H.J.Res.31 Homeland Security Conference Report

Michael Bindner, Center for Fiscal Equity,  prepared for the Subcommittee on Homeland Security Conference re: Boarder Protection Agency H.J.Res. 31, January 30, 2019

This is submitted as a way out of the border wall dispute.

In 2007, Raytheon was tasked with developing non-lethal active denial technology. From their 2007 press release:

Raytheon Company (NYSE: RTN) delivered its non-lethal Active Denial System 2 to the U.S. Air Force Aug. 31. Raytheon's Active Denial System is designed to use millimeter wave technology to repel individuals without causing injury. Active Denial System 2 is an enhanced, ruggedized version of the initial active denial capability that Raytheon built for the Air Force under the Office of the Secretary of Defense's Advanced Concept Technology Demonstration program....The Active Denial System emits a focused beam of millimeter wave energy that penetrates the skin to 1/64th of an inch, producing an intolerable heating sensation that causes targeted individuals to flee. The Advanced Concept Technology Demonstration program has conducted extensive human effects safety testing and extended user evaluations in field conditions. The program has focused on developing and fielding the U.S. military's first extended range, non-lethal, directed energy platform independent system. Under oversight of the Joint Non-lethal Weapons Directorate, the Air Force is designated as the lead service for the program....Raytheon's Active Denial System 2 provides military, civilian law enforcement, and security organizations with a truly non-lethal system that is optimized for situations where the use of lethal force may not be appropriate or warranted.

CBS news aired a report describing a previous segment on 60 Minutes. It can be viewed at   https://www.cbsnews.com/news/the-pentagons-ray-gun/

This system goes beyond using surveillance technology to dispatch Border Patrol agents to intercept intruders. It is a virtual wall and, when combined with detection systems, can be powered up as needed to repel unlawful immigration without building a physical barrier or requiring that the system be constantly powered up. It's very existence will deter travel outside official entry points.

The original contract has long since expired because ground commanders in Afghanistan did not wish to use non-lethal systems. Raytheon has a current One Acquisition Solution for Integrated Services (OASIS) contract vehicle Pool 3 Engineering for Military and Aerospace Equipment and Military Weapons, and Engineering for Naval Architecture (GS00Q14OADU328) Contact Ray Moehler, 571-250-1090.

A demonstration project could easily be fielded at some point along the border (without prior announcement of the test) to determine whether the system works as required, including a predicted decline in attempted incursions. It would, of course, be preceded by testing to confirm its non-lethality. It is not meant to be a death ray. Designing such a pilot project will likely provide a solution meeting the short term need to fund the government beyond February 15th. 

Full deployment of a border active denial system wall must be contingent on a permanent compromise. Such solutions have been hard to fashion. Prior agreements were dishonest attempts to embarrass the other side politically. Indeed, the manufacture of a concern for birthright citizenship was an obvious attempt to scuttle the last real proposal for compromise.

Compromise does not meet the needs of certain industries where the threat of deportation leaves undocumented labor powerless to complain about unsafe conditions and insufficient wages. There can be no justification for supporting such virtual slavery. Keeping food cheap at the suffering of others is distasteful. It must not be allowed to thwart reasonable provisions to legalize those within our borders and to let the market decide how many workers are needed in the future.

To end the incentive to maintain slave-like conditions in the food and construction industries, disallow current right-to-work laws, which are essentially right to hire undocumented worker laws in today's economy. Most employers will no longer seek undocumented labor at union wage rates and protections. Migrants must no longer be pawns in the argument between restricting immigration and resisting organized labor.

The most obvious solution is to allow undocumented migrants to apply for the status that fits their circumstances (up to and including permanent residency) without having to meet current lawful status requirements. Once this status is achieved, allow application for naturalization to proceed in normal course. To quickly manage the work load, empower local boards of election to process cases and order National Agency Background Checks with a processing fee not to exceed $500 per person.

New workers from Mexico and Central America must be given the same rights as Canadian workers under the North American Free Trade Agreement. That the same rights do not currently exist can only be explained by racism, classism and a desire to keep workers in the darkness.

To end migration from failed governments in Honduras, Guatemala and El Salvador, offer assistance in re-arresting gang members deported to their country of origin and returning them to the United States for incarceration and, as they mature, rehabilitation. Continued prison reform in the United States will certainly make beds available as non-violent offenders are released. Ending the war on brown people who use drugs will end the drug trade as well. No one in Chicago operates a large criminal enterprise to sell alcohol now that prohibition has been ended. Of course, further action on these fronts is outside the scope of the current issues.

Thank you for allowing me to contribute to the work of the Conference.