United States Border bill would expand Homeland Security powers

Border bill would expand Homeland Security powers

 

Not much of this is truly new, is it? The secretary of DHS has the power to waive any act or law in order to achieve his/her goals. Nappy, when she was governor, had a sh** fit when Chertoff came steamrolling through AZ with his border fence.

 

Moving this to Border Controls: Customs & Immigration ...

The "land grab" here is subtle. They're giving DHS access where BLM and other agencies have control, so on the surface it's already federal land and there's no land grab, but ...

BLM administers leases that historically aren't leases but are property rights vested in the ranchers. To achieve cooperation on water rights in the 1800's the ranchers then nominally deeded property to the federal government and then "leased" them back. When DHS butts into this arrangement like a herd of elephants on the ranches on the border, it isn't going to be pretty.

The hundred mile border zone also bugs me. Border enforcement should be on the border or in the immediate vicinity. A hundred miles in you are in the U.S. and should be free of harassment. This isn't new, but giving DHS these exceptions & powers over a 100 mile zone will be a big mistake.

 

The coastlines are also a border, are they not?