Law enforcement agencies

Cartel towns pose challenge for immigration reform

UPDATED 7:38 AM EDT, May 20, 2013 | CHRISTOPHER SHERMAN, Associated Press

MATAMOROS, Mexico (AP) — Just across the Rio Grande from Brownsville, Texas, stands a dormitory-style shelter filled with people recently deported from the U.S. and other migrants waiting to cross the border.

The long rows of bunk beds offer immigrants a place to rest on their long journey. But the shelter is no safe haven in a town controlled by the Gulf cartel. Armed men once showed up and took away 15 men, who were probably put to work as gunmen, lookouts or human mules hauling bales of marijuana into the United States.

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UPDATED 19:22 PM EDT, May 13, 2013

Report questions new Border Patrol punishments

SAN DIEGO (AP) — A widely touted Border Patrol initiative to send migrants back to Mexico from distant border cities to discourage them from trying again may be one of its least effective methods.

That finding comes in a study that offers a detailed assessment of how the agency's new enforcement strategies are working.

The so-called lateral repatriations aim to make it more difficult for migrants to reconnect with smugglers. The Congressional Research Service finds those migrants are among the most likely to get caught again.

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UPDATED 6:49 AM EDT, May 10, 2013

Prosecutors release evidence in Border Patrol case

SAN DIEGO (AP) — Federal prosecutors have released a surveillance video that was used in a case against a Border Patrol agent who was acquitted last month by a jury of a charge of choking a migrant.

A judge on Thursday ordered the U.S. Attorney's office to release the footage in response to a petition by news organizations, including The Associated Press.

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UPDATED 23:08 PM EDT, May 2, 2013

Eyes on You

Police and politicians across the U.S. are pointing to the example of surveillance video that was used to help identify the Boston Marathon bombing suspects as a reason to get more electronic eyes on their streets.

From Los Angeles to Philadelphia, efforts include trying to gain police access to cameras used to monitor traffic, expanding surveillance networks in some major cities and enabling officers to get regular access to security footage at businesses.

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UPDATED 7:50 AM EDT, May 1, 2013

FBI probes link between Virginia governor, donor

RICHMOND, Va. (AP) — The FBI has begun looking at the relationship between Virginia Gov. Bob McDonnell and his wife Maureen and the chief executive of a nutritional supplements manufacturer that is the subject of an investigation, two people with knowledge of the review said.

Federal authorities began questioning people close to the McDonnells as an outgrowth of a securities probe of Virginia-based Star Scientific Inc., said the two people, who spoke Monday on the condition of anonymity because their roles in the case preclude them from speaking publicly.

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UPDATED 21:37 PM EDT, April 21, 2013

Under pressure, Border Patrol now counts getaways

CAMPO, Calif. (AP) — Richard Gordon is one of the Border Patrol's best at spotting the smallest human traces in pursuit of people who enter the U.S. illegally from Mexico: dusty footprints, torn cobwebs, broken twigs, overturned pebbles.

It's a skill he has sharpened over the last 16 years in the craggy, shrub-covered mountains east of San Diego and one that is taking on new importance as gauging border security has emerged as a potential stumbling block to an overhaul of the U.S. immigration system.

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UPDATED 14:56 PM EDT, April 17, 2013

Arrest imminent in marathon bombing, suspect to be brought to court

BOSTON (AP) — A law enforcement official briefed on the investigation says a suspect in the Boston Marathon bombings is about to be arrested.

The official spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity Wednesday. The official was not authorized to divulge details of the investigation.

The official says the suspect is to be taken into custody by federal marshals and taken to a Boston courthouse.

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UPDATED 7:30 AM EDT, April 4, 2013

Sheriff slain in W.Va. town crusaded against drugs

WILLIAMSON, W.Va. (AP) — Just months before being gunned down, Sheriff Eugene Crum made good on a campaign promise to do what many in law enforcement have attempted for years in southern West Virginia — crack down on drugs, especially the illegal sale of prescription pills.

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UPDATED 21:01 PM EDT, March 31, 2013

Drone industry worries about privacy backlash

WASHINGTON (AP) — It's a good bet that in the not-so-distant future aerial drones will be part of Americans' everyday lives, performing countless useful functions.

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UPDATED 7:38 AM EDT, March 28, 2013

Obama gives Secret Service its 1st female director

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Barack Obama on Tuesday named veteran Secret Service agent Julia Pierson as the agency's first female director, signaling his desire to change the culture at the male-dominated service, which has been marred by scandal.

Pierson, who most recently served as the agency's chief of staff, will take over from Mark Sullivan, who announced his retirement last month. The agency faced intense criticism during Sullivan's tenure for a prostitution scandal during preparations for Obama's trip to Cartagena, Colombia, last year.

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