9/11 National Security

Words: 431
Pages: 2

1) Is current immigration policy seriously treated as a national security issue? How was it treated prior to 9/11?

Prior to 9/11 immigration policy was considered more of a threat to the economy and American jobs than it was to national security. In the wake of the attack on the Twin Towers, the U.S. Government realized that national security involved a lot more than what had been considered in the past. Among other post-9/11 realizations, immigration/customs/border is highlighted in the NIPP as a critically important piece of national security.

The renaming of the U.S. Customs and Border Protection and reorganization to fall under the Department of Homeland Security was a deliberate step toward affecting immigration policy’s importance to national security affected by the passing of the Homeland Security Act of 2002 (Christopher 2014, 16).

2) What does open, but closed borders mean?

This means an open or borderless economy but barricaded border (Andreas 2009, xiv). These two concepts are closely connected in that the legal economic flow between neighboring countries is dependent on the cessation of illegal border activity (Andreas 2009, xiv).

3) What does Customs border authority entail?
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Code Title 19 Section 482 (CRS 2009, 2). This policy gives customs officials the authority to board and search “any vehicle, beast, or person” as well as “any trunk or envelope” that the official believes to be suspect (CRS 2009, 2). According to U.S. Code Title 19 Section 507, customs officers also have the authority to obligate any person to assist the officer in making an arrest, search, or seizure (CBP a 2009, 3-4). Section 507 also requires customs officers to identify themselves as agents of the Federal Government of the United States when asked (CBP a 2009,