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First This:
Napolitano: Get Used to Airport Pat-Downs
December 26, 2010
WASHINGTON — Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano says the use of full-body scanners and invasive pat-downs at airports around the country will not change for the “foreseeable future.”
Napolitano tells CNN’s “State of the Union” that she is always looking to improve the security systems in place but adds that the new technology and the pat-downs are safer for the traveling public.
Napolitano also dismisses a recent news report about major airports failing secrets tests designed to get contraband such as guns and knives past security screeners. The report said some airports had a 70 percent failure rate.
Read more: http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2010/12/26/napolitano-used-airport-pat-downs/#ixzz19EXrDaX3
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Then ADD THIS:
Trusted Traveler Program Sparks Fears That Mexican Drug Cartels Could Bypass U.S. Airport Security
December 20, 2010
Mexican citizens will soon be eligible to apply for a “trusted traveler” status that will allow them to bypass some elements of airport security when they fly into the United States — a U.S. government-approved program that critics say could be exploited by violent drug cartels.
Under the program, Mexicans who have undergone background checks and are deemed low security risks will be able to fly into major U.S. cities and breeze through customs without being questioned by U.S. Customs agents.
Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano and her Mexican counterparts announced their intent to roll out the program two weeks ago, trumpeting it as evidence of increased information sharing and law enforcement collaboration between the countries.
The program is an expansion of an existing trusted traveler program, the Global Entry Program, which was launched in 2008 and expedites pre-approved passengers through the airport customs and security process when they arrive in the U.S.
The program is designed to weed out low-risk passengers and enable authorities to zero in on those who may be more likely to pose a threat.
But critics say Mexico’s drug cartels will quickly learn how to exploit loopholes in the plan, and they point to the recent arrests of two pre-vetted “trusted travelers” caught trying to smuggle marijuana and other contraband into the U.S. through a Texas border checkpoint.
Sheriff Larry Dever of Cochise County, Ariz., says drug cartels could recruit Mexicans with clean backgrounds to attain trusted traveler status, and then use them to smuggle drugs and other contraband into the U.S.
“We know even on this side of the border that drug cartels recruit people to apply for jobs with Customs and Border Protection, Immigration — they keep them clean so they pass background checks,” he said.
But DHS officials insist that people who attain trusted traveler status don’t get a free pass.
“Trusted travelers are still subject to random searches,” said U.S. Customs and Border Protection spokeswoman Joanne Ferreira. “We do all these checks all the time to maintain the integrity of the program. We look at it very carefully.”
The Global Entry program allows U.S. citizens and permanent residents who have undergone a thorough vetting process — fingerprinting, background checks, interviews with customs agents, etc.— to attain a low-risk status that allows them to skip the line at customs and complete their entry process at an automatic kiosk. The kiosks are currently available in 20 major U.S. airports.
Mexican citizens applying for trusted traveler status will pay a $100 application fee and undergo thorough vetting by both U.S. and Mexican authorities. If approved for the five-year membership, their biometric and other information will be entered into a database that is rechecked every 24 hours, the DHS spokeswoman said.
Mexican citizens are already eligible for expedited land border crossings through another trusted traveler program, Secure Electronic Network for Travelers Rapid Inspection (SENTRI). But DHS officials admit that system isn’t flawless.
Last week, two SENTRI trusted travelers were caught trying to bring contraband across the border into the U.S. through the SENTRI-only express border passage.
**Emphasis added**
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Terrorist Threat On Border With Mexico
http://www.wsbtv.com/2investigates/23434381/detail.html
WEB EXTRA: People Other Than Mexicans, Including From Terrorist Nations Captured In The Last Two Years
WATCH: 
Channel 2 Investigates U.S. Border Security Part 1
WATCH: Channel 2 Investigates U.S. Border Security Part 2
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Are America’s borders more secure? Or have WE just been lucky?
American’s are to get “used to pat-downs?”
Complacency = Acceptance.
HAD ENOUGH…..YET…..AMERICA?
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