BORDER AND TRANSPORTATION SECURITY
"The food is lousy, and the portions are too small" (Woody Allen)

    The United States has approximately 5,000 miles of border with Canada, a little over 2,000 miles of border with Mexico, and some 95,000 miles of shoreline.  Every year, about 500 million people cross these borders, and over two-thirds of them are non-U.S. citizens.  Some countries have more "porous borders" than the U.S., but the U.S. borders are some of the most porous in terms of being well-traveled.  There is one border agent for every five miles of border, and for each person who crosses legally, officials only have about 12 seconds to determine their legitimate identity, whether they should be admitted, under what conditions, and for how long.  The word "legally" is not used here in the politically loaded sense of "legals" vs. "illegals" or referring to the so-called 12 to 20 million illegal immigrants who decide to enter without inspection (estimated at 60% of total illegal population) or "overstay" their visa to the U.S. (estimated at 40% of total illegal population), nor to suggest any categories of "welcome" or "unwelcome" migrants, but only to refer to travelers or visitors vis-a-vis the normal, point-of-entry requirements.

    There are problems with normal entry just as there are problems with illegal entry.  NumbersUSA has a good listing of the many "loopholes" with lawful entry, and they include, just to name a few of the exceptions:  family members; executives and professors; humanitarian considerations; fashion models, athletes, and entertainers; religious workers; ambassadors and diplomats; and students or researchers.  The usual pattern here is to overstay one's temporary visa in hopes of gaining permanent status by filing for an allocated slot in one of the aforementioned exception categories.  Many experts have argued the problems are not insurmountable despite the vast numbers of people and miles involved (see table below).  For example, Hayworth (2006) says it's possible to avoid adverse impacts on tourism, trade, and normal immigration by "securing the borders." Others say border security is not possible at all, that only image management is possible (Andreas 2000), and Victor Davis Hanson (2003) says that America essentially has four choices: (1) to continue with open borders and insist on assimilation; (2) reduce immigration and hope that assimilation takes care of itself; (3) -- Hanson's choice -- reduce immigration and pursue "patriotic assimilation," and (4) pay no attention to either problem and allow certain parts of the U.S. to become "apartheid states."  The demographic problem is, of course, more than a matter of assimilation, but the number of miles problem is rather clear-cut.    

    Border security in the United States has traditionally involved the twin problems of immigration control and visa control.  Of these two, immigration control is the older and more perplexing problem, long manifested in an absconder problem such as a backlog of "fugitive alien" cases -- those who have failed to leave the country after being ordered out.  The so-called "catch and release" policy of the U.S. toward Mexicans is an example of this where they are put back out on the street with immigration bonds, detained for further processing under an "Other Than Mexican" (OTM) status, or laterally repatriated to a different border location in hopes of preventing the not-infrequent re-crossing phenomenon.  Re-crossing at the same location has been a frequent habit of alien drug smugglers, as the case of the Border Patrol 2 illustrates (see Andrew McCarthy's article, The BP2 Deserve Jail).  Visa control is typically concerned with letting people in, and generally is a hodgepodge of regulations, lotteries, permits, and waivers, including a TMOV (Transit Without Visa) loophole which has recently been fixed.  So-called "guest worker permits" are an example of visa control, as would be any "amnesty" provisions in the guise of guest worker programs (see Wikipedia Entry on US Immigration Debate).  It is generally accepted in the scholarly literature that guest worker and amnesty programs are bad ideas, leading to even more immigration problems (Andreas 2000), and it is an historical fact that America has had six prior reprieves of various sorts since the notorious blanket amnesty of 1986.  Mexicans are mentioned several times in the examples used here because, basically, Mexicans dominate the influx of emigrants to the U.S.

    In addition to the Mexican influx, a valid homeland security concern is Muslim immigration, which has pretty much already decimated France, according to Victor Davis Hanson in his Claremont Institute article entitled France's Immigration Problem and Our's.   Many Muslims come from utterly indoctrinated countries where anti-Americanism is standard fare, and there is some evidence to suggest that at least some Muslim immigration has the purpose of "Islamicizing" America for all intents and purposes.  At least that's the conclusion of a CIS Conference on Muslim Immigration where several experts agreed on that.  In addition, Steven Camarota, who is director of research at the Center for Immigration Studies wrote an essay entitled, The Muslim Wave: Dealing with Immigration from the Middle East, where his remarks can be paraphrased as follows:

