Customs and Border Protection
-
This week, Women of Washington is on location at the Executive Women in Government Leadership Summit for a special episode. Hosts Aileen Black and Gigi Schumm interviewed two of the presenters at the forum to get their take on in the federal government.
August 04, 2015 -
The largest federal law enforcement agency needs more agents to investigate its own. The Integrity Advisory Panel at Customs and Border Protection is calling for nearly 350 new internal affairs investigators to root out what it calls "systemic corruption." The group's report also urges officials to revise some policies and recommends specific restrictions on the use of firearms. Gil Kerlikowske is the commissioner of Customs and Border Protection. He joined Tom Temin on the Federal Drive with his reaction to what the advisory panel is recommending.
July 31, 2015 -
Customs and Border Protection had a problem: how to heighten security while grappling with rising international travel. If you traveled abroad prior to 2008, you probably remember the long wait times and seemingly overwhelmed customs officers. In stepped John Wagner, the Deputy Assistant Commissioner of Customs and Border Protection. He helped streamline the process, and was named one of this year's 33 Service to America Medal finalists. He spoke with Tom Temin on the Federal Drive about his work.
July 28, 2015 -
John Wagner of U.S. Customs and Border Protection implemented two groundbreaking initiatives that streamlined the screening process at airports.
July 28, 2015 -
The never-ending talk about cloud computing makes it seem like agencies have fully bought in and everything is going to the cloud. But a recent event with several federal technology executives showed just how far cloud and open source have to go.
July 27, 2015 -
The FEMA Operation Precious Cargo Team was dispatched last summer to the South Texas border to coordinate the government's response to a massive humanitarian crisis.
June 30, 2015 -
Researchers at the Partnership for Public Service and Grant Thornton say they know how agencies can keep the good things going, even as leaders change.
June 23, 2015 -
Customs and Border Protectionhad an unexpected humanitarian crisis on its hands last summer. Tens of thousands of South American children crossed the Southwest Border. Shelters got full too quickly and it took CBP 45 to 60 days to reunite children with their families. Kevin Hannes is a federal coordinating officer at the Federal Emergency Management Agency in Denton, Texas. His team set up an emergency operations center, streamlined the process for tracking cases and worked with several different agencies to hand out food and clothing. By the end of the crisis the reunion process took 10 days. Hannes is a finalist for a Service to America medal in the management excellence category. He tells In Depth with Francis Rose what happened at the border stations last summer, and why it was taking so long to get kids reunited with their families.
June 18, 2015 -
A switch for Customs and Border Protection drives a big change at the agency for its Automated Commercial Environment. The agency transitioned from a traditional waterfall development process to an agile development strategy. Mark Bell, assistant inspector general for audit at the Homeland Security Department\'s Office of Inspector General, tells In Depth with Francis Rose where CBP started and where it\'s headed now with the ACE program.
June 10, 2015 -
U.S. Border Patrol and Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents have new orders for dealing with illegal immigrants. Under the President's immigration plan, agents are supposed to ask illegal immigrants if they might qualify for deferred deportation. And now Homeland Security has furnished immigrants with three complaint hotlines they can call if they feel they're treated unfairly. There's one for Customs and Border Protection, one for Immigration and Customs Enforcement and one for Citizenship and Immigration Services. David North, a senior fellow at the Center for Immigration Studies, joined Tom Temin on the Federal Drive to explain how this can all possibly work.
February 18, 2015 -
A House subcommittee hosted a hearing Thursday to discuss emerging threats and technologies, but the topic that dominated conversation was whether the Homeland Security Department would be funded after Feb. 27.
February 12, 2015 -
President Barack Obama's executive orders on immigration have had reverberations throughout the federal government. They've drastically changed the way Border Patrol and Immigration officers do their jobs. The changes also heavily impacted immigration judges, delaying many of their thousands of pending cases by as much as five years. On the Federal Drive with Tom Temin, Judge Dana Leigh Marks, president of the National Association of Immigration Judges, explained just how overloaded the court systems already are.
February 05, 2015 -
The Republican chairman of the House Oversight Committee tells NTEU members that he wants their help in ridding the federal workforce of bad actors.
February 04, 2015 -
As part of the Obama administration's strategy for dealing with immigration, immigration enforcement and customs and border patrol officers have new orders. They must now ask immigrants they encounter living in the country illegally whether they might qualify to avoid deportation. Agents also have been told to review government files to identify any jailed immigrants they might be able to release. It means a lot for work and a new change in mind-set for Customs and Border Protection agents. Shawn Moran, vice president of the National Border Patrol Council, joined Tom Temin on the Federal Drive to explain how it's going.
February 04, 2015 -
Eight years after unmanned aircraft became a part of border security, the effectiveness of the program remains a question mark. A new Homeland Security inspector general audit says Customs and Border Protection never developed performance measures. Investigators found aircraft don't meet flight goals, and CBP has way undercalculated flight costs. The agency, however, disputes those findings. For the management side of the story, Randolph "Tex" Alles, assistant commissioner of the Office of Air and Marine at CBP, joined Tom Temin on the Federal Drive. His first bone to pick concerned how long the drones are supposed to be in the air.
February 02, 2015