1. Compare the similarities and differences between the external b.docx

1. Compare the similarities and differences between the external
borders of New Europe and the U.S. - Mexico border.
The European Union concluded the Schengen Agreements in
1995, which outlines the steps the EU takes when dealing with
their borders. The concept was to allow free movement of
European workers to move and settle in any EU State. Part of it
states that “Any person, irrespective of nationality, may cross
the internal borders without being subjected to border checks.”
[1] There is a stipulation that border police can ask for
identification during “spot checks”. If there is a serious security
risk to an EU state, that state can introduce border security
measures but must inform the European Parliament and
Commission.
While tightening controls of external borders, rules were
implemented in the agreement such as types of visas needed and
how the checks at external borders have to be done, improved
police cooperation including the right to cross-border
surveillance, and a strong judicial cooperation through a faster
extradition system and transfer of enforcement of criminal
judgments.
EU’s Smart Borders plan is to improve the management of the
external borders, fight against unequal immigration and provide
information on people whose visas have expired but have not
left, as well as facilitate border crossings for prescreened
frequent third country national travelers. [2]
Like the EU, the US and Mexico have agreements on SMART
Borders to help ease the flow of people and goods as well as
secure the borders by blending efficient border management
with state-of-the-art advanced technology. Rules are set in place
to help facilitate the crossing of daily workers into the US and
those going to Mexico to work at US plants.
Unlike the EU, the US/Mexican government do not have a
system for cross border surveillance cooperation nor can any US
or Mexico law enforcement agency cross each other’s borders in

pursuit of a criminal. Also, the US and Mexico judicial systems
are entirely different which makes transferring criminal
judgments non-existent.
2. Has your perception of homeland security changed since
taking this course? Why or why not? What was and what is now
your understanding of border protection? Fully explain your
response using course resources and outside resources.
Truthfully, my perception of Homeland Security is a bloated
bureaucracy which at times is inept, bad leadership, interagency
non-cooperation, and political restraints. Although there are
aspects of Homeland Security that have proved effective, the
knee-jerk reaction of past and current administrations in the
White House does not provide me with the confidence that this
overhaul was necessary to the extent that it is today.
In the past, border protection had more to do with trying to
control illegal immigration and drug smuggling. Now border
protection includes trying to keep terrorists from crossing the
border, protect US citizens along the border from the drug
cartels which smuggle not only drugs but are in the human
trafficking trade, and trying to keep the flow of commerce going
between the countries without having chemical or radioactive
material smuggled in.
Due to the overhaul of US agencies that now fall under the
umbrella of Homeland Security, the expense of protecting our
southern border has become nearly unmanageable. We have
government agencies such as ICE that don’t enforce federal
laws pertaining to illegal immigrants and states such as Arizona
who are enforcing state laws while at the same time battling the
US government in court over these laws. The US Justice
Department sued the state of Arizona over its immigration laws,
stating, “The state's measure is unconstitutional.” [3]
Border protection, with its sophisticated technology, barrier
walls, increased hiring of border agents, and other resources
dedicated to securing our border, continues to be an ongoing
debate of what does it take to do the job right.

3. What has been the most interesting part of the course for
you? Please discuss.
The most interesting part of the course has been the problem
with illegal immigration. I have strong opinions on this topic as
I see politicians not working together to fix the problem but
instead trying to maneuver their parties to gain the Latino vote.
I see the president overstepping his authority and for the second
time issuing an Executive Order stopping the deportation of
illegal immigrants while at the same time having allowed his
aunt to stay in the US illegally.
Having researched the subject for the class paper, it came as no
surprise that politicians in Washington can’t solve this problem
because neither part wants to. I fully back states such as
Arizona and Texas in their attempt to stem the problem that
affects their states the most. When agencies, whose job it is to
enforce federal regulations, are told to stand down, it’s
disheartening. At the same time when the Justice Department
sues a state to stop their right to enforce state laws and allow a
foreign country to join in the lawsuit, I wonder in which
direction this country is headed.
On the Mexican side, I don’t see much cooperation at all when
dealing with the smuggling of drugs and humans as a corruptive
government has been shown over and over again to be working
with the cartels. Until the Mexican government decides to
actually work to enforce their own laws along the border,
cooperation between the US and Mexico will have little effect,
if any.
Notes
European Commission Home Affairs. April 29, 2014. Assessed
November 22, 2014.
http://ec.europa.eu/dgs/home-affairs/what-we-
do/policies/borders-and-visas/border-crossing/index_en.htm
Frenzen, Niels. Heinrich Böll Foundation Study: Borderline-

