According to The Washington Times, Department of Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff announced recently that nearly $1 billion of the department’s proposed $42.7 billion budget for next year will be used for new U.S. Border Patrol agents, upgraded electronic security measures, and more fences, roads, and detention beds. Chertoff said that there has been an over-100 percent increase in the last fiscal year in border violence aimed at Border Patrol agents, and the department is not going to tolerate it.

Border Patrol Chief David V. Aguilar told the Times that there have been 192 assaults on his agents since the start of the new fiscal year in October. The new budget will use $458.9 million for 1,500 new Border Patrol agents, which will equal a 42 percent increase in the agent work force since September 11.

The budget also calls for:

• $100 million for technology that will enhance electronic surveillance and operational response capability along the border.
• $30 million to complete the construction of the San Diego border infrastructure project that includes multiple fences and patrol roads to enable quick enforcement response.
• $410.2 million for an additional 6,700 detention bed spaces.

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Texas Governor Rick Perry announced 'Operation Rio Grande' to improve law enforcement from El Paso to Brownsville, according to The Houston Chronicle. The governor said that the new initiative will seek to better protect security within 100 miles of the border. The Governor placed the State Operations Center on highest alert, an emergency status typically reserved for natural disasters such as hurricanes.

The new initiative follows his December announcement of $10 million in state aid for 'Operation Linebacker,' which allows local law enforcement to provide greater support to U.S. border officers.

Provisions of ‘Operation Rio Grande’ include:

·         An unspecified number of state troopers acting as rapid response teams to trouble spots. 

·         Covert patrols and surveillance by Department of Public Safety investigators with specialties in narcotics, motor vehicle theft and criminal intelligence.

·         DPS helicopters, planes and special weapons and tactics teams along with plans for regional rapid response teams.

·         Texas Rangers to conduct a border-wide investigation into drug-related skirmishes with alleged members of the Mexican military.

·         Canine search teams from the Texas Department of Criminal Justice, game wardens from the Texas Parks and Wildlife and road barriers from the Texas Department of Transportation.

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Federal immigration officials have said that they will not abandon the practice of impersonating occupational safety officials to round up undocumented immigrants, according to the New York Times. Last July, federal agents arrested 48 workers at Seymour Johnson Air Force Base in North Carolina on charges of being illegal immigrants after the agents tricked the workers into attending what was billed as a mandatory training session sponsored by the federal Occupational Safety and Health Administration. The federal Labor Department, North Carolina officials, and immigrant and job safety advocates criticized the ploy. They, along with other immigration advocates, argued that the sting might cause immigrant workers to distrust safety officials just as the authorities were stepping up efforts to reduce the disproportionately high injury rate among Hispanic workers.

Lawyers for several labor and immigrant groups met with officials at Immigration and Customs Enforcement on Jan. 30, where the officials again refused to rule out using a safety-related ruse to lure immigrant workers. Ana Avendano, a lawyer with the A.F.L.-C.I.O. explained, ". . . The population of workers that we're dealing with is suffering the highest mortality rate and highest injury rate on the job.” Michael Chertoff, Secretary of Homeland Security, said that ruses involving health and safety were not appropriate. Boyd, a spokesman for Immigration and Customs Enforcement, said the employment of illegal immigrants at sensitive facilities like military bases posed a serious threat to domestic security. "We've got an obligation under the law to do what we need to do to remove those people immediately from a position where they could do potential harm." said Boyd. Furthermore, he emphasized that ruses are a standard law enforcement policy.

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State legislators in Arizona and Texas are considering taxing electronic money transfers to pay for what they contend are immigration-related border security and social service costs, according to The Frontera NorteSur. A total of $20 billion-plus dollars in remittances flows from the United States to Mexico.

In Arizona, a House appropriations committee approved a resolution that would place an 8 percent state tax on electronic money transfers abroad. The tax will be used to pay for a double and triple-walled border fence between Arizona and Mexico. The proposed wall is in addition to the one envisioned in the Sensenbrenner immigration bill that the US House of Representatives passed last year. Arizona State Representative Russell Pearce estimated the remittance tax would generate $80 million dollars every year. US citizens and legal residents of Arizona also would be required to pay the tax when sending money abroad. In Texas, a bill that taxes remittance monies is under consideration by state legislators. They propose to use money from the remittance tax to pay for emergency hospital costs.

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Seventeen people were arrested in connection with a smuggling ring that was operating along the Canadian Border.  The smugglers, who were of both American and Canadian origin, used a variety of methods to bring people across the border, including freight trains, car trunks and the cargo beds of semi trucks.  The smuggling outfit appeared to cater primarily to Asian and Eastern European citizens.  In the bust, seventy-four immigrants were detained as they tried to cross the border.

The bust brought with it concerns over the nature and number of individuals who made it into the U.S.   The arrests were the result of joint cooperation between Canadian and U.S. officials.  The Department of Homeland Security along with the Royal Canadian Mounted Police and the Canada Border Services Agency had been working on the investigation for two years.  Twenty-three people have been charged in relation to the smuggling outfit and authorities said they expect more arrests in the near future.

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New legislation has been drafted to put a stop to tunneling across the Mexico–U.S. border.  There is no provision in border policy that explicitly outlaws the construction or use of tunnels.  Senator Dianne Feinstein (D-CA) has proposed legislation for congress that would eliminate the loophole tunnels pose for border security.

This proposal comes after the discovery of a half-mile long tunnel was discovered in Otay Mesa.  The underground passage, which was apparently built for the smuggling of drugs, is just one of eight which have been discovered this year.  Convicting the individuals in charge of tunnel construction has proven difficult for Americans working to combat the problem because the work is usually done by laborers who are ignorant of their employer.  No details have been released on how the new legislation will make it easier to convict tunnel operators, but those found guilty of financing or building a tunnel could face up to 20 years in prison.

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According to Jerry Seper of The Washington Times, violent clashes are on the rise along the Mexican border.  Since October, there have been 192 assaults on Border Patrol Agents.  Department of Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff has expressed a stern determination to stop the assaults through increased funding for border-related security.  In order to help combat the spiking clashes, a billion dollars of the proposed Department of Homeland Security budget will be put towards hiring new border agents, improving electronic surveillance, adding new fences and detention beds. 

In a press conference in Washington, Chertoff presented the clashes along the border as not just a threat to his agents, but the American people as well.  Hoping to show his resolve for protecting Border Agents and U.S. citizens, he expressed support for his men applying the “rules of engagement” along the border. 

Besides cracking down on border violence, the money should help put a stop to former “catch and release” tactics that were the result of limited bed space for captured immigrants.  The Department of Homeland Security hopes that new roads and electronic surveillance equipment will facilitate quicker response times for Border Agents and increased fencing will help to deter potential border crossings in the future.