Today's Top Stories
1. CBP approves unmanned pedestrian border crossing in Texas
2. Coast Guard won't dismantle Polar Sea as planned
3. DHS grants states deferments on driver's license security compliance
4. Sandy relief votes to come in January, say House leaders
5. ICE extends prosecutorial discretion to detainer policy Also Noted: DHS acquires land for biosecurity lab; Secrecy of memo on drone killing is upheld; and much more...  Follow @fiercegov on Twitter
More News From the FierceGovernment Network:
1. Former Coast Guard officials find lucrative roles with Coast Guard contractors
2. White House clarifies trillion-dollar gap in cliff deal scores
3. House Oversight consolidates operations
Today's Top News 1. CBP approves unmanned pedestrian border crossing in Texas
A new computerized border crossing in Big Bend National Park, Texas, will accommodate only pedestrian traffic, not the cargo and commercial traffic originally envisioned. To pass through the unmanned Boquillas crossing, a Class B port of entry, pedestrians will have to present identification and border-crossing documents to be electronically scanned, according to a notice published Dec. 28 in the Federal Register. Customs and Border Protection anticipates the crossing will primarily be used by U.S. park visitors taking a ferry across the Rio Grande to visit the Mexican village of Boquillas. The CBP proposal drew criticism that remote technology would not provide adequate security to keep illegal immigrants, terrorists, criminals and contraband out of the country. But CBP said its agents in El Paso will process and clear pedestrians through electronic connections to kiosks at the crossing. Security measures will include a 24-hour surveillance camera monitored at CBP's Combined Area Security Center and at the Border Patrol station in Alpine, Texas. Border Patrol agents within Big Bend National Park will be available to perform physical inspections as needed, according to the notice. Crossings will be allowed only during daylight. Additionally, the joint-use facility being built by CBP and the National Park Service will function as a visitor center manned by Park Service personnel. CBP and the Park Service also are building new residences in the park to house additional Border Patrol agents to permanently work and live in the park. The nearest legal border crossing to the Boquillas crossing is at Presidio, Texas, more than 120 miles west by road on the U.S. side. The closest legal crossing to the east is at Del Rio, Texas, more than 260 miles by U.S. road. A previous crossing at Boquillas was closed in 2002. Julie Bird is a freelance reporter. For more: - read the Federal Register notice Related Articles: Read more about: electronic crossing, CBP
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2. Coast Guard won't dismantle Polar Sea as planned
 The Coast Guard is prohibited from dismantling the heavy icebreaker Polar Sea for the near future under the reauthorization that President Obama signed into law Dec. 20.
The Polar Sea was set to be used for parts by the end of 2012, Coast Guard Commandant Adm. Robert Papp said as recently as Dec. 6. An amendment in the reauthorization bill from Sen. Maria Cantwell (D-Wash.) requires the Coast Guard to submit an analysis to Congress by September 2013 of the condition of the Polar Sea, a cost estimate of extending its service life, and a comparison to other options. The Polar Sea is one of two heavy Coast Guard icebreakers; it suffered massive engine failure in 2010 and has been set for decommissioning since February 2011. Salvaging parts from the crippled ship was put on a last minute hold in June following the intervention of three senators from Washington and Alaska. The Coast Guard's other heavy icebreaker, the Polar Star, is undergoing a $57 million refurbishment by Vigor Shipyards in Seattle, with a planned return to service in 2013. "As commerce in the Arctic continues to increase, our nation's need for icebreakers will continue to grow," Cantwell said in a Dec. 13 press release. If the Coast Guard determines that it is cost effective to reactivate the Polar Sea, it must provide Congress a plan to do so under the reauthorization. If it determines otherwise, the Coast Guard can decommission the Polar Sea, but it will have to submit to Congress a strategy to maintain its polar icebreaking services until September 2022. The reauthorization also prohibits the Coast Guard for now from changing the current homeport of either the Polar Sea or Polar Star. For more:
- go to the text of H.R. 2838, the Coast Guard reauthorization bill
- go to Sen. Cantwell's press release Related Articles:
Legislation would authorize $1.5B annually for Coast Guard recapitalization
Papp: Polar Sea set for dismantling this month - UPDATED
Papp: The Coast Guard can't lease all its icebreakers
Coast Guard faces icebreaker funding challenges Read more about: Barack Obama, icebreakers
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3. DHS grants states deferments on driver's license security compliance
Only 13 states have met stricter federal standards for driver's license security required under the Real ID Act of 2005, but the Homeland Security Department is granting all other states and territories temporary deferments as of Jan. 15. The deferments will allow residents of the other 37 states to continue to board commercial aircraft and enter federal buildings using their state-issued IDs, according to an announcement from DHS. DHS identified the states meeting Real ID standards as Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Georgia, Iowa, Indiana, Maryland, Ohio, South Dakota, Tennessee, West Virginia, Wisconsin and Wyoming. In the announcement, DHS said it will work with states and other stakeholders to develop a schedule for phased enforcement of the law, with a schedule to be published by early fall. DHS was criticized in September by the Government Accountability Office for not providing enough support to states trying to implement the stricter standards. In a Sept. 21 report (.pdf), GAO said some states complained they weren't sure the measures they were taking would be sufficient to comply with the law, and have made assumptions based on informal remarks from DHS officials. Julie Bird is a freelance reporter. For more:
- read the DHS announcement
- download the GAO report (.pdf) Related Articles:
Noncitizen database of legal status can be years out of date, auditors say
New Mexico governor uses Real ID to push for repeal of driver's licenses for illegal immigrants
Real ID deadline won't be extended, says DHS Read more about: GAO report, Real ID
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4. Sandy relief votes to come in January, say House leaders
 The House will hold a vote Jan. 4 on whether to direct $9 billion to the National Flood Insurance Program to aid victims of Hurricane Sandy, the Republican leadership said Jan. 2.
Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio) and Majority Leader Eric Cantor (R-Va.) said that on Jan. 15, the first full legislative day of the new Congress, the House will consider the rest of an aid package.
The Senate passed $60 billion in aid to Sandy victims on Dec. 28, but the House adjourned its session Jan. 2 without a vote.
Speaking on the House floor that day, Rep. Peter King (R-N.Y.) called the inaction, "absolutely inexcusable, absolutely indefensible. We have a moral obligation to hold this vote."
"Already, this marks one of the longest delays in congressional action in response to a major natural disaster in recent memory," House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) said in a statement.
The governors of the states hit hardest by Sandy have said they together need far more than $60 billion. Andrew Cuomo has said New York alone needs $41.9 billion, Chris Christie has said New Jersey needs $36.9 billion, and Dan Malloy has said Connecticut needs $3.2 billion.
New York's $41.9 billion assessment is made up of about $33 billion in repairs and $9 billion to prevent damage from future storms. The prevention money would fund projects such as flood protection for roads, subway tunnels and sewage treatment plants, as well as backup power systems for hospitals.
Of the repair money, about $15 billion would be for New York City. Long Island's Nassau and Suffolk counties would get nearly $7 billion and $2 billion, respectively. The rest would go toward other counties, utilities, state agencies and transit authorities.
New Jersey's assessment divides up into more than $29 billion for repairs and $7 billion for prevention. The former includes roughly $8 billion for businesses, $6 billion for parks and the environment, $5 billion for housing and $3 billion for water and sewage systems.
The aid bill the Senate passed includes $17 billion for community development block grants, $12 billion to restore transportation systems, and $5 billion for the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers.
For more:
- go to the Republican leadership's Jan. 2 statement
- watch lawmakers criticize the lack of a vote on the House floor Related Articles:
White House proposes $60.4B in Sandy repair and mitigation spending
NOAA: 2012 hurricane season 'above normal'
The 5 costliest U.S. hurricanes of the past 20 years Read more about: John Boehner
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5. ICE extends prosecutorial discretion to detainer policy
 To focus on criminals and repeat offenders, Immigration and Customs Enforcement has applied the policy of prosecutorial discretion to decisions on whether to issue detainers.
In a Dec. 21 memo (.pdf), ICE Director John Morton instructed agents and officers to issue detainers to suspected illegal immigrants only if they have been charged with or convicted of a felony, have at least three prior misdemeanor convictions, have re-entered the country after a previous removal, or otherwise pose a security threat. They should also issue detainers to individuals found to have knowingly committed immigration fraud and those who have illegally crossed the border, the memo says. The new guidance applies to all ICE efforts, including Secure Communities and 287(g) agreements, which give state and local law enforcement agencies certain authority to enforce immigration law. It does not apply to the use of detainers by Customs and Border Protection. The memo calls for a review of the guidance for the first six months of implementation. ICE will consider changes based on the review after that. Morton notes that the guidance doesn't limit ICE's power to enforce immigration law or confer any new rights on those subject to it. But, he says, "These priorities ensure that ICE's finite enforcement resources are dedicated...to individuals whose removal promotes public safety, national security, border security, and the integrity of the immigration system." In fiscal 2012, ICE deported 409,849 immigrants. More than half of them had felony or misdemeanor convictions. That includes 1,215 immigrants convicted of homicide, 5,557 convicted of sexual offenses, 40,448 convicted of drug crimes, and 36,166 convicted of driving under the influence. For more:
- download the Morton memo (.pdf)
- go to a press release with ICE's removal statistics Related Articles:
More than 100,000 granted deferred action under deportation policy
Morton explains ICE's rescission of 287(g) agreements in Arizona
Alien deportations stable for third year Read more about: John Morton
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Also Noted > DHS acquires land for biosecurity lab. Article (WSJ)
> Secrecy of memo on drone killing is upheld. Article (NYT)
> CBP aims to modernize IT infrastructure. Article (FedNewsRadio)
> FBI background check numbers show a run on guns. Article (CBS News)
> ICE rescues 110 exploited children in the United States. Article (Orlando Sentinel) And Finally… Robotic space hedgehogs are being built by NASA and Stanford. Article (CNet) > Federal security concerns and the cloud - January 29, 2013, 11 am ET/ 8 am PT Join FierceGovernmentIT for a webinar while we discuss the extent to which data security concerns act as a cloud computing adoption obstacle, the extent to which the can be mitigated and the resulting impacts those mitigations may have on use cases and deployment. Register Today.
| > Local Supply Chain Capacity in a Crisis: Regional Recovery Resource Exercise and Planning Summit - January 30 and 31, 8 am - 3 pm ET - Arlington, VA Hurricane Sandy reminds us of the importance of local resource capacity planning prior to unforeseen events. Expert panelists at the summit will lead open discussions between public, for-profit and not-for profit sector event participants on resolutions to the most difficult recovery resource delivery challenges. Register Today.
| > Survey: Federal IT Priorities: Top Executives Look to 2013 and Beyond In a recent survey on Federal IT Reform, Senior government IT executives laid out their vision for the coming year, detailing challenges and identifying priorities. To read more about these timely results click here to download the summary today. | ©2012 FierceMarkets This email was sent to ignoble.experiment@arconati.us as part of the FierceHomelandSecurity email list which is administered by FierceMarkets, 1900 L Street NW, Suite 400, Washington, DC 20036, (202) 628-8778.
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