Critical Releases in Homeland Security: April 9, 2008

"The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) is proposing to amend its regulations that provide a 'safe harbor' from liability under section 274A of the Immigration and Nationality Act for employers who follow certain procedures after receiving a notice - from the Social Security Administration (SSA), called a 'no-match letter,' or from DHS, called a 'notice of suspect document' - that casts doubt on the employment eligibility of their employees. The prior final rule was published on August 15, 2007 (the August 2007 Final Rule). Implementation of that rule was preliminarily enjoined by the United States District Court for the Northern District of California on October 10, 2007. The district court based its preliminary injunction on three findings. This supplemental proposed rule clarifies certain aspects of the August 2007 Final Rule and responds to the three findings underlying the district court's injunction."

This legal memorandum was prepared by the Justice Department in response to a request from the Pentagon to "examine the legal standards governing military interrogations of alien unlawful combatants held outside the United States," including both domestic and international law. Part One evaluates the relevancy of the Fifth and Eight Amendments, while Part Two examines federal criminal law in relation to the President's power as Commander in Chief. Part Three examines international law, including the U.N. Convention Against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman, or Degrading Treatment or Punishment, and the corresponding US obligations to such international restrictions. Finally, Part Four discusses "defenses to an allegation that an interrogation method might violate any of the various criminal prohibitions discusses in Part II."

This document produced by the Office of the Director of National Intelligence is a strategy to improve information sharing amongst intelligence professionals in order to strengthen national security. "This document lays out a strategy to establish this new culture and to share information better, both among those whose job it is to provide intelligence and with those who need intelligence to perform their missions-i.e., policy makers, war fighters, defenders of the homeland, and the officials who enforce our laws. Time is of the essence. Improvements must be made rapidly to build on recent progress and improve our ability to thwart the plans of our enemies and protect our values, people, institutions, and assets." This document outlines: challenging new environments, information sharing strategy, and implementation of the strategy.