Last month, the House Committee on Energy and Commerce held a hearing on Chemical Facilities Anti-Terrorism Standards (CFATS), a program that is overseen by the Department of Homeland Security (DHS). In this hearing, DHS representatives claimed to have “turned a corner” on the CFATS program, putting slow and burdensome procedures behind them and moving forward with timely…

On Tuesday, cancer claimed the life of Venezuela’s President Hugo Chavez, silencing one of Latin America’s most controversial leaders in the 21st century. Chavez’s death opens the way to an uncertain succession process, continued polarization, and potential instability in oil-rich Venezuela. Dealing with a post-Chavez Venezuela will require an ongoing U.S. commitment to…

As the debate over immigration reform heats up, the topic of border security—especially on the southwest border with Mexico—looms larger. Washington policymakers ask: How many miles of fence, how many Border Patrol agents, how many billions of tax dollars will be enough to finally “secure” the border? There is no easy answer. Airtight border security is more an abstract…

On Monday, a group of Senators know in the media as the “Gang of Eight” announced their plan to achieve comprehensive immigration reform. The so-called bipartisan framework, signed onto by Senators Charles Schumer (D–NY), John McCain (R–AZ), Dick Durbin (D–IL), Lindsey Graham (R–SC), Robert Menendez (D–NJ), Marco Rubio (R–FL), Michael Bennet (D–CO), and Jeff Flake (R–AZ),…

The White House has announced that Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano will stay in her post as President Barack Obama begins his second term. While the decision is not terribly surprising, it is an important one. Secretary Napolitano’s dedication to stay on will give her the opportunity to continue to improve the operation of the Department of Homeland Security…

In his upcoming State of the Union Address, President Obama will very likely address our nation’s broken immigration system. Unfortunately, the President is expected to call for “comprehensive” immigration reform legislation. This very same approach has failed to garner support in Congress time and time again, and is likely only to foster greater division. We invite the…

In late November, brothers Raees Alam Qazi and Sheheryar Alam Qazi were arrested and charged with conspiring to detonate a weapon of mass destruction and to provide material support to terrorists. Until recently, details on the alleged plot were sparse. In a detention hearing on December 18, however, it was revealed that the men sought to avenge the deaths of those killed…

Last week, the U.S. House of Representatives passed the STEM Jobs Act of 2012 (H.R. 6429). The bill, which has received bipartisan support, would allocate 55,000 visas toward high-skilled immigrants holding master’s or doctoral degrees from U.S. educational institutions. The legislation would also do away with the Diversity Visa (DV) program, better known as the “green…

Almost three months after the September 11 attack on the U.S. facility in Benghazi, there are still many unanswered questions about what led to the deaths of four Americans. Despite Congress’s efforts to investigate the events surrounding the attack, little has been learned about how the United States can respond to similar attacks in the future. It is therefore…