    America is essentially a nation of immigrants, and for years, has held out its banner of freedom for those seeking liberty in a new homeland.  Yet, the Constitution was never designed for, nor does it automatically grant, the right for foreigners to migrate and enter this country in wholesale fashion.  The history of international travel and development of the idea of the passport is an interesting one, but too long to discuss here (see Torpey 1999).  Of greater interest are the globalization-related observations about the politics of movement that some make (e.g., Bauman 1998; Young 1999).  Along these lines, some kind of hierarchy of freedom of movement exists in the world, with rich people able to travel freely and poor people unable to.  America has a history and proud tradition of welcoming more than its share of poor immigrants, but it is also a country that has every right to be concerned with border security given multiple conceptions of threats, including the terrorism threat, which involve the borders.  Protecting borders from terrorism is the job of a new homeland security agency called CBP: Customs & Border Protection which has over 41,000 employees, with these large numbers coming from a merger of the U.S. Customs with the Border Patrol.  At the ports, CBP employees enforce import/export laws, immigration laws, and perform agriculture inspections.  CBP also patrols traffic checkpoints along highways leading from border areas, and can conduct investigations anywhere else in the nation.

    Modern U.S. border security consists of more than enhancing enforcement (asking more questions), enhancing inspections (searches), and enhancing management (putting special agents in charge as each port director).  CBP's priority mission is intelligence-driven homeland security, specifically to detect and prevent terrorists and terrorist weapons from entering the United States.  However, they've been caught up more extensively in the drug war.  CBP looks upon the interdiction of drugs as complementary to the interdiction of terrorism, and they seize around 6,300 pounds of drugs per day.  An advance intelligence system called ATS (Automated Targeting System) raises red flags on vehicles and ships before they even reach the border, and then sophisticated X-ray devices can detect anomalies on anything else, or at least a sampling of everything else.  Although CBP shares intelligence with DEA, DOJ, and many other agencies, most of its seizures are the results of "cold hits," which are the result of efforts by CBP alone.  For more information about this large agency, it might be helpful to read some of the publications at the CBP newsletter archives to get a feel for how hard the job is.     

IMMIGRATION CONTROL

    More than 60 million people have legally entered this country since its beginning, and some 10 million in the last decade, a figure that seems high but includes about 3 million undocumented aliens who were granted amnesty around the end of the 1980s. Immigrants, as defined by the U.S. Immigration & Naturalization Service, which is now part of the Department of Homeland Security called ICE (Immigration and Customs Enforcement), are persons lawfully admitted for permanent residence. They arrive with permanent visas that have been applied for and issued abroad, or they adjust their status from temporary visitor to permanent resident. A visa is an official U.S. State Dept. document stamped or stapled on a page of a passport, and is obtained from any American consulate overseas or arranged via American officials or firms. Visas are either for permanent status (immigrant visas) or temporary status (nonimmigrant visas).  A list of definitions appears below:

• immigrant = permanent residence by visa or visa adjustment

• alien = not born in the U.S., but may be a citizen or national (Philippines)

• citizen = entitled to protection and the rights of citizenship (Puerto Rico, Virgin Islands, Guam, U.S. territories)

• national = allegiance to U.S., entitled to protection, but no citizenship (American Samoa, Swains Island, outlying U.S. possessions)

    American immigration law operates under a quota system that gives preferential treatment to persons with family in the U.S., persons with needed job skills, and persons who qualify as refugees.  Thousands of refugees settle in the United States every year, and have a variety of organizations, such as the Cultural Orientation Project to help them.  The U.S. has an annual cap of about 675,000 immigrants, which consists of 480,000 slots being family-sponsored, 140,000 employment-related, and 55,000 in a category called Diversity (which afford an extra 3000 or so visas to low-immigration countries). The cap is always exceeded every year, however, and the actual number of approvals for permanent residence runs around 925,000. There are many reasons for exceeding the cap: it was designed as a flexible cap in the first place; refugees and asylees are exempt (asylum is the biggest loophole); parolees from the Soviet Union and China are exempt; adoption of foreign orphans is exempt, immediate family relatives (sons & daughters) are exempt; and visa quotas unused from previous years are carried over into current years (visas must be used within four months of issuance). The Dept. of State calculates quota allotments by country and the Dept. of Justice inspects, naturalizes, and apprehends or removes undocumented persons. Of the 915,000 legal immigrants in 1997 (a typical year), the following are the countries of origin, and a profile of the typical immigrant would be as follows: 29 years old, female (55%), married (51%), and having an occupation (45% of the time, in nursing and social work).

