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Date: April 29, 2024 Mon

Time: 9:02 pm

Results for border patrol

51 results found

Author: Stana, Richard M.

Title: Border Patrol: Checkpoints Contribute to Border Patrol's Mission, but More Consistent Data Collection and Performance Measurement Could Improve Effectiveness

Summary: This U.S. Border Patrol operates checkpoints on U.S. roads, mainly in the southwest border states where most illegal entries occur. As part of a three-tiered strategy to maximize detention and apprehension of illegal aliens, Border Patrol agents at checkpoints screen vehicles for illegal aliens and contraband. This report assesses (1) checkpoint performance and factors affecting performance, (2) checkpoint performance measures, (3) community impacts considered in checkpoint placement and design, and (4) the impact of checkpoint operations on nearby communities. The report recommends several actions to strengthen checkpoint design and staffing, and improve the measurement and reporting of checkpoint effectiveness, including community impact.

Details: Washington, DC: GAO, 2009. 138p.

Source: Internet Resource; GAO-09-824

Year: 2009

Country: United States

URL:

Shelf Number: 116244

Keywords:
Border Patrol
Border Security
Contraband
Illegal Aliens

Author: Hale, Geoffrey

Title: In Search of Effective Border Management

Summary: Effective border security is compatible with the efficient management of border processes to allow the free flow of low-risk people and goods for purposes of mutual benefit between countries. Recent economic shocks have demonstrated that neither Americans nor Canadians can take their prosperity and economic security for granted. The risks of external and domestic terror attacks increasingly resemble long-term challenges to effective security and border management such as organized criminal activity and unregulated migration, rather than the crisis atmosphere which marked initial responses to 9/11. Failure to consider border security and facilitation issues in this context is likely to result in sub-optimal security and economic outcomes.

Details: Toronto: Canadian International Council, 2009. 39p.

Source: Internet Resource: A Changing World: Canadian Foreign Policy Priorities, No. 3: Accessed September 6, 2010 at: http://www.onlinecic.org/research/research_areas/border_issues

Year: 2009

Country: Canada

URL: http://www.onlinecic.org/research/research_areas/border_issues

Shelf Number: 119750

Keywords:
Border Patrol
Border Security
Smuggling
Terrorism
Trafficking

Author: Seniora, Jihan

Title: Managing Land Borders and the Trafficking of Small Arms and Light Weapons

Summary: Border controls are an important dimension of the international efforts to combat the uncontrolled proliferation of small arms and light weapons (SALW) and their ammunition. Indeed, even if their relevance sometimes seems to be challenged by some changes (such as new technologies and globalization), borders remain the most visible sign of the sovereignty of a State on its territory. Borders management are crucial to a State’s involvement in the protection of its population. The illicit trafficking of small arms and light weapons (SALW) across green borders is characterized by specific dynamics which must be taken into account in the actions to prevent it: a strong link between cross-border trafficking of SALW and other transnational crimes, the role of transborder communities and the fact that border areas can become a shelter for criminal groups, rebels or traffickers and finally the “ant trade”. Because these aspects have an impact on the demand in arms, the intensity and the direction of the traffics between neighbouring countries, they deserve particular attention in the efforts to strengthen border monitoring and control at checkpoints. For an effective border management several challenges must be highlighted. First, the flow of illicit SALW must be considered a separate issue when conceiving and organising the management. Second, controls at checkpoints must be optimised by clarifying the role of the agencies involved in border management and their human and technical needs according to realities on the ground. Controls at checkpoints must be reinforced by a careful and coordinated monitoring along the border. Measures also need to be taken upstream: national legislations, identification of the actors involved in trafficking by intelligence services, etc. A fourth issue is corruption which affects the very existence of border management. A stronger cooperation between agencies at intra- and inter-level as well as between populations in border areas and the political and administrative authorities can also contribute to a more effective border management. Finally, technology transfers and training, tailored to the needs of each State also prove of great importance.

Details: Brussels: Groupe de recherche et d'information sur la paix et la securite (GRIP), 2010. 24p.

Source: Internet Resource: Accessed October 19, 2010 at: http://www.grip.org/en/siteweb/images/RAPPORTS/2010/2010-3_EN.pdf

Year: 2010

Country: International

URL: http://www.grip.org/en/siteweb/images/RAPPORTS/2010/2010-3_EN.pdf

Shelf Number: 120011

Keywords:
Border Patrol
Border Security
Organized Crime
Trafficking in Weapons

Author: U.S. Government Accountability Office

Title: Southwest Border: More Timely Border Patrol Access and Training Could Improve Security Operations and Natural Resource Protection on Federal Lands

Summary: When operating on federal lands, Border Patrol has responsibilities under several federal land management laws, including the National Environmental Policy Act, National Historic Preservation Act, Wilderness Act, and Endangered Species Act. Border Patrol must obtain permission or a permit from federal land management agencies before its agents can maintain roads and install surveillance equipment on these lands. Because land management agencies are also responsible for ensuring compliance with land management laws, Border Patrol generally coordinates its responsibilities under these laws with land management agencies through national and local interagency agreements. The most comprehensive agreement is a 2006 memorandum of understanding intended to guide Border Patrol activities on federal lands. Border Patrol's access to portions of some federal lands along the southwestern border has been limited because of certain land management laws, according to patrol agents-in-charge for 17 of the 26 stations, resulting in delays and restrictions in agents' patrolling and monitoring these lands. Specifically, patrol agents-in-charge for 14 of the 17 stations reported that they have been unable to obtain a permit or permission to access certain areas in a timely manner because of how long it takes for land managers to conduct required environmental and historic property assessments. The 2006 memorandum of understanding directs the agencies to cooperate with one another to complete, in an expedited manner, all compliance required by applicable federal laws, but such cooperation has not always occurred. For example, Border Patrol requested permission to move surveillance equipment to an area, but by the time the land manager conducted a historic property assessment and granted permission--more than 4 months after the initial request--illegal traffic had shifted to other areas. Despite the access delays and restrictions, 22 of the 26 agents-in-charge reported that the overall security status of their jurisdiction is not affected by land management laws. Instead, factors such as the remoteness and ruggedness of the terrain have the greatest effect on their ability to achieve operational control. Although 4 agents-in-charge reported that delays and restrictions have affected their ability to achieve or maintain operational control, they either have not requested resources for increased or timelier access or have had their requests denied by senior Border Patrol officials, who said that other needs were more important. While federal land managers in the borderlands region rely on Border Patrol to collect data on the extent of cross-border illegal activities on their lands, the extent of the land managers' data collection efforts on the effects of these illegal activities has varied. Some land managers monitor areas on a routine basis, some document environmental damage on an ad hoc basis, and still others collect no such data. Where collected, land managers have used these data for several purposes, including restoring lands and providing Border Patrol agents with environmental awareness training. With regard to training, most agents-in-charge wanted more-frequent, area-specific training to be provided by land managers. GAO recommends, among other things, that the Secretaries of Homeland Security, the Interior, and Agriculture take steps to help Border Patrol expedite access to portions of federal lands by more quickly initiating required assessments. In commenting on a draft of this report, the agencies generally agreed with GAO's findings and recommendations.

Details: Washington, DC: 2010. 63p.

