Thread: Shippers welcome speedier inspections under proposed Homelan

http://www.sun-sentinel.com/news/local/ ... 7248.story

Shippers welcome speedier inspections under proposed Homeland Security overhaul

By Ruth Morris
Staff Writer

July 14, 2005

Secretary Michael Chertoff on Wednesday announced a massive restructure of the Department of Homeland Security to better monitor the flow of people and goods across U.S. borders while making trains, buses and planes less vulnerable to attack.

The secretary placed special emphasis on immigration policy, which could directly affect Florida, home to the country's third largest group of immigrants, and also on more efficient container checks, which Florida shippers said would mark a welcome advance. He called for tighter border controls to block about 500,000 undocumented immigrants who cross into the United States every year, and endorsed more precise screenings of those who enter legally.

New approach

"We are developing a new approach to controlling the border that includes an integrated mix of additional staffing, new technology and enhanced infrastructure investment," he added. "But control of the border will also require reducing the demand for illegal border migration by channeling migrants seeking work into regulated legal channels."

His statements on immigration amounted to the strongest endorsement in months of a Bush proposal to match foreign workers to U.S. jobs, drastically increasing the number of work permits issued to immigrants working on construction sites and in vegetable fields in South Florida and elsewhere.



The secretary also said he would create a medical post to combat such biological threats as anthrax, while improving transportation security -- a concern that moved front and center after last week's London bombings.

"Our enemy constantly changes and adapts, so we as a department must be nimble and decisive," the secretary said in a speech in Washington, D.C. He will go before a congressional hearing today to defend the policy changes, some of which require legislative approval.

The Department of Homeland Security, which was created in 2002 in response to the attacks Sept, 11, 2001, merged 22 government agencies. It has been plagued by charges of inefficiency, prompting Chertoff to order a review in March.

Local immigration advocates said, however, that they had been waiting for more than a year for Bush to unveil the temporary worker program in Congress.

"The administration has essentially punted this issue," said Greg Schell of the Migrant Farmworker Justice Project office in Lake Worth. "If there was ever a pro-immigrant, pro-legalization tide, it's has turned."

Florida freight forwarders and customs brokers, meanwhile, applauded comments in which Chertoff stressed a need for speedier inspections at U.S. ports, while taking a cautious approach to his calls for more complete data on cargo shipments.



The balance between monitoring cargo that might contain drugs or weapons while keeping up a smooth flow of goods has posed a constant challenge for security officials since the 9-11attacks.

"It's not a balance anymore. The pendulum has swung completely to the security side," said Peter A. Quinter, a Fort Lauderdale trade lawyer, of Becker & Poliakoff PA. Quinter said transport companies already have some containers held up by customs officials for two or three weeks at a time, with no explanation, which costs them hundreds in storage fees. "That's not good customer relations," he said.

Roger Madan, president of Air Marine Forwarding, which ships and receives cargo through the Port of Palm Beach as well as Port Everglades, said many of the post-Sept. 11 measures had already created additional costs and responsibilities for freight companies like his.

"If they're talking about [new] procedures that are going to create delays, then I think the economy suffers," he said. "But so far, Customs has really done a great job of speeding the [inspection] process up."

In his remarks, Chertoff said the government "can gather, fuse and assess more complete data from the global supply chain to develop a more accurate profile of the history of cargo in a given container." It wasn't clear what kind of data the Department of Homeland Security would gather, or if that will mean more forms and fees on the ground.

Streamlined command

Other reforms will seek to streamline command structures and reshuffle responsibilities. A congressional aide familiar with the reorganization said responsibilities for drawing up plans for how to respond to emergencies will be stripped from FEMA and moved to a new, separate wing. FEMA will retain its responsibilities for actually responding to disasters.

Michael D. Brown, the Under Secretary of Homeland Security for Emergency Preparedness and Response, will find his title changed to FEMA director, the source said, though Brown will still report directly to Chertoff.

Here it comes. here is the "proceedural" changes the North American Community supporters aka the Open Borders Lobby aka the Treason Lobby is pushing.

They are going to change proceedures since they cant get the votes in Congress.

W

Originally Posted by Brian503a

"But control of the border will also require reducing the demand for illegal border migration by channeling migrants seeking work into regulated legal channels."

In other words... we're going to change the law (so that there are no laws) instead of enforce the laws we have now.



Bush is the devil.