    The Department of Homeland Security's main control over immigration is the CLASS (Consular Lookout and Support) system.  It provides consular officers anywhere in the world access to the best information on people not wanted in the U.S.  It uses the most advanced foreign language algorithms to ensure that transliteration and common names are not overlooked, and it prevents any visa from being printed until the name-check system—including any required interagency consultations—has been cleared.  It essentially involves integrated watch list databases, however, there are a number of other databases, such as IBIS (Interagency Border Inspection System) which link up with law enforcement databases such as NCIC.  As a general rule, everyone is subject to CLASS and IBIS security checks.  However, there are some situations that trigger a more intensive background check.  For example, there is the 26 country rule, which is an unofficial list of nations for which lengthier security checks are done.

    In addition, there is the 7 country rule, which consists of those nations deemed to be state sponsors of terrorism.  This list consists of Iraq, Iran, Syria, Libya, Sudan, North Korea and Cuba.  The problem here has not been with direct entry to the United States, but with INDIRECT ENTRY.  People from such designated nations know they haven't got much of a chance getting into the U.S. directly, so they travel to Canada or Mexico, and then enter the U.S. from one of those borders with a special 30-day I-94 travel visa, which is a discretionary thing (read automatic) given at the border crossings.  The Department of Homeland Security's main control over the movements, or comings-and-goings, of people from countries on scrutiny lists is called Special Registration, or NSEERS (National Security Entry-Exit Registration System).  NSEERS requires frequent visits to Port of Entry offices in order to conduct interviews. 

LEGAL IMMIGRATION: TEMPORARY RESIDENTS
    Citizens, nationals, and aliens are allowed to apply for another type of visa status: temporary visitor or authorized "documented" worker. There are no quota systems by country for temporary visas. "Documented alien" is the phrase for the well-known identification procedures used by all employers to process I-9 verification -- one form of identification from column A, two forms of identification from column B, and work authorization forms from column C (a Social Security card not stamped "not valid for employment", ICE employment authorization document, ICE citizen identification card, ICE reentry permit, or refugee travel document). An alien need not have a green card to be authorized to work. The visa or an ICE document are all that's required to be an authorized worker. A grandfather clause exempts some people from this process, specifically employees who have worked for an employer since before 1986.

    There are different types of worker visas. In general, a temporary resident card is valid for 31 months, and the date of temporary residence begins on the date of the fee receipt, not the date the INS approves the form (see INS forms & fees), which may be many months later. Temporary residents may only apply for permanent residence during the last 12 months of their 31-month visa, and the benefit here is that such application is the only thing allowing travel in and out of the U.S. for temporary residents. There are two types of agricultural worker visas: Special Agricultural Workers (SAWs) and Replenishment Agricultural Workers (RAWs). SAW applicants are typically hired for 90-day periods during the summer months (migrant laborers), and if they are undocumented aliens who want to legalize their status, they can apply for a kind of amnesty program which allows them to leave agricultural work. RAW applicants, if undocumented and wanting to legalize, are bound to agricultural work for 3 years after approval.

    Student visas are another type of temporary residence. There are approximately 450,000 foreign students in the U.S. and the visa applicable to most foreign students is known as an F-1 visa. American schools that accept such students must be approved and issued a special acceptance form. The foreign student applicant must then prove that they will pursue full-time study, have adequate financial support, are proficient in English (or will receive sufficient training), and intend to leave the U.S. upon completion of their studies (although extensions of stay can be granted for up to eight years, inclusive of the years of study). Special permission must be obtained if the foreign student plans to work, and there are separate procedures for part-time work and for full-time work. M-1 student visas are designed mostly for study and work, but the program of study must be vocational or technically oriented, and the work must be related to the program of study. M-1 visas are for a limited time, however, and there are few extensions. Another type of visa, the J-1, is sometimes designed as part of student or scholar exchange programs, and allow application for permanent residence after two years of study. Spouses and children of foreign students are allowed to accompany them to the U.S. and even to be employed, but their income is not supposed to be used to support the foreign student.