Source: Internet Resource: GAO-11-38: Accessed October 19, 2010 at: http://www.gao.gov/new.items/d1138.pdf

Year: 2010

Country: United States

URL: http://www.gao.gov/new.items/d1138.pdf

Shelf Number: 120023

Keywords:
Border Patrol
Border Security
Offenses Against the Environment

Author: U.S. Government Accountability Office

Title: Border Security: Additional Actions Needed to Better Ensure a Coordinated Federal Response to Illegal Activity on Federal Lands

Summary: Federal and tribal lands on the U.S. borders with Canada and Mexico are vulnerable to illegal cross-border activity. The Department of Homeland Security (DHS)--through its U.S. Customs and Border Protection's Office of Border Patrol (Border Patrol)--is responsible for securing these lands, while the Departments of the Interior (DOI) and Agriculture (USDA) manage natural resources and protect the public. GAO was asked to examine the extent that (1) border security threats have changed on federal lands; (2) federal agencies operating on these lands have shared threat information and communications; and (3) federal agencies have coordinated budgets, resources, and strategies. GAO reviewed interagency agreements and threat assessments; analyzed enforcement data from 2007 through 2009; and interviewed officials at headquarters and two Border Patrol sectors selected due to high volume of illegal cross-border activity (Tucson) and limited ability to detect this activity (Spokane). GAO's observations cannot be generalized to all sectors but provide insights. This is a public version of a sensitive report that GAO issued in October 2010. Information that DHS deemed sensitive has been redacted. Illegal cross-border activity remains a significant threat to federal lands. On the southwest border, the Tucson sector is the primary entry point for marijuana smugglers and illegal aliens, and over the last 3 years apprehensions on federal lands have not kept pace with Border Patrol estimates of the number of illegal entries, indicating that the threat to federal lands may be increasing. On the northern border, the Spokane sector is a primary entry point for air smugglers of high-potency marijuana, but technical challenges preclude fully assessing threats to these borderlands. In the Tucson sector, federal land managers said they would like additional guidance to determine when illegal cross-border activity poses a sufficient public safety risk for them to restrict or close access to federal lands. DOI and USDA efforts to determine whether additional guidance is needed--consistent with internal control standards for the federal government and in line with DHS contingency plans for southwest border violence--could help federal land managers more easily balance public safety and access to federal borderlands. Information sharing and communication among DHS, DOI, and USDA have increased in recent years, but critical gaps remain in implementing interagency agreements. Agencies established forums and liaisons to exchange information; however, in the Tucson sector, agencies did not coordinate to ensure that federal land law enforcement officials maintained access to threat information and compatible secure radio communications for daily operations. Coordination in these areas could better ensure officer safety and an efficient law enforcement response to illegal activity. There has been little interagency coordination to share intelligence assessments of border security threats to federal lands and develop budget requests, strategies, and joint operations to address these threats. Interagency efforts to implement provisions of existing agreements in these areas could better leverage law enforcement partner resources and knowledge for more effective border security operations on federal lands. GAO is recommending that DOI and USDA determine if more guidance is needed for federal land closures, and that DHS, DOI, and USDA further implement interagency agreements. DHS, DOI, and USDA concurred with the recommendations.

Details: Washington, DC: U.S. Government Accountability Office, 2010. 72p.

Source: Internet Resource: GAO-11-177: Accessed December 10, 2010 at: http://www.gao.gov/new.items/d11177.pdf

Year: 2010

Country: United States

URL: http://www.gao.gov/new.items/d11177.pdf

Shelf Number: 120443

Keywords:
Border Patrol
Border Security
Smuggling

Author: Martin, David A.

Title: Immigration Enforcement: Beyond the Border and the Workplace

Summary: New immigration legislation must include changes to achieve effective and resolute enforcement of the immigration laws. Merely beefing up border policing (currently the most popular enforcement strategy) is insufficient. Over the last decade, the influx of unauthorized migrants has reached record levels even though border enforcement has greatly expanded, primarily because migrants know that getting past the border opens wide opportunities in the US job market, owing to the near absence of enforcement there. The most important reform is therefore well-crafted workplace screening. Because border and workplace enforcement have been addressed elsewhere, this policy brief offers suggestions for other key enforcement improvements that Congress and the executive branch should implement. Primarily, reform should: 1. Assure that removal orders are enforced by: • expanding the use of fugitive operations teams; • wider application of civil and criminal penalties to absconders, including legislative changes to facilitate civil levies; • more strategic use of detention, including in connection with supervised release programs modeled on a Vera Institute pilot project; • shortening hearing times while preserving due process, including testing the efficiency effects of government-provided counsel through a limited pilot project. 2. Build better protections against fraud into the systems leading to a grant of benefits, rather than relying on after-the-fact prosecutions or revocations 3. Mainstream immigration enforcement, including through carefully structured engagement of state and local officers, while assuring that the central roles are played by federal officers expert in immigration law.

Details: Washington, DC: Migration Policy Institute, 2006. 15p.

Source: Internet Resource: Policy Brief, No. 19: Accessed February 1, 2011 at: http://www.migrationpolicy.org/ITFIAF/TF19_Martin.pdf

Year: 2006

Country: United States

URL: http://www.migrationpolicy.org/ITFIAF/TF19_Martin.pdf

Shelf Number: 120651

Keywords:
Border Patrol
Border Security
Illegal Immigration
Immigrants

Author: Stana, Richard M.

Title: Border Security: Preliminary Observations on Border Control Measures for the Southwest Border

Summary: The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) reports that the nearly 2,000-mile U.S. border with Mexico is vulnerable to cross-border illegal activity. The Office of Border Patrol (Border Patrol), within DHS's U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP), is responsible for securing the border between U.S. ports of entry and has divided responsibility for southwest border miles among nine Border Patrol sectors. CBP reported spending about $3 billion on Border Patrol's southwest border efforts in fiscal year 2010, apprehending over 445,000 illegal entries. This testimony provides preliminary observations on (1) the extent to which DHS reported progress in achieving operational control--Border Patrol was able to detect, respond, and interdict cross-border illegal activity--of the southwest border; (2) the extent to which operational control reflects Border Patrol's ability to respond to illegal activity at the border or after entry into the United States; and (3) how DHS reports the transition to new border security measures will change oversight and resource requirements for securing the southwest border. This testimony is based on GAO's ongoing work for the House Committee on Homeland Security. GAO analyzed DHS border security documents and data supporting border security measures reported by DHS for fiscal years 2005 through 2010, and interviewed DHS officials. DHS generally agreed with the information in this statement and provided clarifying language, which we incorporated. Border Patrol reported achieving varying levels of operational control for 873 of the nearly 2,000 southwest border miles at the end of fiscal year 2010, increasing an average of 126 miles each year from fiscal years 2005 through 2010. Border Patrol sector officials assessed the miles under operational control using factors such as the numbers of illegal entries and apprehensions and relative risk. CBP attributed the increase to additional infrastructure, technology, and personnel. Yuma sector officials reported achieving operational control for all of its 126 border miles; however, the other eight southwest border sectors reported achieving operational control of 11 to 86 percent of their border miles. Border Patrol attributed the uneven progress across sectors to multiple factors, including prioritizing resource deployment to sectors deemed to have greater risk from illegal activity. Border Patrol reported that its levels of operational control for most border miles reflected its ability to respond to illegal activity after entry into the United States and not at the immediate border. Operational control encompassed two of the five levels used to classify the security level of each border mile. The two levels of control differed in the extent that Border Patrol resources were available to either deter or detect and apprehend illegal entries at the immediate border (controlled) versus a multi-tiered deployment of Border Patrol resources to deter, detect, and apprehend illegal entries after entry into the United States; sometimes 100 miles or more away (managed). GAO's preliminary analysis of the 873 border miles under operational control in 2010 showed that about 129 miles (15 percent) were classified as "controlled" and the remaining 85 percent were classified as "managed." Border Patrol stated that operational control does not require its agents to be able to detect and apprehend all illegal entries. Yuma sector reported operational control for all its miles although Border Patrol did not have the ability to detect and apprehend illegal entries that use ultra-light aircraft and tunnels. DHS is replacing its border security measures, which could temporarily reduce oversight, and reports it may reduce resources requested for securing the southwest border. Border Patrol had established border miles under effective control as a measure of border security. DHS plans to improve the quality of boarder security measures by developing new measures with a more quantitative methodology. CBP is developing a new methodology and measures for border security, which CBP expects to be in place by fiscal year 2012. In the meantime, the absence of border security outcome measures in DHS's Fiscal Year 2010-2012 Annual Performance Report could reduce oversight. CBP does not have an estimate of the time and efforts needed to secure the border; however, DHS, CBP, and Border Patrol headquarters officials said that this new approach to border security is expected to be more flexible and cost-effective. As a result, Border Patrol headquarters officials expect that they will request fewer resources to secure the border. GAO will continue to assess this issue and report the final results later this year.

Details: Washington, DC: U.S. Government Accountability Office, 2011. 17p.