The EU’s New Border Surveillance Initiatives, Assessing the
Costs and Fundamental Rights Implications of EUROSUR and
the ‘Smart Borders’ Proposals. July 16, 2012. Accessed
November 22, 2014. http://migrantsatsea.org/tag/eu-external-
borders-fund/
Markon, Jerry and Shear, Michael D. Justice Department sues
Arizona over Immigration Law. Washington Post. July 7, 2010.
Accessed November 22, 2014.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-
dyn/content/article/2010/07/06/AR2010070601928.html
a) The SMART Port Security Legislation.
The SMART Port Security Act was passed on 6 June 2012 by
Homeland Security Committee. The Act was passed to secure
our nations. The main focus of this Act was to make sure that
cargo is coming through our ports. A major disruption at one of
the ports can cripple the global supply chain and could cause
tremendous damage to our economy. The SMART Port Security
emphasized a stronger collaboration between the United States
Coast Guard and Customs and Border Protection in sharing port
security duties.
b) The SAFE Port Act.
The SAFE Port Act lays down the foundation on how the port
operates, equips and trains. The act made numbers of
adjustments to programs that are already in effect and altered
others. With this Act, private facilities and federal agencies
joined forces to improve security at roughly 3,000 facilities by
writing specific guides and inspecting facilities to make sure
they are in compliance. To prevent terrorism, they also created
special identification cards for workers so others without cards
won’t get access to secure areas. Federal agencies have
improved overall port security efforts by establishing
committees to share information with local port stakeholders
and established operation centers to monitor port activities.

c) The Small Vessel Security Strategy?
The Small Vessel Security focuses on the possibility of small
vessels being used as a threat to United States. There is a
possibility that small vessels might be used as a way to
transport terrorists and weapons of mass destruction to commit
different terrorist acts. The overall goals of the Small Vessel
Strategy are to enhance maritime security and safety, use public
and private sectors to increase awareness, use technology to
detect small vessels that pose a maritime security threat, and
last of all cooperation among international, federal, state, local
agencies.
New!Re: Week 7-Winters
Timothy Golden (Nov 20, 2014 5:30 PM) - Read by: 7Reply
Justin,
The further along I read through this class and other
homeland security classes, it seems as if the Coast Guard and
the Customs and Border Protection are at odds with each other
similar to the FBI and the CIA. However, I do feel as if it takes
multiple agencies and multiple layers in order to truly provide
security for the United States.
In regards to the SAFE Port Act, one thing that is a tall and
difficult order is that it calls for 100 percent scanning on all
cargo that comes through a high-volume port. As the legislation
also calls for increased personnel, training, equipment and
research and technology this is still a very difficult task to
accomplish. On top of not only the difficulty of such a task, the
amount of resources needed to accomplish this is astronomically
high. A measure such as this, until a technology can catch up to
reduce the amount personnel, almost seems unsustainable just
due to cost alone. However, I do believe that increased agency
cooperation will greatly assist the security efforts.
Have a good weekend Justin!
-Tim
Stephen Grout (Nov 23, 2014 5:56 PM) - Read by: 6Reply
Hi Justin,

You hit the nail on the head when you mention that an attack on
a major seaport would cripple the US economy. One of the
critical pieces of legislation that addresses this is the Container
Security Initiative implemented in 2002 immediately after 9/11.
A sort of defense in depth, we have given aid and assistance to
other countries to screen, analyze or inspect a large number of
containers at the point of departure rather than strain our
limited resources here in the US. This has helped to identify
low risk containers inbound and process those more efficiently
once they hit the mainland. As you can imagine, trying to
inspect 11+ million containers that pass through major US ports
every year is an impossible task. We do however have the
framework in place to mitigate the risk with the legislation
passed since 9/11 and discussed this week. Technology has
greatly improved as well. We now have machines that can scan
entire containers with IR/Thermal or X-ray technology in a
matter of minutes as opposed to physical inspections which
could take hours.
V/R
Steve
Scott Lambert (Nov 25, 2014 6:38 PM) - Read by: 3Reply
Justin,
Hello. The more that I have read and the Safe Port Act, the
more I feel it is helping. By them instituting the ID card system
for the port employees and cards for the transit drivers (in and
out), that is a great way to identify possible terrorists and refuse
them entry. The companies should be doing background checks
before anyone is issued an ID card. Also, the fact that this Act
brings together the Federal government and the private sector
port operators, makes the operators take a greater stake in keep
their ports safe. As you stated, one small incident could cripple
a port on a major level. This is something that could take weeks
or months to get back to normal.
The small Vessel Strategy also brings together the
government and private sector to create a partnership in

