether personnel felt safe blowing the whistle on corruption or law-breaking without fear of reprisal.

That’s not surprising considering multiple recent stories in the media about corrupt department employees being charged with crimes related to their work. (KansasCity)

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