Source: Internet Resource: GAO-11-374T: Accessed February 16, 2011 at: http://www.gao.gov/new.items/d11374t.pdf

Year: 2011

Country: United States

URL: http://www.gao.gov/new.items/d11374t.pdf

Shelf Number: 120806

Keywords:
Border Patrol
Border Security
Illegal Immigrants

Author: Haddal, Chad C.

Title: Border Security: The Role of the U.S. Border Patrol

Summary: The United States Border Patrol (USBP) has a long and storied history as our nation’s first line of defense against unauthorized migration. Today, the USBP’s primary mission is to detect and prevent the entry of terrorists, weapons of mass destruction, and illegal aliens into the country, and to interdict drug smugglers and other criminals along the border. The Homeland Security Act of 2002 dissolved the Immigration and Naturalization Service and placed the USBP within the Department of Homeland Security (DHS). Within DHS, the USBP forms a part of the Bureau of Customs and Border Protection under the Directorate of Border and Transportation Security. During the last decade, the USBP has seen its budget and manpower more than triple. This expansion was the direct result of congressional concerns about illegal immigration and the agency’s adoption of “Prevention Through Deterrence” as its chief operational strategy in 1994. The strategy called for placing USBP resources and manpower directly at the areas of greatest illegal immigration in order to detect, deter, and apprehend aliens attempting to cross the border between official points of entry. Post 9/11, the USBP refocused its strategy on preventing the entry of terrorists and weapons of mass destruction, as laid out in its recently released National Strategy. In addition to a workforce of over 20,000 agents, the USBP deploys vehicles, aircraft, watercraft, and many different technologies to defend the border. In the course of discharging its duties, the USBP patrols 8,000 miles of American international borders with Mexico and Canada and the coastal waters around Florida and Puerto Rico. However, there are significant geographic, political, and immigration-related differences between the northern border with Canada and the Southwest border with Mexico. Accordingly, the USBP deploys a different mix of personnel and resources along the two borders. Due to the fact that approximately 98.7% of unauthorized migrant apprehensions by the USBP occur along the Southwest border, the USBP deploys over 85% of its agents there to deter illegal immigration. The northern border is more than two times longer than the Southwest border, and features far lower numbers of aliens attempting to enter illegally, but may be more vulnerable to terrorist infiltration. As a consequence of this, the USBP has focused its northern border efforts on deploying technology and cooperating closely with Canadian authorities through the creation of International Border Enforcement Teams. Some issues for Congress to consider could include the slow rate of integration between the USBP’s biometric database of illegal aliens and the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s (FBI) biometric database of criminals and terrorists; the number of unauthorized aliens who die attempting to enter the country each year; the increasing attacks on Border Patrol agents, and the threat posed by terrorists along the sparsely defended northern border as well as the more porous Southwest border.

Details: Washington, DC: Congressional Research Service, 2010. 40p.

Source: Internet Resource: RL32562: Accessed March 16, 2011 at: http://www.fas.org/sgp/crs/homesec/RL32562.pdf

Year: 2010

Country: United States

URL: http://www.fas.org/sgp/crs/homesec/RL32562.pdf

Shelf Number: 121027

Keywords:
Border Patrol
Border Security
Contraband
Drug Trafficking
Illegal Aliens
Illegal Immigration
Smuggling

Author: Nunez-Neto, Blas

Title: Border Security: Apprehensions of “Other Than Mexican” Aliens

Summary: The United States Border Patrol (USBP) within the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) is charged with securing our nation’s borders between official ports of entry (POE). As the USBP discharges its mission it encounters unauthorized aliens from around the world attempting to illegally enter the United States. In fiscal year (FY) 2004, USBP agents apprehended 1.16 million people attempting to enter the country illegally between official POE; 93% of these aliens were Mexican nationals. Because the vast majority of people apprehended each year by the USBP are Mexican nationals, the agency categorizes aliens as Mexicans or Other Than Mexicans (OTM). Over the past three years, OTM apprehensions have more than tripled nationwide and have been concentrated along the South Texas border. The reasons for this dramatic increase, and its geographical concentration in Texas, are not altogether clear. The number of people entering the country illegally between POE, and the concomitant proliferation of human and drug smuggling networks, can present risks to national security due to the ever-present threat of terrorism. Terrorists and terrorist organizations could leverage these illicit networks to smuggle a person or weapon of mass destruction into the United States, while the large number of aliens attempting to enter the country illegally could potentially provide cover for the terrorists. Additionally, the proceeds from these smuggling networks could potentially be used to finance terrorism. The issue of OTM apprehensions has received publicity recently for many of these reasons, which were highlighted during congressional testimony by DHS then-Deputy Secretary Admiral James Loy when he stated that Al-Qaeda is considering infiltrating the Southwest border due to a belief that “illegal entry is more advantageous than legal entry for operational security reasons.” OTMs apprehended along the Southwest border by the USBP between official POE cannot be returned to Mexico because Mexico will not accept them. Instead, they must be returned to their countries of origin, or third countries that will accept them, by the Office of Detention and Removal Operations (DRO) within Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). However, DRO does not have enough detention beds to accommodate every OTM that is apprehended. As a result of this, the majority of OTMs apprehended by the USBP are released into the interior of the United States with notices to appear before an immigration judge. Most of these released OTMs fail to show up for their hearings and are not ultimately removed. In order to address the increasing number of OTMs being apprehended and circumvent the regular removal process, the USBP is currently expanding its Expedited Removal (ER) program. Issues for Congress include the potential for terrorist infiltration, the lack of detention bed-space that causes OTMs to be released into the interior of the country, and how best to deploy DHS resources to address the growing number of OTMs entering into the country illegally.

Details: Washington, DC: Congressional Research Service, 2005. 28p.

Source: Internet Resource: RL33097: Accessed March 16, 2011 at: http://trac.syr.edu/immigration/library/P1.pdf

Year: 2005

Country: United States

URL: http://trac.syr.edu/immigration/library/P1.pdf

Shelf Number: 121028

Keywords:
Border Patrol
Border Security
Illegal Aliens
Illegal Immigration
Smuggling

Author: Tait, Sean

Title: Cooperation and Accountability in the Cross-border Policing of Southern Africa

Summary: This publication presents seven articles concerning aspects of cross-border police cooperation in the Southern African region, with an emphasis (in part) on the issue of police accountability. As the papers make clear, the policing of crimes and the attempt to further peace in the region by joint action of two or more national police forces has grown apace in recent years. There are now regular joint police operations in a number of the states comprising the South African Development Community (SADC). An institutional structure has likewise been formed that brings together heads of police forces in the region. Numerous international treaties and agreements help regulate this police cooperation, which takes place both on a formal and on an ad hoc informal basis. While the emerging system has many flaws, there have also been notable successes, as the contributions demonstrate. Establishing effective cross-border police cooperation has been a tricky business, complicated by the diversity among the police agencies in the region and their largely under-resourced nature. It is perhaps surprising that in a relatively short space of time it has proceeded so far. This publication examines some of the current events and the extent to which the issue of accountability of police personnel in cross-border activities has been embodied in policing policy and practice.

Details: Cape Town, South Africa: African Policing Civilian Oversight Forum, 2010. 128p.

