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2020-01-09 Home Front: WoT
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US increases scrutiny of travelers and cargo amid Iran tension
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[Mark Levin] The US government has increased scrutiny of travelers and cargo bound for the United States by making a revision to an alert system used to notify officers of those who may need additional screening amid rising tensions with Iran, according to sources familiar with the change.
On Sunday, a flurry of social media posts surfaced with accounts of Iranian-Americans stuck at the US-Canada border in Blaine, Washington. The incident, which is now under review by the Department of Homeland Security’s Office for Civil Rights and Civil Liberties, quickly gained national attention as immigration advocates accused CBP of detaining Iranian-Americans based on their Iranian descent. It’s unclear when the agency made changes to an internal alerts system and whether that contributed to why individuals were pulled aside for additional questioning.
The Department of Homeland Security issued a security bulletin regarding Iran on Saturday, saying the department "is operating with an enhanced posture and various operational components are taking protective measures where prudent and necessary."
CBP has repeatedly said that it did not instruct officials to detain Iranian-Americans or refuse people entry into the US because of their country of origin. Revisions to the alerts system, however, are not distributed through a directive or memo, according to an agency official.
CBP declined to comment, citing law enforcement sensitivity. The agency regularly changes its alert criteria based on new intelligence or threats. The latest change is limited in scope and is not intended to target everyone of Iranian descent, according to one of the sources.
The change is part of the administration’s increased security posture following last week’s US drone strike in Iraq that killed a top Iranian commander. It places an added emphasis on screening people and cargo coming to the United States.
Targeting rules ‐ an intelligence-based mechanism that helps CBP identify travelers who, based on their behavior, may pose a threat to the US ‐ are one of many factors that help customs officers determine whether to pull an individual aside for additional questioning or deny entry into the US, according to an agency official. 
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Posted by Besoeker 2020-01-09 05:52||
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Posted by M. Murcek 2020-01-09 08:23||
2020-01-09 08:23||
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