    Foreign students used to be able to transfer schools without approval, and change their major or course of studies, but these moves tend to be looked upon by authorities as ways to extend the student's stay in the U.S.  If the student fails a class, gets on academic probation or suspension, or drops down to part-time study, there is more extensive scrutiny, and the FBI may even investigate the student, as they might do if the student participates in demonstrations or other extracurricular activities. Generally, student visa control is accomplished by the Department of Homeland Security's SEVIS system.  This system requires, among other things, for school registrars to report foreign students who don't enroll or attend classes.  Foreign students, starting in 2004, have to pay a one-time processing fee of $100 which helps finance SEVIS.

    There are other types of temporary visas, including tourist visas, business visas (H-1s), exchange visitor visas, fiancée visas, visas allowing somebody to "look around" for work, study, research, or religion, and even lottery visas.  The most controversial item in recent years has been the H-2B visa program, which has only been in existence since 1985, and was designed to fill temporary jobs, often in the hospitality or construction industries, for which U.S. citizens were not available (some segments of the U.S. citizenry complaining that "their" jobs are being taken away).  Temporary employment is defined as "a one-time occurrence, a seasonal need, a peak-load need, or an intermittent need," and three different agencies (Labor, CIS, and State) oversee the H-2B program: Labor issuing temporary certifications and monitoring compliance with employment laws; Citizenship and Immigration Services adjudicating H-2B petitions; and State, if the petitions are approved, with State issuing visas to workers at consulates overseas.  Even with all this oversight, it is hard to remove graft and corruption from the H-2B visa program, which suffers from the plight of employers and recruiters often demanding payment in exchange for jobs. 

    The following is a complete list of all visa programs:

ILLEGAL IMMIGRATION
    One of the problems inhibiting the ability of industrialized, democratic countries from being able to take more immigrants is the fact that the native populations of these countries are aging and retiring, forcing up welfare, Social Security, and Medicare expenses. Since illegal immigrants have not been screened by any authorities and have not had their "bona fides" established in terms of employment, they can seriously influence the economic dependency ratio or the ratio of productive workers to retirees if they are able to access the social services of an advanced, democratic nation. In addition, there is the problem of an "informal, underground" economy. This area is watched closely by our nation's economists, and it is closely connected to such things as our inflation rate, fiscal and monetary controls, our standard of living index, and our quality of life. Since many illegal immigrants work cheaply and are often paid off the books, they contribute to this underground economy.

    Estimating the number of illegal immigrants in the U.S. is not an easy task. The best estimates peg the existing number at 7 million (about 3% of the population), with an estimated annual inflow of about 350,000. Of this annual flow, about 125,000 (41%) are visa "overstayers".  Here's a table showing some 1996 figures of illegal immigrants by country of origin:

    What happens to the illegal immigrants who enter every year? Most of them live in California (75%). New York is next with 10%. Another 10% or so reside in our state prison system, and the rest are scattered among 8-9 states primarily, including Texas, Florida, Illinois, New Jersey, Arizona, Massachusetts, Virginia, Washington, and Maryland. The state of Texas has the largest population of settled illegal immigrants, but it has not been the place for new illegal entries in recent years due to Border Patrol activities.

    There's a whole black market for smuggling illegal immigrants that is operated by organized crime. Little documentation is available, but some Asian gangs, for example, charge $15,000 to be smuggled into the U.S. with $1,500 in advance and the rest to be paid upon arriving or worked off later. Although there are freelance operators, organized crime is also closely associated with the problem of manufacturing false identifications and credentials.  Smuggling and trafficking are technically different in that with smuggling, a victim voluntarily knows what they are getting into.  Trafficking (as with human trafficking, a much more serious crime - see Lecture on International Family Law) involves tricking or luring someone into something that is false.

    Any police department apprehending an illegal immigrant usually reports it to federal authorities. In some places, there also exist "bounties" or monthly per capita fees for detaining suspects, about $60 per day. In some cases, there are reasons why the police department would not report anything to federal authorities: because they want the suspect's cooperation in an ongoing investigation, to testify at trial, or the local community's support. It is unknown how many illegals are under local police protection. Community policing, in particular, tends to include promises that there will be no sweeps or raids for illegal immigrants in the local area, as ethnic communities hate these things as well as too close of a local police relationship with the INS.

    At the same time, overcrowded state prison systems have repeatedly asked help from the federal government to alleviate the burden of housing convicted illegal aliens. In some cases, the federal government has provided financial assistance or subsidies, but in other cases, it's looked upon as a state problem. Neither the Border Patrol nor the Bureau of Prisons have the capacity to hold all who are apprehended. Some Los Angeles County jails predominantly consist of detainees who are illegal aliens, and Texas has a special prison unit at Huntsville for illegal aliens.  The Dept. of Homeland Security's USCIS Program has incorporated many of the Border Patrol's best programs for dealing with the problem of illegal immigration.