Source: Internet Resource: Accessed march 18, 2011 at: http://apcof.org.za/File_uploads/File/9781920355944-content.pdf

Year: 2010

Country: South Africa

URL: http://apcof.org.za/File_uploads/File/9781920355944-content.pdf

Shelf Number: 121068

Keywords:
Border Patrol
Border Security
Police Accountability
Policing (South Africa)

Author: U.S. Department of Homeland Security. Office of Inspector General

Title: Customs and Border Protection's Implementation of the Western Hemisphere Travel Initiative at Land Ports of Entry

Summary: The Western Hemisphere Travel Initiative requires citizens of the United States, Canada, Bermuda, and Mexico arriving at land ports of entry to present passports or other approved documents to enter the United States. Although the Western Hemisphere Travel Initiative became effective at land ports on June 1, 2009, Customs and Border Protection is not fully enforcing the new document requirement. Customs and Border Protection is using informed compliance procedures to educate noncompliant travelers about the new document requirement. Customs and Border Protection is reporting an average compliance rate of 96% at its land border crossings. Our objective was to determine whether Customs and Border Protection is prepared to fully enforce the Western Hemisphere Travel Initiative’s new document requirement at land ports of entry. Customs and Border Protection is not prepared to fully enforce the new document requirement at land ports of entry. Although Customs and Border Protection has acquired and deployed substantial technological tools to aid in inspecting travelers, Customs and Border Protection has not analyzed the impact that a substantial increase in secondary inspection workload will have on secondary inspection staffing and infrastructure during full enforcement. The reported Western Hemisphere Travel Initiative compliance rates during the initial eight-month informed compliance period indicate noncompliant travelers arriving at the agency’s 39 busiest land ports may increase the secondary inspection workloads at these ports by an average of 73% if all noncompliant travelers required secondary inspections. The agency has not finalized the operating procedures its officers will use to verify the identity and citizenship of noncompliant travelers. Customs and Border Protection officials told us other priorities have precluded them from completing the operating procedures. Until the new travel document requirement is fully enforced, the agency continues to incur risk that persons falsely claiming to be citizens of the United States, Canada, and Bermuda may be admitted to the United States. We are making four recommendations to better prepare the agency to fully implement the new requirement at land ports of entry. CBP agreed with our proposed corrective actions and is in the process of implementation.

Details: Washington, DC: U.S. Department of Homeland Security, 2010. 26p.

Source: Internet Resource: OIG-11-16: Accessed March 21, 2011 at: http://www.dhs.gov/xoig/assets/mgmtrpts/OIG_11-16_Nov10.pdf

Year: 2010

Country: International

URL: http://www.dhs.gov/xoig/assets/mgmtrpts/OIG_11-16_Nov10.pdf

Shelf Number: 121081

Keywords:
Border Patrol
Border Security
Homeland Security

Author: Collett, Elizabeth

Title: Emerging Transatlantic Security Dilemmas in Border Management

Summary: The sheer volume of global travel, which has risen exponentially since the 1960s, puts border management systems under constant pressure. Beyond that growth, border management systems have had to contend with additional risks associated with these movements. Mass-casualty terrorist attacks, rising illegal immigration, and human trafficking have exposed weaknesses in states’ ability to manage their borders effectively. This policy memo examines the infrastructure and policy developments – and challenges – that have occurred in recent years on both sides of the Atlantic, discussing the differing nature and prioritization of those policy challenges.

Details: Washington, DC: Migration Policy Institute, 2011. 11p.

Source: Internet Resource: Accessed July 12, 2011 at: http://www.migrationpolicy.org/pubs/securitydilemmas-2011.pdf

Year: 2011

Country: International

URL: http://www.migrationpolicy.org/pubs/securitydilemmas-2011.pdf

Shelf Number: 122040

Keywords:
Border Patrol
Border Security
Illegal Aliens
Illegal Immigrants
Immigration
Terrorism

Author: Center for the Study of Democracy

Title: Practices and Forms of Cooperation between Customs and Border Guards in the European Union

Summary: The economic crisis and the increased threats from terrorism, organised crime and illegal migration have brought to light the issue of efficient and effective management of the external borders of the European Union. For Bulgaria it has become even more important with regard to its upcoming accession to the Schengen area.

Details: Sofia: Center for the Study of Democracy, 2011. 11p.

Source: Internet Resource: Policy Brief No. 30: Accessed August 26, 2011 at: http://www.csd.bg/artShow.php?id=15647

Year: 2011

Country: Bulgaria

URL: http://www.csd.bg/artShow.php?id=15647

Shelf Number: 122562

Keywords:
Border Patrol
Border Security (Bulgaria)
Customs Enforcement
Illegal Immigration

Author: Hall, Christopher

Title: Securing the Borders: Creation of the Border Patrol Auxiliary

Summary: Although the U.S. Border Patrol is the largest uniformed federal law enforcement agency in the country, its resources appear to be far short of what is required to truly accomplish its mandate. Most of the Customs and Border Protection's (CBP) 30,000 officers operate in the nation's 314 land, air, and seaports of entry, where they admit an average 1.2 million legal visitors a day. A majority of the border remains void of barriers, surveillance, and the presence of Border Patrol agents. The government demonstrated its commitment to improved border security in 2006 with an 11% increase in the CBP's budget, now over $7 billion. But the new money is dedicated to several initiatives and only pays for an additional 1,500 border patrol agents. Public demand for action to meet border patrol requirements compelled the President to order the deployment of 6,000 National Guardsmen to the Mexican border as part of "Operation Jump Start." While fences and new technologies such as ground sensors and unmanned aerial vehicles will enhance the "reach" of existing agents, nothing would close the gap better than creating a program to increase the number of agents along the border. Citizen auxiliaries have ample precedence in assisting law enforcement agencies. The Coast Guard Auxiliary, Civil Air Patrol, and many other police auxiliaries have long and successful histories. Several volunteer groups have sprung up in recent years to help patrol the border. The Border Patrol has publicly welcomed their efforts as observers but operationally kept them at arms length. This paper evaluates the feasibility of establishing a civilian auxiliary within the Border Patrol. By examining the missions, authorities, costs, legal foundations, and organizational cultures of the U.S. Coast Guard Auxiliary and the Florida Highway Patrol Auxiliary, The authors can identify elements key to developing a successful auxiliary program.

Details: Cambridge, MA: National Security Program, Kennedy School of Government, Harvard University, 2007. 63p.

Source: Internet Resource: Accessed October 4, 2011 at: http://dodreports.com/ada476945

Year: 2007

Country: United States

URL: http://dodreports.com/ada476945

Shelf Number: 122973

Keywords:
Border Patrol
Border Security (U.S.)

Author: Roberts, Bryan

Title: An Analysis of Migrant Smuggling Costs along the Southwest Border

Summary: Border enforcement is intended to prevent and deter the illegal movement of goods and people across a country’s border. The intensification of border enforcement activities creates impediments to illegal entry that increase the costs incurred by migrants when crossing the border. Increased costs may include additional time investment, physical hardship, and higher fees charged by smugglers who assist migrants across the border. The impact of enforcement on illegal immigration depends on how enforcement affects migration costs and how migration costs affect the decision to migrate. Our goal in this paper is to estimate the impact that enforcement has on the price smugglers charge to bring illegal immigrants across the U.S.-Mexico border.

Details: Washington, DC: U.S. Department of Homeland Security, Office of Immigration Statistics, Policy Directorate, 2010. 22p.

Source: Internet Resource: Working Paper: Accessed November 1, 2011 at: http://www.dhs.gov/xlibrary/assets/statistics/publications/ois-smuggling-wp.pdf

Year: 2010

Country: United States

URL: http://www.dhs.gov/xlibrary/assets/statistics/publications/ois-smuggling-wp.pdf

Shelf Number: 123203

Keywords:
Alien Smuggling
Border Patrol
Border Security
Costs of Criminal Justice
Human Smuggling
Illegal Immigration
Migrant Smuggling

Author: New York University School of Law Immigrant Rights Clinic

Title: Justice Derailed: What Raids on New York’s Trains and Buses Reveal about Border Patrol’s Interior Enforcement Practices