securing the waterways. These smaller vessels had long been
overlooked as a possible way to smuggle terrorists, weapons and
their other supplies into and around the country.
Thank you for your insight.
Scott
1) What are "Smart Borders"?
Smart borders are those boundaries set up between countries
that help ease the flow of people and goods as well as secure the
borders by blending efficient border management with state-of-
the-art advanced technology. By shifting to a risk management
system, law enforcement agencies can identify and prevent
terrorist weapons, hazardous materials, goods, etc., from
entering the US through scanning technology and platforms.
This should “enable us to accelerate legitimate flows of people
and goods into the United States and Canada and across our
common border, while enhancing the physical security and
economic competitiveness of our countries.”[1]
2) What is Intellectual Property (IP) theft...How is or how can
IP violations be rendered undesirable or unprofitable...Is
enforcing IP violations worth the trouble...Why or why not?
IP theft is illegally taking someone’s invention, ideas or other
creative designs without paying the person or company. From
computer software to counterfeit clothing, and trade secrets, it
is a billion dollar a year problem. The FBI has a division which
its sole purpose is to protect US products from counterfeiting
and piracy. Law enforcement such as Border Patrol and ICE,
along with business organizations such as the Chamber of
Commerce, work together to strengthen laws against IP
violations. These organizations also work with foreign
governments to address the ever-growing problem.
It’s very difficult to enforce IP violations especially in
countries where governments aren’t very helpful. China, for
example, is one of the leading violators of IP theft as the

government does not initiate an investigation of stolen IP.
Instead they require other countries to show evidence that theft
of Intellectual Property is taking place in a factory or other
businesses. According to Robert Barchiesi, President of the
International Anti-Counterfeiting Coalition in Washington, D.C.
states, “Counterfeiting and piracy have grown to epidemic
proportion in recent years, costing the U.S. economy hundreds
of billions of dollars, hundreds of thousands of jobs, and, in the
case of many counterfeit products, threatening the very lives of
Americans.”[2]
The cost of trying to enforce IP theft laws versus actual
convictions isn’t worth the trouble. So many obstacles prevent
the violators from being prosecuted and a person or company
being compensated for the theft. Although it’s serious when
trade secrets or computer components are stolen and obtained
by rogue nations, unless the US is willing to make the penalties
so extreme and actually enforce them, it’s a waste of time. With
so much news being generated every minute on every social
media, how often does one really see a headline about a person
prosecuted of IP theft?
3) Fully discuss Executive Order 13,133. How can the use or
misuse of the Internet affect the economy?
Executive Order 13,133 states that the Working Group in which
the Attorney General heads, addresses the problem of unlawful
conduct using the internet. A report from the AG deals with the
issues of the effectiveness of the federal laws pertaining to the
unlawful use of the internet in which illegal goods such as guns,
drugs, child pornography, etc., that investigators and
prosecutors can use to prosecute offenders. It also looks at what
new technical tools or legal authority is needed for effective
prosecution along with the tools necessary to educate the public
to lower the risk of being scammed via the Internet. It also
directs the Working Group to look at the Administration
policies concerning the internet such as technology-neutral
laws, self-regulation, and commerce activity.