VISA CONTROL

    The authority to make crucial visa decisions has long been under the jurisdiction of the Secretary of State, and his or her legally vested consular offices in the Foreign Service. The Secretary's legal authority to supervise this function was established in the Immigration and Nationality Act of 1952, which required the Department of State to coordinate with the Attorney General and other agencies in the Department of Justice, namely, the INS and the FBI.  Since 9/11, however, the Department of Homeland Security has absorbed both the authority of the Attorney General and the authority of the Secretary of State to establish regulations related to the granting and refusal of visas by consular officers, and to administer and to enforce the laws regarding the issuance and the denial of visas.  Placing visa issuance authority in the hands of Homeland Security represents a belief that visa policy can be used to protect the United States from terrorists.

    The Consular Lookout and Support System (CLASS) provides consular officers anywhere in the world access to the best information on people not wanted in the U.S.  It uses the most advanced foreign language algorithms to ensure that transliteration and common names are not overlooked, and it prevents any visa from being printed until our name-check system—including any required interagency consultations—has been cleared.

MIGRATION, CRIME AND TERRORISM

    Border security was never thought of as a national security issue prior to 9/11, and even though all 19 of the 9/11 hijackers had valid student or tourist visas, terrorism is now keen on the minds of everyone who thinks about border security.  Many homeland security proposals have involved attempts at border control.  For example, the Secure Fence Act of 2006 was passed to build 700 miles of new fencing across the U.S.-Mexico border (however, no funding was made available to actually build all the fence, and Congress is rethinking the Act - see Wikipedia Entry on U.S.-Mexico Barrier).  The barrier is an outgrowth of three larger "Operations" to control illegal immigration: Operation Gatekeeper in California, Operation Hold-the-Line in Texas, and Operation Safeguard in Arizona.  Operation Hold-the-Line was the first intensive border security effort, and it started as early as 1993 in the El Paso area where agents literally sat in their vehicles, lined-up front-to-end (it has subsequently been replaced by something called Operation Linebacker which makes use of educational campaigns in the form of signs and sensors).  Ironically, some of the signs say "USA prohibido" which doesn't make much sense in Spanish since the acronym for the U.S. is Latin American countries is EEUU, not USA. 

    The Real ID Act of 2005 is another example of border security which aims to get at crime and terrorism problems.  The Act stiffens the documentation requirements for getting a valid ID, like a driver's license or personal identification card, as well as introduces stricter laws governing applications for asylum and deportation of aliens for suspected terrorist acts.  Because of the overall complexity of this Act (and the fact many states were in no position to comply with it), in 2007, Congress decided to put off the required implementation date until Demember 2009.

    Some say (e.g., Freilich & Guerette 2006) that the "real" crime being committed along the U.S.-Mexico border are the senseless deaths of immigrants due to overly strict law enforcement.  Every year, over 300 deaths of migrants occur while attempting to cross the border (Guerette 2007), and according to a Wikipedia Entry on Immigrant Deaths, that number has been doubling every year.  There are many reasons for the deaths, but basically because law enforcement has adequately covered all the "safer" areas to cross, all that's left are the hazardous crossing areas where risk of exposure to excessive heat is common.  Border Patrol officials have tried themselves to deal with this problem in the form of programs like BORSTAR and Operation Desert Safeguard which fortify regular patrols with rescue agents, but progress is mixed.  Private rescue groups like No More Deaths, the Border Action Network, Border Links, Derechos Humanos, Humane Borders, Healing Our Borders, and numerous religious organizations often take more proactive measures which, frankly, interfere with the carrying out of official U.S. Border Patrol operations.  Likewise, there are various vigilante groups operating on the U.S.-Mexico border, groups such as the Minutemen, the Minutewomen, and the Civil Homeland Defense.  These are people who have self-deputized themselves as the eyes and ears of officials, but the official Border Patrol position on them is that the government would prefer they were not present.  The vigilantes tend to foster or reinforce a "recruitment ethos" which attracts the rhetoric of right-wing American hate groups.  Border security issues are often confused by much rhetoric.  Conflating the issues with crime or terrorism doesn't exactly help sort out the "real" problems from those may be overblown.