Summary: This report is the first-ever in-depth examination of the Border Patrol’s transportation raids in upstate New York. It paints a disturbing picture of an agency resorting to aggressive policing tactics in order to increase arrest rates, without regard for the costs and consequences of its practices on New Yorkers’ rights and freedoms. The report extends beyond transportation raids to other Border Patrol practices as well, raising serious concerns about an agency that appears to be driven by the belief that the regular rules of the Constitution do not apply to it. American democracy was founded on the idea that people possess certain inalienable rights, among them the right to privacy and the right to move freely about the country. Throughout this nation’s history, Americans have never been required to carry identification papers proving their citizenship. “Show me your papers” is a statement posed to people living under oppressive regimes, not those residing in the world’s oldest democracy. Anyone who has traveled on trains and buses through upstate New York in recent years has cause to question the federal government’s fealty to these core democratic values. Throughout central and western New York, armed Border Patrol agents routinely board trains and buses nowhere near the border to question passengers about their citizenship. They force certain people to produce documents proving their citizenship or immigration status. Passengers who cannot produce documentation to an agent’s satisfaction are subjected to arrest, detention and potential deportation. These “transportation raids” occur many miles from the Canadian border or any point of entry into the United States. They do little to protect the border, but they threaten constitutional protections that apply to citizens and immigrants alike, invite racial profiling, tear apart families and burden taxpayers with the cost of detaining individuals who were arrested while innocently going about their business. The transportation raids also serve as a window into the practices of an agency that, although charged with policing the border, abuses its authority through its unprecedented reach into the interior of the United States and the use of aggressive search and seizure procedures that do not comport with standards and expectations for domestic policing or interior immigration enforcement. While the full extent of the Border Patrol’s interior enforcement practices remains unknown, community groups have documented abuses of power that extend beyond the transportation system and into our state’s towns and villages. These concerns include complaints of Border Patrol agents wrongfully stopping, questioning and arresting individuals, including United States citizens, and engaging in improper enforcement practices in close collaboration with state and local police. This report is the first in-depth examination of transportation raids by Border Patrol agents in upstate New York, particularly in the Rochester Station within the Border Patrol’s Buffalo sector. Through a Freedom of Information Act request, which is still being litigated, the authors of this report obtained a complete dataset of all transportation arrests in Rochester Station from 2006 to 2009 and detailed information on a random sample of 200 of those arrests. Analysis of the documents obtained through the FOIA litigation and other publicly available documents confirm that Rochester Station’s interior transportation raids represent a shift from the Border Patrol’s mission of policing the border. Furthermore, the evidence suggests an established pattern of misconduct by Border Patrol agents in the course of transportation raids. Key preliminary findings from this data include the following: Despite the Border Patrol’s mission of policing the border, transportation raids do not target recent border-crossers. From 2006 to 2009, less than 1 percent of transportation raid arrests were made at entry, and only 1 percent were made within 72 hours of entry. In contrast, 76 percent of those arrested on transportation raids in Rochester had been in the United States for more than a year, and 12 percent of these individuals had been present for more than 10 years. Interior transportation raid arrests represent the majority of the Rochester Station’s arrests despite the fact that they occur far from any point-of-entry into the United States. Although the agency long sought to block release1 of precise yearly data, we now know that transportation arrests constituted almost two-thirds of all arrests in Rochester between 2007 and 2009. Agents widely violate established arrest procedures in the course of transportation raids. In 77 percent of all transportation raid arrests between 2006 and 2009, Rochester Station officers violated the two-officer rule, which requires that someone other than the arresting officer, whose judgment may be clouded by numerous factors, examine the person who was arrested and determine whether to commence removal proceedings or exercise prosecutorial discretion. In addition to violating the agency’s own regulations, such violations implicate significant due process rights and Fourth Amendment requirements. Despite the immense human and financial costs of overzealous detention, data culled from the sample of Rochester transportation raid arrests reveal that more than 73 percent of individuals arrested were then placed in a detention facility rather than released while awaiting the adjudication of their case. The data further indicates that were it not for a lack of bed space, agents would have detained an even higher percentage of transportation raid arrestees.

Details: New York: New York Civil Liberties Union, 2011. 46p.

Source: Internet Resource: Accessed November 10, 2011 at: http://www.nyclu.org/files/publications/NYCLU_justicederailedweb.pdf

Year: 2011

Country: United States

URL: http://www.nyclu.org/files/publications/NYCLU_justicederailedweb.pdf

Shelf Number: 123301

Keywords:
Border Patrol
Border Security (U.S.)
Illegal Immigrants
Immigration
Transportation

Author: U.S. General Accounting Office

Title: Border Security: Additional Steps Needed to Ensure That Officers Are Fully Trained

Summary: Recent incidents involving potential terrorists attempting to enter the country highlight the need for a vigilant and well-trained workforce at the border. U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP), within the Department of Homeland Security, is the lead federal agency in charge of inspecting travelers and goods for admission into the United States. About 20,000 CBP officers play a central role in ensuring that CBP accomplishes its mission of securing the border while also facilitating the movement of millions of legitimate travelers and billions of dollars in international trade. GAO was asked to assess the extent to which CBP has (1) revised its training program for newly hired CBP officers in accordance with training standards and (2) identified and addressed the training needs of incumbent CBP officers. GAO analyzed data and documentation related to the agency’s training efforts, such as its covert test program and its training records. GAO also interviewed CBP officials and CBP officers. This is a public version of a sensitive report that GAO issued in October 2011. Information CBP deemed sensitive has been redacted. To improve CBP training efforts, GAO recommends that the CBP Commissioner evaluate the “Back to Basics” training course; analyze covert test results; establish a policy for training responsibilities, including oversight of training records; and, conduct a training needs assessment. CBP concurred with the recommendations and is taking steps to address them.

Details: Washington, DC: GAO, 2011. 43p.

Source: Internet Resource: GAO-12-269: Accessed January 10, 2012 at: http://www.gao.gov/assets/590/587314.pdf

Year: 2011

Country: United States

URL: http://www.gao.gov/assets/590/587314.pdf

Shelf Number: 123548

Keywords:
Border Patrol
Border Security
Custom Enforcement
Immigration
Terrorism
Terrorists
Training, Border Personnel

Author: Rytina, Nancy

Title: Apprehensions by the U.S. Border Patrol: 2005 - 2008

Summary: Statistics on apprehensions represent one of the few indicators available regarding illegal entry or presence in the United States. This Office of Immigration Statistics Fact Sheet provides information on recent trends in U.S. Border Patrol apprehensions and the gender, age, country of origin, and geographic location of persons apprehended during 2005 through 2008. Databeginning in 2005 were obtained from the Enforcement Case Tracking System (ENFORCE) of the Department of Homeland Security (DHS). For prior years, data were obtained from the Performance Analysis System (PAS) of DHS.

Details: Washington, DC: Office of Immigration Statistics, U.S. Department of Homeland Security, 2009. 2p.

Source: Fact Sheet: Internet Resource: Accessed May 8, 2012 at http://www.dhs.gov/xlibrary/assets/statistics/publications/ois_apprehensions_fs_2005-2008.pdf

Year: 2009

Country: United States

URL: http://www.dhs.gov/xlibrary/assets/statistics/publications/ois_apprehensions_fs_2005-2008.pdf

Shelf Number: 125208

Keywords:
Arrests
Border Patrol
Crime Trends
Demographic Trends
Illegal Aliens
Illegal Immigration
Immigrants

Author: Gambler, Rebecca

Title: Border Patrol Strategy: Progress and Challenges in Implementation and Assessment Efforts

Summary: Border Patrol, within DHS’s CBP, is the federal agency with primary responsibility for securing the national borders between the U.S. ports of entry (POE). DHS has completed a new 2012-2016 Border Patrol Strategic Plan (2012-2016 Strategic Plan) that Border Patrol officials stated will emphasize risk management instead of increased resources to achieve border security and continue to build on the foundation of the 2004 National Border Patrol Strategy (2004 Strategy). This statement highlights key issues from prior GAO reports that discuss Border Patrol’s progress and challenges in (1) implementing key elements of the 2004 Strategy and (2) achieving the 2004 strategic goal to gain operational control of the border. This statement is based on GAO reports issued since 2007 on border security, with selected updates from April and May 2012 on Border Patrol resource needs, actions taken to address prior GAO recommendations, and efforts to develop performance measures. To conduct these updates, GAO reviewed agency documents such as operational assessments and interviewed DHS officials. In prior reports, GAO made recommendations to, among other things, strengthen border security technology, infrastructure, and partnerships. DHS concurred with the recommendations and has reported actions planned or underway to address them. CBP reviewed a draft of information contained in this statement and provided comments that GAO incorporated as appropriate.

Details: Washington, DC: U.S. Government Accountability Office, 2012. 31p.

