Homeland Defense Meeting on Customs

A special border security training conference organized by Homeland Defense Journal (HDJ) magazine will be held this week in Arlington, VA. The meeting will focus on the challenges and potential solutions to tightening security at the U.S.’s 328 major ports of entry along the 7,500 miles of land border shared with Canada and Mexico, as well as along 95,000 miles of coast line.

HDJ said this is no easy task given that 730 million people travel on commercial aircraft each year, with more than 700 million pieces of baggage being screened for explosives each year. Additionally, there are 11.2 million trucks and 2.2 million rail cars that cross into the U.S. annually, along with 7,500 foreign flagged ships making 51,000 calls in U.S. ports every year.

The conference plans to look at the country’s “smart borders” policy and review features including biometric identification systems, compatible immigration databases, and cargo processing systems and how to promote greater cooperation among border management agencies through use of this technology.

For more information about the conference, call 703-807-2027.