customs and border protection

Port of Long Beach, CA: Customs and Border Protection Seized Record-Setting 1.7 Tons of Meth Worth $1.29 Billion

Three shipping containers, intended to be exported to Australia, were filled with speakers stuffed with 3,810 pounds of meth, and also contained 55.9 pounds of cocaine and 11.5 pounds of heroin. Australian officials said the total street value of the haul was $1.29 billion and contained 17 million doses.

Porkins Policy Radio episode 153 Pakistan elections and James Wolfe, Ali Watkins Scandal with Kevin Gosztola

In the first hour I go solo and talk about the recent elections in Pakistan and Imran Khan’s rise to power. I talk about Khan’s political party and how they they were able to take 116 seats in Parliament and elevate Khan to Prime Minister. I discuss Khan’s colorful life as well. I also discuss my major takeaways from the election: why the military backed Khan, how Khan will interact with the Taliban going forward, and the complex relationship with China and their China-Pakistan Economic Corridor. I also address the question over whether Khan is Pakistan’s Donald Trump.

Greyhound Bus Raids a Stark Reminder That Two-Thirds of Americans Live in a “Constitution-Free Zone”

In Hartford, Vermont, last year, U.S. Border Patrol agents boarded a Greyhound bus as it arrived from Boston, asking passengers about their citizenship and checking the IDs of people of color or those with accents. In January, they stopped a man in Indio, California, as he was boarding a Los Angeles-bound bus.

Trump Admin Has Enough Money For Just Seven Miles Of Border Wall

People walk past a mural painted on a border structure in Tijuana, Mexico, on Wednesday, Jan. 25, 2017. The mural, entitled “SOS, Deported Veterans,” was painted in 2013 by artist Amos Gregory to help raise awareness of the plight of deported veterans. (AP/Julie Watson)
During the campaign, President Donald Trump promised to build a wall across the southern border some 1,000 miles long. The number of miles the president currently has money for: seven.

New Normal: Border Agents Cell Phone Searches Reach Unprecedented Levels

TSA officer Robert Howard signals an airline passenger forward at a security check-point at Seattle-Tacoma International Airport, Monday, Jan. 4, 2010 (AP/Elaine Thompson)
U.S. authorities at airports have been asking U.S. citizens for cell phone passwords in order to search them, according to a recent investigation by NBC News which included one incident in which a couple was asked two separate times for their passwords and the second time the Muslim partner was held in a chokehold when he questioned the officer’s demand.

Can Border Officials Search Your Phone? These Are Your Rights

The unsettling fact is that border officials have long had broad powers — many people just don’t know about them. (AP Photo)
A NASA scientist heading home to the U.S. said he was detained in January at a Houston airport, where Customs and Border Protection officers pressured him for access to his work phone and its potentially sensitive contents.

Trump Considering 100,000 Strong Nat Guard Deployment For Immigration Roundups

A member of the National Guard checks on his colleague inside a Border Patrol Skybox near the Hidalgo International Bridge in Hidalgo, Texas. (AP/Delcia Lopez)
The Trump administration is considering a proposal to mobilize as many as 100,000 National Guard troops to round up unauthorized immigrants, including millions living nowhere near the Mexico border, according to a draft memo obtained by The Associated Press.