Source: Internet Resource: GAO-12-688T: Accessed May 16, 2012 at: http://homeland.house.gov/sites/homeland.house.gov/files/Testimony-Gambler.pdf

Year: 2012

Country: United States

URL: http://homeland.house.gov/sites/homeland.house.gov/files/Testimony-Gambler.pdf

Shelf Number: 125315

Keywords:
Border Patrol
Border Security (U.S.)
Maritime Crime

Author: U.S. Customs and Border Protection

Title: Secure Borders, Safe Travel, Legal Trade: U.S. Customs and Border Protection Fiscal Year 2009–2014 Strategic Plan

Summary: This strategic plan is one of the most important tools we will use to chart our course of action for fiscal year (FY) 2009–14. It is designed to guide the strategic planning efforts of the various offices and programs within CBP, enabling the development of effective strategies and establishment of key priorities needed to achieve our mission and improve organizational performance. In accordance with the Government Performance and Results Act (GPRA) requirements, CBP will update this plan every 3 years. Internally, however, we will review this document annually to ensure that it continues to be relevant in our ever-changing environment. This plan is the foundation of an overall framework that links agency strategic planning to the resource allocation process. The Strategic Management Framework—a process we will use to implement our plan—will keep CBP priorities aligned, linking programs and operations to performance measures, mission-critical goals, resource priorities, and strategic objectives. I endorse this flexible, comprehensive approach with complete confidence that it will enable us to better fulfill our mission and ultimately secure and protect the Nation’s borders.

Details: Washington, DC: U.S. Customs and Border Protection, 2012. 36p.

Source: Internet Resource: Accessed July 17, 2012 at: http://www.cbp.gov/linkhandler/cgov/about/mission/strategic_plan_09_14.ctt/strategic_plan_09_14.pdf

Year: 2012

Country: United States

URL: http://www.cbp.gov/linkhandler/cgov/about/mission/strategic_plan_09_14.ctt/strategic_plan_09_14.pdf

Shelf Number: 125632

Keywords:
Border Patrol
Border Security (U.S.)
Customs Service

Author: Guttin, Andrea

Title: The Criminal Alien Program: Immigration Enforcement in Travis County, Texas

Summary: The Criminal Alien Program (CAP) is a program administered by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) that screens inmates in prisons and jails, identifies deportable non-citizens, and places them into deportation proceedings. In this Special Report, The Criminal Alien Program: Immigration Enforcement in Travis County, Texas, provides a brief history and background on the CAP program. It includes a case study of CAP implementation in Travis County, Texas, which finds that the program has a negative impact on communities because it increases the community’s fear of reporting crime to police, is costly, and may encourage racial profiling.

Details: Washington, DC: Immigration Policy Center, American Immigration Council, 2010. 22p.

Source: Internet Resource: Accessed September 29, 2012 at: http://www.immigrationpolicy.org/sites/default/files/docs/Criminal_Alien_Program_021710.pdf

Year: 2010

Country: United States

URL: http://www.immigrationpolicy.org/sites/default/files/docs/Criminal_Alien_Program_021710.pdf

Shelf Number: 126497

Keywords:
Border Patrol
Border Security
Deportation
Illegal Aliens
Immigrants
Immigration (U.S.)

Author: Gounev, Philip

Title: Anti-Corruption Measures in EU Border Control

Summary: The present study, commissioned by FRONTEX, provides academic and policy perspectives, as well as empirical data on corruption and anti-corruption measures observed in border guard institutions across the 27 Member States of the European Union. The report compares and analyses anti-corruption measures in EU Member States’ border guard services, as well as the strategies and instruments used in corruption investigations of border guards. The purpose of this study was to provide border guards with a general overview of the relevant academic and policy research available on the subject of corruption, as well as to review and analyse mechanisms of corruption and the principal anti-corruption measures targeting them.

Details: Sofia, Bulgaria: Center for the Study of Democracy, 2012. 165p.

Source: Internet Resource: Accessed October 24, 2012 at: http://www.csd.bg/artShow.php?id=16109

Year: 2012

Country: Bulgaria

URL: http://www.csd.bg/artShow.php?id=16109

Shelf Number: 126792

Keywords:
Border Patrol
Border Security
Corruption (Bulgaria)

Author: Koslowski, Rey

Title: The Evolution of Border Controls as a Mechanism to Prevent Illegal Immigration

Summary: This paper, the first in a joint project of the Migration Policy Institute and European University Institute examining US and European immigration systems, analyzes how the challenges in achieving effective US border control have increased dramatically within recent decades and particularly since the 9/11 terrorist attacks. The author examines the programmatic and funding responses US policymakers have put in place — including the Secure Border Initiative, the Visa Waiver Program, US-VISIT, and registered-traveler programs — and traces their evolution and effectiveness.

Details: Washington, DC: Migration Policy Institute, 2011. 33p.

Source: Internet Resource: Accessed January 30, 2013 at: http://www.migrationpolicy.org/pubs/bordercontrols-koslowski.pdf

Year: 2011

Country: United States

URL: http://www.migrationpolicy.org/pubs/bordercontrols-koslowski.pdf

Shelf Number: 127436

Keywords:
Border Patrol
Border Security (U.S.)
Illegal Immigrants
Illegal Immigration

Author: Isacson, Adam

Title: Border Security and Migration: A Report from South Texas

Summary: Since 2011, WOLA staff have carried out research in six different zones of the U.S.-Mexican border, meeting with U.S. law enforcement officials, human rights and humanitarian groups, and journalists, as well as with Mexican officials and representatives of civil society and migrant shelters in Mexico. As part of this ongoing work, the authors spent the week of November 26-30, 2012 in south Texas, looking at security and migration trends along this section of the U.S.-Mexico border. Specifically, we visited Laredo, McAllen, and Brownsville, Texas, and Matamoros, Mexico. We found that unlike other sections of the border, the south Texas sections have seen an increase, not a decrease, in apprehensions, particularly of non-Mexican migrants; migrant deaths have dramatically increased; and there are fewer accusations of Border Patrol abuse of migrants. We also found that the Zetas criminal organization's control over the area may be slipping and drug trafficking appears to have increased, yet these U.S. border towns are safer than they have been in decades. Lastly, in spite of the ongoing violence on the Mexican side of the border and the failure of the Mexican government to reform local and state police forces, U.S. authorities are increasing repatriating Mexicans through this region, often making migrants easy prey for the criminal groups that operate in these border cities.

Details: Washignton, DC: Washington Office on Latin America, 2013. 6p.

Source: Internet Resource: Accessed January 31, 2013 at: http://www.wola.org/sites/default/files/downloadable/Mexico/2013/Border%20Security%20and%20Migration%20South%20Texas.pdf

Year: 2013

Country: United States

URL: http://www.wola.org/sites/default/files/downloadable/Mexico/2013/Border%20Security%20and%20Migration%20South%20Texas.pdf

Shelf Number: 127462

Keywords:
Border Patrol
Border Security (Mexico)
Drug Trafficking
Illegal Immigration
Migrants

Author: Schoenfelder, Anna

Title: Uncovering USBP: Bonus Programs for United States Border patrol Agents and the Arrest of Lawfully Present Individuals

