Spooky

You might call it MySpace for La Migra. Alan Bersin, ex–San Diego schools chief and President Barack Obama’s “Border Czar” in the Department of Homeland Security, has set up an online social networking site called “Our Border: A Southwest Border Civic Network.” As of last week, the site had 211 members and 80 photos, mostly of Border Patrol operations, the partially completed border fence and, of course, plenty featuring Bersin himself.

In order to get things warmed up, and apparently to collect a little intelligence on the side, someone using the handle “DHS Richard” invited new members to introduce themselves: “This network and these connections will only last if we know each other, if we take a moment to talk about why each of us is here. What brings you to this site? Are you a DHS employee, a community leader, an activist?” To encourage participation, he offered a reward: “We’ll be watching the forum and looking for the two best introductions. Those two members will receive a phone call from DHS Assistant Secretary for International Affairs and Special Representative for Border Affairs Alan Bersin.”

Among the 17 users who took the bait and provided their identities were “a former senior intelligence analyst for the State of California”; “the supervising Criminal Intelligence Analyst at the Arizona Counter Terrorism Center”; a “co-founder of the Border Patrol Auxiliary”; an ex–Secret Service employee currently working for the Transportation Safety Administration; and “the president of a small company with a focus on homeland security and keeping America safe.” Like Facebook, the site allows users to “friend” each other. Thus, government agents are getting better acquainted: “DHS CBP and Ben DHS are now friends.”