AVIATION TRANSPORTATION

    The defense of U.S. airspace has traditionally depended upon cooperation between civilian and military authorities, specifically the Federal Aviation Administration, or FAA, and NORAD (North American Aerospace Defense Command).  The FAA has a national Command Center in Herndon, Virginia, but each of the FAA's 22 Control Centers is used to operating independently.  NORAD has its headquarters in Colorado Springs, Colorado, but the continental U.S. is divided into three NORAD regions: Northeast, Southeast, and Western (two additional regions exist in Alaska and Canada since NORAD is a joint U.S.-Canadian organization).  The FAA's purpose, or the job of air traffic controllers, is to monitor the transponder signals, radar and radio contacts with civil aircraft to keep them at a safe distance from one another.  NORAD's purpose is to detect and respond to any aerospace threat, internal or external, against the North American continent.  Although NORAD in recent years has made some moves toward training for "asymmetric" threats, such as drug smuggling and terrorist hijacking of airplanes, most of NORAD's resources are still aimed at defending against Cold War threats, such as Soviet bombers and cruise missiles.  In the event of a threat, FAA-NORAD cooperation involves a rather complicated chain of command.  FAA controllers would notify FAA headquarters, who in turn would notify the Pentagon, who in turn would authorize NORAD involvement and keep the FAA informed.  NORAD protocols call for military fighters to follow any suspect aircraft at a distance of five miles behind and inform on its flight path.  A "suspect" threat exists whenever a transponder signal is lost on an aircraft (terrorist hijackers normally know how to turn off a plane's transponder).  It is possible, but more difficult to track an aircraft's flight path by radar (radar doesn't show a plane's identity or altitude).  If radio contact is lost, the threat escalates to "alarm" status, since simultaneous loss of transponder and radio is a rare occurrence.  If the aircraft doesn't get back on course, communications are not reestablished, military fighters cannot forcibly escort the plane, or the pilots are able to "squawk" a code of "7500" -- the universal code for a hijack in progress -- then "alert" status is reached, and orders may be given by the President, Vice President, or Secretary of Defense to shoot the aircraft down (technically, the Vice President can only issue orders to "engage" which has the same meaning as a shootdown order).  Where to scramble the military fighters for the shootdown or engagement may be problematic because it takes time (sometimes as long as eight minutes) to locate the target aircraft by radar.  By contrast, it takes less than five minutes for a commercial aircraft within sixty miles of a target to make a rapid descent and be used as a weapon of mass destruction (assuming maximum speed capability or overspeed and no time for slowing to aim the airplane into a target).  When investigating such events, it is important to record as much as possible before the crash, since only one out of four cockpit voice recorders usually (CVRs) survive a crash.

    CAPPS is an FAA-approved automated system run by the airline companies which scores each airline passenger's profile to identify those who might pose a threat to civil aviation.  The system also chooses some passengers at random, and these people, along with those who meet the "profile" are targeted to receive additional security scrutiny.  10 out of the 19 hijackers in the 9/11 attack were identified via the CAPPS system.  In addition to CAPPS, airline ticket agents also mark as "selectees" those passengers who do not provide adequate answers to security questions, fail to have appropriate identification, or meet other criteria as determined by airline security.  CAPPS II is a TSA-sponsored database system that combines the profiling capabilities of CAPPS with linkages to other governmental and commercial databases.  CAPPS II has been vigorously opposed by privacy advocates, but it is essential to the mission of agencies like the TSA, which are supposed to develop a "safe" or trusted passenger system.

THE TRANSPORTATION SECURITY ADMINISTRATION

    The Transportation Security Administration, or TSA, is a new agency within the federal Department of Transportation.  It was created on November 19, 2001 by the Aviation and Transportation Security Act (ATSA) which made it responsible for (among other things that Transportation does): (1) the deployment of air marshals, (2) improved airport perimeter security, (3) a 911 emergency call system for aircraft and trains, (4) screening of all passengers, baggage, mail, cargo, and carry-ons, and (5) chemical and biological weapons detection.  Most people are familiar with TSA officials as the screeners at airports, but few people know that under the PATRIOT Act, the TSA also implements background checks on all Hazmat truck drivers and carries out other maritime and land security missions.  The jurisdiction of the Transportation Department is quite broad, and covers not only the five (5) main transportation modes of airways, highways, railways, waterways, and pipelines, but urban mass transit, the transport of migrant workers, bus security, certain aspects of port security, security training for carriers, and flight training for non-US. citizens.  In addition, the agency is tasked with the job of developing CAPPS II-type technology which would automate the process of "detecting suspicious behavior within the aviation security domain that would sense patterns of travelers' or employees' physiological responses and/or overt behavior that are reliably associated with malicious intent" (TSA website 2004).

