The new acting director of US Citizenship and Immigration Services, Mark Koumans, sent the email to employees, telling them that as they regularly handle sensitive information, they need to guard it closely. When USCIS Director L. Francis Cissna resigned in June 2019, then-deputy director Mark Koumans took over in an acting capacity.
For example, Merida provides significant funding for Non-Intrusive Inspection Equipment (NII) which will allows Mexican authorities to more effectively screen vehicles and cargo. While these ICE programs do not receive funding under Merida, assisting and training our Mexican counterparts allows them to expand their roles in these programs, and to continue the record of success demonstrated in these cooperative efforts. The Merida Initiative is a multiyear program that will provide assistance to Mexico and Central America in the form of capacity building, training, and long-term reform to better equip law enforcement agencies to complete their missions.The Office of International Affairs works hand in hand with DHS components to support implementing appropriated funds and how best they can be most effectively spent.
USCIS officials, including asylum officers and others, have been pushed to administer all three of the controversial programs.BuzzFeed News first revealed the implementation of the program on Wednesday. Merida funds will support equipment and training for units of vetted Mexican law enforcement officers that increase the effectiveness of investigations on both sides of the border.While DHS works diligently with its Mexican counterparts to combat Mexican border violence, we must nonetheless be prepared for worst case scenarios. With Merida funds, Mexico intends to implement the OASISS program across the entire United States-Mexico border.Another DHS component, the United States Visitor and Immigrant Status Indicator Technology program (US-VISIT) has also forged a strong and productive relationship with the Mexican government’s Interior and Public Security Secretariats. This commitment has led to an unprecedented level of cooperation between DHS and its Mexican counterparts in confronting the challenges involved in securing the border. But a USCIS official who read the email said Koumans missed the mark. The sustained levels of violence that we observe in Mexican border cities like Tijuana, Ciudad Juarez, and Nogales threaten private citizens, tourists, workers, and businesses alike. Mr. Koumans will participate in the 2012 International Conference on Homeland Security, delivering a speech on December 5. Since 2002, 29 Mobile Training Team (MTT) deployments and 25 resident training courses have taken place with Mexico in the areas of Maritime Law Enforcement, Port Security, Engineering, Search and Rescue, and Crisis Management.The DHS Office of Counternarcotics Enforcement is co-leading, along with the Department of Justice, an interagency effort to update the SW Border Counternarcotics Strategy.
The equipment program support and training provided through the Merida Initiative funds will give Mexican officials the tools they need to carry out their mission.
BESTs serve as a platform from which interagency partners can work together to address cross-border crime. Esses Cookies nos permitem coletar alguns dados pessoais sobre você, como sua ID exclusiva atribuída ao seu dispositivo, endereço de IP, tipo de dispositivo e navegador, conteúdos visualizados ou outras ações realizadas usando nossos serviços, país e idioma selecionados, entre outros. ICE’s investigative priority is to prevent violent transnational criminal organizations—terrorist groups, drug cartels, and other criminal entities—from illegally obtaining U.S. origin munitions and related technology.
Notably, this is the first and only agreement between the United States and Mexico that will allow for the sharing of classified information. The twelve BESTs that exist on our land borders and in major maritime port cities incorporate personnel from ICE, CBP, Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF), Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), U.S. Coast Guard, and the U.S. Attorney's Office along with other key federal, state, local and foreign law enforcement agencies. Later in the day, Reuters, which also reported the program starting up, The email sent by Koumans mentions that staff can disclose “wrongdoing” under the Whistleblower Protection Act.