Summary: For almost four years, Families for Freedom (FFF) has been seeking information about the policies, practices and consequences of United States Border Patrol’s (USBP) operation in which they demand to see “papers” from persons traveling and living in Northern New York. In our last report, co‐authored by the New York Civil Liberties Union, we showed that of the thousands of individuals placed in removal proceedings after being questioned by USBP agents on trains and buses, only a miniscule percentage were recent entrants to the United States. But that report relied solely on the information that USBP released early in litigation about USBP practices. This report now adds crucial information about USBP’s aggressive internal enforcement practices. Using information gathered from depositions of senior officials, and data and documents released after years of litigation, this report shows the following: • USBP uses three different bonus programs to reward its agents. The programs include cash bonuses, vacation awards and distribution of gift cards of up to $100. As part of the settlement of our case, CBP gave us tallies for each of these for the Buffalo Sector (which covers northern New York). We also obtained the documents for approving the cash and time off awards, which provide no justification for which agents are awarded year‐end bonuses of up to $2,500 or 40 hours of vacation time. The sums spent on these programs in the Buffalo Sector alone amount to over $200,000 a year. The gift card program, which was not funded in 2009, resumed in 2010. • USBP has adopted a protocol for documenting arrests of individuals who are later determined to have legal status. Through FFF’s lawsuit, we obtained copies of forms – called “I‐44” forms – for persons arrested by agents at the Rochester Station. An analysis of those forms shows that the vast majority of those wrongfully arrested were from South Asian, East Asian, African, and Caribbean backgrounds. In just one program (train and bus arrests) in one station, almost 300 persons who had a form of legal status were arrested and transported to USBP offices prior to being released. The actual number is probably far higher because CBP did not formally instruct its agents to document these arrests until June 2010. These legally present individuals include 12 U.S. citizens, 52 Legal Permanent Residents, 28 tourist visa holders, 37 student visa holders, 39 work visa holders, 51 individuals in immigration proceedings, 26 with pending immigration applications, and 32 individuals that had been granted asylum, withholding or temporary protective status. Eleven individuals had other forms of status, including diplomatic visas, special visas for victims of domestic violence, and special status provided to the citizens of former US territories. Many of these people were arrested because of USBP database errors. The report includes stories about the experiences of these people, including those who are arrested in the middle of the night, and many who are forced to depend on family or employers to fax documents to USBP in order to be released. • Contrary to sworn statements submitted in the federal district court stating that the agency did not maintain an array of arrest statistics, including annual totals for the Rochester Station, the depositions ordered by the Court revealed that arrest statistics are the primary measure employed by local USBP stations and their Sector supervisors in the Buffalo Sector. The Agent in Charge in Rochester testified that recording the station’s daily arrest statistics and sending them to the Sector is the last job of the supervisor at the end of the day. The next morning, the Buffalo Sector office sends summary arrest statistics out to each station in time for each Patrol Agent in Charge to review when he first opens his e‐mail in the morning. Meanwhile, the Chief of Staff of USBP testified that the national office of USBP tracks arrest statistics and distributes reports through mass emails on a twice daily basis. The Agent in Charge for the Rochester Station, which is the subject of much of the data in this report, stated that the Station does not keep any other regular measure of performance. • The documents show that USBP agents act on the assumption that no matter where they operate within the United States, they may arrest any noncitizen—whether a tourist or a long‐term legal resident with a driver’s license—whenever that person is not carrying detailed documentation that provides proof of status. But USBP’s records also show that the agents are not genuinely interested in what documents the law might require noncitizens to carry. Instead, USBP’s demand for “papers” is universal, resulting in an enforcement culture that maximizes arrest rates. Altogether, the documents show that USBP’s policies send a message to the foreign born that is ugly and untenable. This is especially so in New York State, where more than one in five persons was born abroad, and one in ten is a foreign‐born U.S. citizen. The remedy is clear: it is time for USBP to leave its unjustified mission of policing the interior of the United States and to end its unregulated bonus programs. USBP should not be allowed to transform the areas of the United States that are adjacent to the border into a police state in which persons are forced to carry papers at all times to be ready for a demand by a USBP agent to “show me your papers.” Otherwise, as the data shows, USBP will continue to arrest US citizens, lawful permanent residents and countless others who should not live in fear of traveling or living near the border.

Details: New York: Families for Freedom; New York University School of Law, Immigrant Rights Clinic, 2013. 37p.

Source: Internet Resource: Accessed January 31, 2013: http://familiesforfreedom.org/sites/default/files/resources/Uncovering%20USBP-FFF%20Report%202013.pdf

Year: 2013

Country: United States

URL: http://familiesforfreedom.org/sites/default/files/resources/Uncovering%20USBP-FFF%20Report%202013.pdf

Shelf Number: 127465

Keywords:
Border Control Agents
Border Patrol
Border Security
Immigrants
Immigration (U.S. - Canada)

Author: Olson, Eric L.

Title: Is More Getting Us Less? Real Solutions for Securing Our Border

Summary: Ongoing reports about Mexico’s bloody conflict with organized crime have raised again the question of whether the United States should do more to prevent such violence from “spilling over” into the country. While officials have documented few cases of actual “spill over,” fears of exploding violence in Mexico and concerns about illegal migration are driving a policy debate that is centered on “securing the border.” To whit, President Barack Obama announced last May the deployment of 1,200 more National Guard troops to enhance border security, and requested an additional $500 million from Congress to further modernize southwestern border security. In August, the U.S. Congress approved a $600 million “Border Security Supplemental Appropriations Act of 2010” in near record time. The question is whether such policy actions are effective.

Details: Washington, DC: Immigration Policy Center, 2011. 6p.

Source: Internet Resource: Accessed February 14, 2013 at: http://welcometheimmigrant.squarespace.com/storage/Is_More_Getting_Us_Less_021511.pdf

Year: 2011

Country: United States

URL: http://welcometheimmigrant.squarespace.com/storage/Is_More_Getting_Us_Less_021511.pdf

Shelf Number: 127619

Keywords:
Border Patrol
Border Security
Criminal Cartels
Organized Crime (Mexico)
Violence
Violent Crime

Author: Chen, Greg

Title: Border Security: Moving Beyond Past Benchmarks

Summary: AssociationFor years, but especially after 9/11, the calls for border security have been increasing with many lawmakers demanding that the border must be secured. The idea has gained traction, and recent comprehensive immigration bills have been loaded with border security measures that include more border agents, fencing, and high-tech surveillance, and the expanded use of detention. Proposals, such as the 2007 Senate reform bill (S.1639), went further by requiring that specific benchmarks, “triggers,” be met before legalization could take place.1 Though none of these proposals became law, a resource-heavy approach has been implemented and has resulted in a dramatic build-up of border security and a massive expenditure of resources focused on the following: 1) Achieving “operational control” of the border; 2) Increasing border personnel; 3) Increasing border infrastructure and surveillance; and 4) Increasing penalties for border crossers, including prosecution and incarceration. In FY 2012, Customs and Border Protection (CBP) alone was funded at $11.7 billion, an increase of 64% since FY 2006.2 In 2010, Congress passed a special border security bill providing an additional $600 million on top of the amount already appropriated.3 This report examines past immigration reform proposals, specifically the 2006, 2007, and 2010 Senate bills (S. 2611, S.1639, and S.3932), and evaluates the proposals in these four areas: operational control, border personnel, border infrastructure and technology, and detention.

Details: Washington, DC: American Immigration Lawyers Association, 2013. 7p.

Source: Internet Resource: Accessed February 15, 2013 at: http://www.aila.org/content/default.aspx?docid=43061

Year: 2013

Country: United States

URL: http://www.aila.org/content/default.aspx?docid=43061

Shelf Number: 127634

Keywords:
Border Patrol
Border Security (U.S.)
Illegal Immigrants
Immigration

Author: U.S. Government Accountability Office

Title: Border Security: Additional Actions Needed to Strengthen CBP Efforts to Mitigate Risk of Employee Corruption and Misconduct

Summary: U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) data indicate that arrests of CBP employees for corruption-related activities since fiscal years 2005 account for less than 1 percent of CBP’s entire workforce per fiscal year. The majority of arrests of CBP employees were related to misconduct. There were 2,170 reported incidents of arrests for acts of misconduct such as domestic violence or driving under the influence from fiscal year 2005 through fiscal year 2012, and a total of 144 current or former CBP employees were arrested or indicted for corruption-related activities, such as the smuggling of aliens and drugs, of whom 125 have been convicted as of October 2012. Further, the majority of allegations against CBP employees since fiscal year 2006 occurred at locations along the southwest border. CBP officials have stated that they are concerned about the negative impact that these cases have on agencywide integrity. CBP employs screening tools to mitigate the risk of employee corruption and misconduct for both applicants (e.g., background investigations and polygraph examinations) and incumbent CBP officers and Border Patrol agents (e.g., random drug tests and periodic reinvestigations). However, CBP’s Office of Internal Affairs (IA) does not have a mechanism to maintain and track data on which of its screening tools (e.g., background investigation or polygraph examination) provided the information used to determine which applicants were not suitable for hire. Maintaining and tracking such data is consistent with internal control standards and could better position CBP IA to gauge the relative effectiveness of its screening tools. CBP IA is also considering requiring periodic polygraphs for incumbent officers and agents; however, it has not yet fully assessed the feasibility of expanding the program. For example, CBP has not yet fully assessed the costs of implementing polygraph examinations on incumbent officers and agents, including costs for additional supervisors and adjudicators, or factors such as the trade-offs associated with testing incumbent officers and agents at various frequencies. A feasibility assessment of program expansion could better position CBP to determine whether and how to best achieve its goal of strengthening integrity-related controls for officers and agents. Further, CBP IA has not consistently conducted monthly quality assurance reviews of its adjudications since 2008, as required by internal policies, to help ensure that adjudicators are following procedures in evaluating the results of the preemployment and periodic background investigations. CBP IA officials stated that they have performed some of the required checks since 2008, but they could not provide data on how many checks were conducted. Without these quality assurance checks, it is difficult for CBP IA to determine the extent to which deficiencies, if any, exist in the adjudication process. CBP does not have an integrity strategy, as called for in its Fiscal Year 2009-2014 Strategic Plan. During the course of our review, CBP IA began drafting a strategy, but CBP IA’s Assistant Commissioner stated the agency has not set target timelines for completing and implementing this strategy. Moreover, he stated that there has been significant cultural resistance among some CBP components in acknowledging CBP IA’s authority for overseeing all integrity-related activities. Setting target timelines is consistent with program management standards and could help CBP monitor progress made toward the development and implementation of an agencywide strategy.

