Introduction
Customs Service agents are now on high alert at some 300 U.S. ports of entry to keep contraband from coming into the country on buses, trucks, airliners and ships. (U.S. Customs Service Photo/Gerald L. Nino)
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To keep America safe from terrorists, customs and immigration agents must monitor 7,500 miles of land and sea borders, dozens of airports and 300 official ports of entry. They also monitor the 11 million trucks, 2.2 million rail cars and 7,500 foreign-flag ships that enter the country each year. And they oversee the 31 million non-citizens — mostly tourists — who visit each year. After Sept. 11, President Bush formed the Office of Homeland Security, and Congress passed sweeping legislation giving police and intelligence agencies more power to monitor U.S. borders. But experts disagree over which security steps would be most cost-effective and least disruptive to trade and Americans' daily lives. And civil libertarians warn that some proposed measures — such as linking driver's licenses to a national database and targeting certain ethnic groups — would undermine civil liberties.
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May 14, 2021 |
Domestic Terrorism |
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Apr. 09, 2021 |
Targeted Killings |
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Apr. 01, 2016 |
Defeating the Islamic State |
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Jan. 29, 2016 |
Unrest in Turkey |
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Jun. 27, 2014 |
Assessing the Threat From al Qaeda |
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Sep. 02, 2011 |
Remembering 9/11 |
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Sep. 03, 2010 |
Homegrown Jihadists |
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Mar. 12, 2010 |
Prosecuting Terrorists  |
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Nov. 2009 |
Terrorism and the Internet |
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Feb. 13, 2009 |
Homeland Security |
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Apr. 21, 2006 |
Port Security |
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Oct. 14, 2005 |
Global Jihad |
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Apr. 02, 2004 |
Nuclear Proliferation and Terrorism |
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Feb. 22, 2002 |
Policing the Borders |
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Oct. 12, 2001 |
War on Terrorism |
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Jul. 21, 1995 |
Combating Terrorism |
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Aug. 26, 1988 |
New Approach to Mideast Terrorism |
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May 30, 1986 |
Dealing With Terrorism |
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Oct. 08, 1982 |
Prospects for Peace in Northern Ireland |
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Mar. 27, 1981 |
Anti-Terrorism: New Priority in Foreign Policy |
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Dec. 02, 1977 |
International Terrorism |
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Jan. 26, 1973 |
Control of Skyjacking |
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May 13, 1970 |
Political Terrorism |
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Jul. 24, 1952 |
Red Terrorism in Malaya |
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