United States Congressional Serial Set, Serial No. 14799: Federal Law Enforcement at Borders and Port Activities, Challenges and Solutions

House Report No. 794. 107th Congress, 2d Session. January 23-November 22, 2002.

This Report is divided into four sections. Section I describes the borders and ports of entry, and the importance they hold for American economic and social life. Section II describes the chief threats entering the country through our borders and ports, while Section III describes the efforts of our primary border and port law enforcement agencies, the U.S. Customs Service, the Immigration and Naturalization Service (INS), and the U.S. Coast Guard, to deal with those threats. Finally, Section IV explores some of the most significant proposals to improve law enforcement at the borders and ports of entry, including President Bush’s proposal to consolidate the primary border agencies into a single Department of Homeland Security.

Table of Contents
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1

INTRODUCTION . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . 13

I. THE BORDERS AND PORTS OF ENTRY . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17
A. The Northern Border . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17
1. Geographic Features . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . 17
2. Economic Importance . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17
3. Traffic Patterns . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18
B. The Southern Border . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19
1. Geographic Features . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  . . 19
2. Economic Importance . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  . 19
3. Traffic Patterns . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20
C. The Growth in Cross-Border Trade . . . . . . .  . . . . . 21
D. The Coasts and Non-Land Ports of Entry . . . . . . . . . .. 22

II. THREATS AT OUR BORDERS AND PORTS OF ENTRY . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25
A. Smuggling of Contraband . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .25
1. Illegal Narcotics . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .25
a. Northern Border . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .25
b. Southern Border . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  . . . .27
c. Other Ports of Entry . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  . .28
2. Weapons of Mass Destruction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28
B. Illegal Immigration and the Entry of Criminals . . . . . . . . . . .29
1. Northern Border . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  . 30
2. Southern Border . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. 30
3. Other Ports of Entry . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .31
4. Entry of Criminal Aliens and Aliens Posing a National Security Risk . . . 32

III. FEDERAL LAW ENFORCEMENT AT THE BORDERS AND PORTS OF ENTRY. . . 33
A. The U.S. Customs Service . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 33
1. Commercial Cargo Inspections – Procedures . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .36
a. Land Border Ports of Entry – Truck Traffic . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .37
b. Land Border Ports of Entry – Rail Traffic . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .41
c. Sea Ports . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .42
d. Airports . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .43
2. Passenger Inspections – Procedures . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .45
a. Land Border Ports of Entry . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .45
b. Airports . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .47
c. Sea Ports and Ferries . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .49
3. Customs Investigations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .49
4. U.S. Customs Air and Marine Interdiction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 49
5. Outbound Inspections . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 50
6. Upgrading and Improving Port of Entry Infrastructure . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 50
B. The Immigration and Naturalization Service . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 51
1. INS Inspections . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 51
a. The Visa Grant Process . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .52
b. Land Border Inspections . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .54
c. Airport and Sea Port Inspections . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .55
d. Entry/Exit Monitoring System . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .57
2. The U.S. Border Patrol . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 59
a. Checkpoints Away From the Border . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 59
b. The Southern Border Strategy . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .61
c. IDENT . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 63
d. The Northern Border . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 65
3. INS Interior Enforcement . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 66
C. The U.S. Coast Guard . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 67
D. Cross-Border Cooperation on Law Enforcement Issues . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 71
IV. NEW PROPOSALS FOR BORDER AND PORT OF ENTRY LAW ENFORCEMENT . . . . .73
A. Combining Border Law Enforcement Agencies . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .73
1. Issues Relating to the Reorganization . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 73
a. The New Department’s Diverse Missions Must Not Be Neglected . . . . 74
b. The New Department Must Make Sure the Benefits of Reorganization Are Achieved . . . . . . . . . . 76
c. Controlling the Costs of Reorganization . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .77
B. Increasing the Number and Intensity of Inspections . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .77
C. Increasing the Number of Customs Inspectors, INS Inspectors, Border Patrol Agents and Coast Guard Personnel . . . . . . . . . ..80
1. Finding Enough Recruits . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 82
2. Providing Training, Equipment and Infrastructure for New Recruits . . . . . 83
3. Dealing with Inexperience . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 83
4. Draining Personnel from Other Agencies –Interagency “Musical Chairs” . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .83
D. Upgrading and Integrating Border Law Enforcement Databases and Automated Systems . . . 84
1. Upgrading Information Systems – Customs’ ACE Program . . . . . . . . . . . . 84
2. Ensuring Compatibility – the INS and IDENT . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 86
3. Information Sharing Between the Agencies . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 87
E. Shifting Cargo Inspections Away From the Ports of Entry to the Point of Origin . . . . .88
F. Expanding “Fastpass” Systems for Those Who Frequently Cross the Borders . . . . . 91

CONCLUSION . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 95

ENDNOTES . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 97

APPENDIX A
GLOSSARY OF ACRONYMS

APPENDIX B
HEARINGS AND VISITS TO PORTS OF ENTRY CONDUCTED BY THE SUBCOMMITTEE ON CRIMINAL JUSTICE, DRUG POLICY AND HUMAN RESOURCES RELATED TO BORDER LAW ENFORCEMENT AND SECURITY

APPENDIX C
TABLES: TRADE AND TRAFFIC AT THE PORTS OF ENTRY

APPENDIX D
TABLES: DRUG AND MIGRANT INTERDICTION BY U.S. CUSTOMS SERVICE, U.S. BORDER PATROL, AND U.S. COAST GUARD; INSPECTIONS BY IMMIGRATION AND NATURALIZATION SERVICE

APPENDIX E
MEMBERS AND STAFF OF THE SUBCOMMITTEE ON CRIMINAL JUSTICE, DRUG POLICY AND HUMAN RESOURCES

APPENDIX F
BIBLIOGRAPHY

Anyone involved in U.S. Homeland Security and National Defense would find this information useful as it explains the importance of U.S. Customs regulations as it pertains to the safety of the United States. In addition, Government employees and Congress members would be interested in United States Congressional Serial Set, Serial No. 14799: Federal Law Enforcement at Borders and Port Activities, Challenges and Solutions.