    Up until March of 2003, the United States Coast Guard was part of the Department of Transportation, and provided most of the organic (sector-specific tactical/planning) intelligence function for that department (in addition to FAA).  Since the Coast Guard was transferred to DHS, the TSA has been developing its own intelligence capabilities with its Transportation Security Intelligence Service (TSIS), which have primarily been involved with the on-site TRAVEL assessment (Transportation Risk Assessment and Vulnerability Evaluation) and self-administered TSARM questionnaire (TSA self-assessment Risk Module).  Both of these tools are ways of collecting baseline information of system effectiveness in response to various threat scenarios.  There are only about 100 intelligence positions in TSA as of late 2004, but they are supported by other intelligence components within DHS, and DOT, through TSA, is a full and active participant in the national counterterrorism and law enforcement communities by virtue of its relationships with other agencies, such as liaisons with the CIA, FBI, NIPC, DSO at DOS, NSA, and DIA.  Despite what looks like a difficult job of interagency coordination, TSA is remarkably capable of producing declassified "warning" or actionable intelligence to a variety of industry representatives via a system of secure phones.  Classified intelligence is shared with other agencies via a system of Security Directives (SDs), Emergency Amendments (EAs), and Information Circulars (ICs), which is exactly the way FAA used to do it.  For example, the names of suspected terrorists on a watch list go out on two (2) lists: one in the form of a classified list (for intelligence and certain law enforcement officials only) which represents parties that should never be transported for any reason (unless local intelligence or law enforcement officials deem wise for an intelligence operation); and two in the form of a declassified list (of "selectees") who can be transported, but only after certain security measure have been taken.  In many ways, TSA was designed to use access to intelligence products as an incentive for local officials to upgrade their security procedures.  In retrospect, the "federalization" of airport screeners was a vast improvement over the "rent-a-cop" era which existed before.      

PIPELINE SAFETY

    The United States has over 2.3 million miles of pipeline which provide over two-thirds of the energy consumed by the nation.  Natural gas, oil, coal, lignite, and other hazardous liquids are carried by these pipelines, and pipelines are the most efficient way to transport these commodities. The federal Office of Pipeline Safety has primary responsibility for the national security of pipelines, but there are many private firms, like Bats, Inc which can be contracted to do the surveillance work that most security requires.  Each state also has regulatory agencies or associations which inspect control rooms and storage facilities.  Nationally, most of the pipelines tend to be clustered in two states (where most of the natural gas is), and in some states, the pipelines run right above an earthquake fault line.  The maps below are illustrative of this national and local picture:

The National Pipeline System and a State System

    For various reasons, some of the pipeline system seems to always be in a state of repair, which temporarily shuts down the flow of energy and drives up the cost to consumers, although manufacturing associations have put up websites like Pipeline 101 to inform the public that this is a misconception.  Keeping the pipeline system running has always been the first commerce priority of the federal government.  The primary safety concern is accidental excavation, since pipelines are located in rural areas which now tend to be where development and suburban "sprawl" take place.  Accidental damage from weather disasters in another concern, as is the problem of phasing out single-hull tankers, which started with the Oil Pollution Act of 1990 and gives companies until 2015 to cease using such ships.  Protecting pipelines from terrorist attack is the contemporary safety and security concern. 

    Anti-terrorism pipeline security generally consists of installing intrusion barriers mostly around the most critical 200,000 miles of oil pipelines, and groups like the Association of Oil Pipelines have long urged investment in more research and development of new techniques.  Basically, about all that can be done now is increased surveillance, employee background checks, Internet mapping, restrictions on access to facilities, guard patrols, increased awareness training, and interagency coordination.  One only has to look overseas to Afghanistan and Iraq to see how vulnerable the oil industry really is, and although it may be unlikely, pipelines may become the targets of domestic eco-terrorists as well as international terrorists.   