When it comes to the economy, the internet plays a major role
in both helping and hindering it. The internet gives people the
ability to shop online without going to stores. The amount of
goods purchased online each year is in the billions of dollars.
On the other hand, online shopping has cut the amount of foot
traffic that used to walk through the malls which has hurt these
businesses. Education has now gone virtual with classes such as
this one online while studies show enrollment in colleges and
universities are down. Access to classes via the internet has
allowed people to choose schools that don’t have a physical
presence but are accredited and allows people to achieve their
educational goals without driving to a school.
Of course there is the criminal side of the internet in which
scam artists target just about every socio-economic class.
Cyber-crimes don’t discriminate and cost the US economy
billions of dollars in lost revenue and savings. From Intellectual
Property such as illegal music downloads to personal credit card
fraud, where there is new technology there are criminals waiting
in the wings to manipulate the system to gain illegal profits.
Computer hackers are the new bootleggers of old.
There are dozens of examples of how the internet affects the
economy of not only the US but across the vast business world.
Both good and bad happens at the stroke of a keyboard every
day and as technology advances, so does the ability of the
criminal element to find a way to swindle the system to make
money from illegal activities via the internet.
Notes
1. United States Government, United States – Canada Beyond
the Border: A Shared Vision for Perimeter Security and
Economic Competitiveness. The White House, February 4,
2011, accessed November 10, 2014,
http://www.dhs.gov/xlibrary/assets/wh/us-canada-btb-action-
plan.pdf
2. Bremer, Darlene. IACC Focuses Efforts on Intellectual
Property Rights. Accessed November 10, 2014,

http://www.counterfeitscankill.org/news/?fa=show&id=4519&c
ms=1
1) What actions prompted the border control offensive and
made the issue of illegal immigration a priority?
The actions that prompted the border control offensive began
sometime between the 1980s and 1990s during this decade there
was a large surge in the illegal immigrant population. This
impact was mostly felt in California this sudden influx of
people quickly caused a statewide crisis. The response to this
mass influx, forced boarder agents to act in an attempt to secure
its borders. During this period the border patrol increased their
manpower and modernized technology. Technology included
modern computer processing systems, scopes, seismic sensors,
Infrared night-vision and X-ray scanning equipment. Agents and
technology were concentrated in specific areas, providing a
"show of force". During this time period San Diego California,
accounted for more than half of illegal entries into the United
States. (Cbp.gov 2014)
The reasons that the issue of illegal immigration became a
priority are due to the extreme finical burden of dealing with
illegal immigrations, the lost jobs due to out of work
immigrants and the sharp increase in smuggling and illicit
activities.
2) Who is the enemy? From what or whom are we protecting the
border? Is the enemy more than terrorism and terrorists?
Who is the enemy that is a very difficult question to answer
because who is the enemy really? The standard Mexican family
that immigrates into the United States is only looking for a
better life for themselves and their families. While this act is
considered illegal does that make them the enemy? I think it is
much deeper than that, I would say the enemies would be shared
between the Mexican Cartels and the Mexican Government that
drive regular families out of their homes in order to escape their
current situation. Many of these families are force to live in fear

and poverty. The boarders are being protected from a multitude
of different things the primary focus is twofold the War on
Drugs and the War on Terror. There is also a need to control the
flow of illegal immigrants, if allowed to flow into the country
unabated the burden on the economy, health care systems,
housing markets and crime rate would be devastating. I believe
the enemy is more than terrorism and terrorists. The problem is
far deeper the problem is the demand for drugs in this country,
where there is demand the law of the land insists there must be
supply. Also poverty in a neighboring country forces
immigrants to seek work to provide for their families. These
two issues demand attention from CBP agents allowing for
terrorist to extort shortages and weak areas.
3) What is the connection between border enforcement and
public health and Safety concerns?
There are many connections between border enforcement and
public health and safety concerns one of the most highly
publicized and funded are connected with the War on Drugs.
Organizations on the United States side and the Mexican side of
the boarder are both working for on the prevention and
treatment of drug problems the hope is to reduce the demand for
drugs. Other health concerns come from the immigrants
themselves, many of them are suffering from infectious
diseases, severe dehydration, and are uninsured causing a
massive financial strain on the United States medical system.
Other safety concerns come from the possibility of a terrorist
organization being able to smuggle a chemical or biological
weapon across the border to target a major city. Border
enforcement agents are on the front line of preventing these
threats and treating the sick and dying.
References
Cbp.gov,. 'Border Patrol History | U.S. Customs And Border
Protection'. Last modified 2014. http://www.cbp.gov/border-
security/along-us-borders/history.

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