The Border Crisis and National Security: What Needs To Be Done?
SUBSCRIBER+EXCLUSIVE BRIEFING — It’s difficult to clearly understand the real nature of the national security threat that exists at the U.S. southern border, namely because […] More
Border Security
Smarter Border Security
The Government remains shut down after President Donald Trump offered a plan over the weekend to provide temporary protection to some groups of immigrants if […] More
Why Congress Will Not Build That Wall
The President’s recent tweet storm threatening to close the U.S.’s land border with Mexico and order military action to counter a “dangerous” caravan of asylum […] More
What Does ‘Right’ Look Like at the U.S. Border?
Six years ago this month, almost to the day, Cipher Brief CEO & Publisher Suzanne Kelly accompanied then- Border Chief Michael J. Fisher to the […] More
The Latest
What a Wall Won’t Fix on the U.S.-Mexico Border
The assumption that a longer, higher wall along the U.S. border with Mexico will improve the nation’s security is wrong. Extending the nearly 700 miles of […] More
We Should Be Nice with Nice Guys and Tough with Tough Guys
The United States is confronting a wide array of national security challenges ranging from North Korea’s nuclear ambitions and Russia’s subversive cyber activities, to the […] More
Traveler Rules Could Trigger Backlash from Friendly Arab States
The U.S. State Department recently released a new set of guidelines for foreign nationals seeking to travel to the U.S., requiring their countries of origin […] More
New Border Controls Don’t Add Up To “Extreme Vetting”
The State Department circulated a cable last week, outlining new guidelines concerning passport, security measures, and biographical information for visa applications from certain foreign countries. […] More
Do the Trump Team’s New Rules for Vetting Visitors Target Muslims?
The revised ban on travel and immigration from six Muslim-majority countries ordered by President Donald Trump on March 6 now sits before the Supreme Court, […] More
Mexico’s Violence Spikes, Fueled by Drug Trafficking, Kidnapping, Corruption
Homicides in Mexico surged by 255 percent from 2015 to 2016, and extortion cases increased by 30 percent, according to a recent American Enterprise Institute […] More
Why Mexican Security is Crumbling – and How That Matters Here
Mexico was ranked the most-worsened country this year on the Fund for Peace’s Fragile States Index (FSI), tying with Ethiopia for the bottom spot. Although […] More
U.S., Mexican Militaries Must Keep Working Together, Sharing Intel
Mexico’s stability affects the U.S., and U.S. policy has an effect on its southern neighbor’s stability. The recent Fund for Peace Fragile States Index showed […] More
Trump Supplemental Budget to Fight ISIS, Build the Wall
The Trump administration is building up American ground forces available in Kuwait to fight against Islamic terrorists in Iraq, Syria, and Afghanistan. At the same […] More
Setback in Building The Wall
President Donald Trump’s magnificent wall has had its first setback. The original schedule for contractors to produce bids to build initial sections of the wall […] More
DHS Secretary Kelly's Border Remedies Differ from Trump
Last Tuesday, days before the current Trump ordered roundup of illegal aliens began, Homeland Security Secretary John F. Kelly went out of his way to […] More
A Dire Situation in Mexico
Kidnappings in Mexico continue to increase, particularly in the states of Guerrero, Tamaulipas, Veracruz, Morelos, Puebla, Zacatecas, and Tabasco. Although the Interior Ministry reported a […] More
It’s Only Just Begun: The Detainment and Removal of Illegal Immigrants
Prepare yourselves. The travel ban fiasco is just the beginning. Ignored so far in last week’s Executive Order on Border Security and Immigration Enforcement Security […] More
What Is a Secure Border?
Many of us have seen decades of sporadic attention given to the security of our border, but I believe we are now better positioned to […] More
Violence in Mexico Surges
Mexico’s homicide rate is surging. Government and independent sources are reporting an up to 18 percent increase for 2016, compared to last year. This comes […] More