TRANSIT SAFETY

    The Federal Transit Administration has responsibility for the safety and security of commuter rail, fixed route bus lines, aerial tramways, monorails, ferryboats, and lightweight and heavyweight passenger trains.  FTA conducts risk and vulnerability assessments and provides technical assistance for emergency management planning, specifically along the lines of casualty mitigation.  They are heavily concerned with any problems that might be attributable to "human factors," and to that end, they conduct training, audits, and regulatory checks on such things as operator fatigue and drug and alcohol abuse.  They are also concerned with fire safety.  FTA's DAMIS (Drug & Alcohol Management Information System) database requires state and local transportation authorities to upload information about their employees and certain subcontractors.

    Approximately 30 accidents happen every month involving passenger trains, and most of these involve collision with motor vehicles.  Safety incidents with buses, however, run at well over 100 per month, and these include acts of vandalism and assault as well as collision with motor vehicles.  In cases of collision, the driver of the motor vehicle (not the bus) is almost always at fault.  The causes of the collisions include illegal left turns, running red lights, failing to yield, and disregarding (going around) rail-crossing gates.  The train and bus crime problem are usually addressed by posting police officers on-site, and finding better ways to protect drivers.  Train and bus crime is episodic; in some years, there are few incidents; and in other years, there are serious assaults (and even killings) of passengers.  Terrorist threats are usually addressed by bomb-sniffing dogs.  The FTA has been in the forefront of a movement to get video cameras installed on all transit conveyances, and most major-city METRO lines now have "red phones" installed in them which connect directly to a police department.  There are additional concerns about the security of transportation facilities; i.e., offices, waiting rooms, maintenance shops, bus yards, and dispatch centers.  These concerns are typically addressed by attempts to make transit employees more security conscious.  There are certain transit areas of the United States which, because of volume, make up what might be called "special" risk areas, as follows:

• New York City's subway system -- the Fulton Street and Trans-Hudson PATH subways under the World Trade Center carry over 380,000 people each day

• New York City's railway system -- over 1,600 people rush through Penn Station every minute

• Chicago's "Loop" -- consists of 222 miles of rail track, connecting two major airports

• Washington D.C.'s Metrorail -- consists of 103 miles of track             

    There are, in fact, only 30 transit providers who are the nation's largest providers and carry 80% of all passengers at any one time for the nation.  Focusing in on these carriers has been FTA's top priority, at least in terms of how enhanced intelligence is used.  These major provider areas have been the targets of attempts to develop real-time intelligence sharing between FTA, industry representatives, the FBI, and the FBI's Joint Terrorism Task Forces (JTTF).  Pager and text messaging systems tend to characterize these real-time efforts, but the JTTF approach is described below.  When homeland security levels are raised, particular attention is paid to "critical" points of vulnerability, such as bridges and tunnels, but another agency, the Federal Highway Administration, or FHWA, is largely responsible for making recommendations for bridges and tunnels.  However, for trucking security, the primary concern is HAZMAT (hazardous materials) related, and a quick definition of a HAZMAT incident is whenever 25 or more persons have to be evacuated or a major transportation artery has to be closed.  Approximately 80% of all HAZMAT incidents involve trucks.

    Anti-terrorism transit safety involves protection from the use of biological weapons, chemical weapons, and radioactive weapons.  Federal agencies with a relationship to transit security work hard in preparing for such scenarios. Plans exist for the following basic two types of scenarios:

• Anonymous caller threatening WMD agent (unreleased) -- usually treated as a crime scene

• Reported or found device with WMD agent (released) -- usually treated as a HAZMAT scene

    Guidelines for Responding to a Chemical Weapons Incident (pdf) have been put together, and consist, in part, of a key role for intelligence as well as investigative functions.  For example, identifying the possible group(s) and possible "theme" for the attack helps determine if the threat warrants notification and security for other sites.     

INTERNET RESOURCES
ACLU Immigration Issues Page
American Association of Port Authorities
Antiterrorism Oil Pipeline Security News
Aviation Security News
Better, Faster, and Cheaper Border Security
Center for Immigration Studies
David Montoya Article on Border Insecurity
DeportAliens.com
DOT Testimony Before Congress 1998-2004
Edwin Meese' Article on the Principles of Immigration
Federation for American Immigration Reform
Hudson Institute on Illegal Immigration, Past & Future
Immigration and National Security after 9/11
International Centre for Migration Policy Development
Legal Aspects of Searches of Airline Passengers in the USA (pdf)
Maritime Security Council
NewsMax Archive of Articles on Immigration/Borders
Office of Immigration Statistics
The Transportation of Natural Gas
Transportation Security Administration Home Page
World Crimes

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Last updated: Oct. 22, 2008
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