From the Los Angeles Times, an interview with the Secretary:
Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano is attending a conference in Texas on border security. She sat down with a Times reporter Monday to discuss a number of issues, including the Mexican drug war, immigration detention in the U.S. and legislative reforms.
How effective have the new technology and extra personnel at the border been, and what more can be done to target the drug cartels and border violence?
They have been very effective because they have been coordinated, they have been targeted, they have been done in collaboration with the Mexicans, which is a change from years past. . . . How has it worked so far? It's done well. What do we need to be doing more of or do differently? We want to continue our joint efforts to add to Mexican civilian law enforcement.
At some point, for example, the military needs to leave Ciudad Juarez and we need to have a civilian law enforcement capacity there. . . . You have got to be able to match manpower with technology, with really good, smart, targeted, intelligence-driven law enforcement to really have a system that makes sense.
From the Associated Press, on the North American Leaders Summit:
President Barack Obama and his counterparts from Mexico and Canada emerged Monday from a speed summit united on recession-fighting and Honduras' ousted leader but still divided on security and trade, the areas that most define their partnership.
The annual three-way meeting lasted barely more than four hours, spanning dinner Sunday night and Monday's morning of talks. There were repeated shows of friendship as the leaders gathered at the Institutos Cabanas, a 19th century home for poor children that's now a sprawling art museum, but there were no concrete announcements.
Further, questions about domestic policy - especially Obama's efforts to overhaul U.S. health care - took much of the attention as the three leaders appeared together before reporters in a graceful stone-arched courtyard.
From the Associated Press, on a new tool to fight smugglers:
U.S. Customs and Border Protection unveiled on Monday a prototype vessel for high-speed pursuits of smugglers ferrying people and drugs from Mexico, Canada and the Caribbean.
The 43-foot boat is faster, more stable and carries about twice as much fuel as the agency's current vessels, which were rolled out from 2001 to 2005.
The $875,000 prototype has infrared cameras and sensors that give detailed images as far as the horizon goes. Currently, agents often use goggles, which detect things only as far as the naked eye can.
The agency hopes to get funding to replace its fleet of about 65 vessels for high-speed chases that are stationed in the Gulf of Mexico, Florida's Atlantic Coast and in the Pacific Ocean near the borders with Canada and Mexico.
Leadership Events
10:30 AM MDT
Secretary Napolitano will meet with members of the Southwest Border Task Force and participate in a video teleconference
Undergraduate Learning Center, Room 220
500 West University Ave
El Paso, Texas
11:15 AM MDT
Secretary Napolitano will deliver remarks at the Border Security Conference and participate in a media availability
University of Texas at El Paso
Undergraduate Learning Center, Room 106
500 West University Ave
El Paso, Texas
Public Events
10:30 AM EDT
Office of Health Affairs (OHA) External Affairs Director Bob Davis will participate in a breakout session on nuclear crisis and emergency risk communication at the 2009 National Conference on Community Preparedness.
Hyatt Regency Crystal City Hotel
2799 Jefferson Davis Highway
Arlington, Va.
10:30 AM MDT
Assistant Secretary John Morton will announce the repatriation of $2.4 million from a joint investigation between U.S. and Mexico
Grand Hyatt Hotel
600 E Market, Salon F, 4th Floor
San Antonio, Texas
11:00 AM EDT
Cincinnati Resident Agent in Charge Rich Wilkens will announce the arrests and indictments of 50 individuals as part of a national marriage fraud scheme dubbed Operation Honeymoon’s Over
221 East 4th St – Suite 400
Cincinnati, Ohio
1:00 PM EDT
ICE Acting Field Office Director Phil Miller will give a tour of the South Louisiana Correctional Facility for local media and Non – Governmental Organization’s
South Louisiana Correctional Center
3843 Stagg Ave
Basile, La.