Details: Washington, DC: GAO, 2012. 48p.

Source: Internet Resource: GAO-13-59: Accessed February 21, 2013 at: http://www.gao.gov/assets/660/650505.pdf

Year: 2012

Country: United States

URL: http://www.gao.gov/assets/660/650505.pdf

Shelf Number: 127690

Keywords:
Border Patrol
Border Security (U.S.)
Customs Officials
Drug Smuggling
Employee Corruption
Employee Misconduct
Human Smuggling

Author: Doctors Without Borders

Title: Violence, Vulnerability and Migration: Trapped at the Gates of Europe. A report on the situation of sub-Saharan migrants in an irregular situation in Morocco

Summary: Over the last ten years, as the European Union (EU) has tightened its border controls and increasingly externalised its migration policies, Morocco has changed from being just a transit country for migrants en route to Europe to being both a transit and destination country by default. MSF’s experience demonstrates that the longer sub-Saharan migrants stay in Morocco the more vulnerable they become. This preexisting vulnerability, related to factors such as age and gender, as well as traumas experienced during the migration process, accumulates as they are trapped in Morocco and subjected to policies and practices that neglect, exclude and discriminate against them. MSF’s data demonstrates that the precarious living conditions that the majority of sub-Saharan migrants in Morocco are forced to live in and the wide-spread institutional and criminal violence that they are exposed to continue to be the main factors influencing medical and psychological needs. MSF teams have repeatedly highlighted and denounced this situation, yet violence remains a daily reality for the majority of sub-Saharan migrants in Morocco. In fact, as this report demonstrates, the period since December 2011 has seen a sharp increase in abuse, degrading treatment and violence against sub-Saharan migrants by Moroccan and Spanish security forces. This report also reveals the widespread violence carried out by criminal gangs, including bandits and human smuggling and human trafficking networks. It provides a glimpse into the shocking levels of sexual violence that migrants are exposed to throughout the migration process and demands better assistance and protection for those affected. These unacceptable levels of violence should not overshadow the achievements that have been made in recognition and respect for sub-Saharan migrants’ right to health over the last ten years. Progress has been made, however considerable challenges remain, particularly with regard to non-emergency, secondary care, care for people with mental health problems and protection and assistance for survivors of sexual violence. Further investment and reform of the healthcare system is needed, however the impact of the progress made to date and any future reforms will be limited unless concrete action is taken to address the discrepancy between European and Moroccan policies which view migration through a security prism and criminalise, marginalise and discriminate against sub-Saharan migrants in Morocco and those which protect and uphold their fundamental human rights. This report highlights the medical and psychological consequences of this approach and the cumulative vulnerability of the significant numbers of sub-Saharan migrants who are trapped in Morocco. In doing so it calls, once again, on the Moroccan authorities to respect their international and national commitments to human rights, develop and implement protection mechanisms and ensure that sub- Saharan migrants are treated in a humane and dignified manner, no matter what their legal status.

Details: Geneva, SWIT: Doctors Without Borders, 2013. 39p.

Source: Internet Resource: Accessed April 2, 2013 at: http://www.doctorswithoutborders.org/publications/reports/2013/Trapped_at_the_Gates_of_Europe.pdf

Year: 2013

Country: Morocco

URL: http://www.doctorswithoutborders.org/publications/reports/2013/Trapped_at_the_Gates_of_Europe.pdf

Shelf Number: 128194

Keywords:
Border Patrol
Border Security
Immigration
Migrants
Migration (Morocco)
Victims of Violence
Violence

Author: Olson, Eric L.

Title: The State of Security in the U.S.-Mexico Border Region

Summary: Concerns about global terrorism, potential threats posed by those entering the United States illegally, and fears that skyrocketing violence in Mexico might spillover into the United States have led to dramatic policy shifts and significant efforts to secure the border. Without a doubt, the U.S. and Mexican federal governments have made large investments in staffing, infrastructure and technology and have reorganized and refocused efforts to respond to specific threats and events. Yet gains in areas such as apprehensions of undocumented migrants and reductions in violence in key cities such as Ciudad Juarez seem tenuous at best and beg for more comprehensive, creative and collaborative solutions between these two countries, one a superpower and the other a key emerging power.

Details: Washington, DC: . Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars, Mexico Institute, 2012. 26p.

Source: Internet Resource: Working Paper Series on the State of the U.S.-Mexico Border: Accessed April 4, 2013 at: http://www.wilsoncenter.org/sites/default/files/State_of_Border_Security_Olson_Lee.pdf

Year: 2012

Country: United States

URL: http://www.wilsoncenter.org/sites/default/files/State_of_Border_Security_Olson_Lee.pdf

Shelf Number: 128206

Keywords:
Border Patrol
Border Security (U.S., Mexico)
Homeland Security
Illegal Immigration

Author: U.S. Government Accountability Office

Title: Border Security: Partnership Agreements and Enhanced Oversight Could Strengthen Coordination of Efforts on Indian Reservations

Summary: Individuals seeking to enter the United States illegally may attempt to avoid screening procedures at ports of entry by crossing the border in areas between these ports, including Indian reservations, many of which have been vulnerable to illicit cross-border threat activity, such as drug smuggling, according to DHS. GAO was asked to review DHS’s efforts to coordinate border security activities on Indian reservations. This report examines DHS’s efforts to coordinate with tribal governments to address border security threats and vulnerabilities on Indian reservations. GAO interviewed DHS officials at headquarters and conducted interviews with eight tribes, selected based on factors such as proximity to the border, and the corresponding DHS field offices that have a role in border security for these Indian reservations. While GAO cannot generalize its results from these interviews to all Indian reservations and field offices along the border, they provide examples of border security coordination issues. This is a public version of a sensitive report that GAO issued in December 2012. Information that DHS, the Department of Justice (DOJ) and the Department of the Interior (DOI) deemed sensitive has been redacted. What GAO Recommends GAO recommends that DHS examine the benefits of government-to-government agreements with tribes and develop and implement a mechanism to monitor border security coordination efforts with tribes. DHS concurred with our recommendations

Details: Washington, DC: GAO, 2013. 30p.

Source: Internet Resource: GAO-13-352: Accessed April 5, 2013 at: http://www.gao.gov/assets/660/653590.pdf

Year: 2013

Country: United States

URL: http://www.gao.gov/assets/660/653590.pdf

Shelf Number: 128290

Keywords:
Border Patrol
Border Security
Illegal Immigrants
Immigration
Indian Reservations

Author: U.S. Immigration and CustomsEnforcement

Title: Secure Communities: A Comprehensive Plan to Identify and Remove Criminal Aliens. Strategic Plan

Summary: Secure Communities: A Comprehensive Plan to Identify and Remove Criminal Aliens (Secure Communities) is working with ICE senior leadership and offices, as well as the broader law enforcement community, to better identify criminal aliens, prioritize enforcement actions on those posing the greatest threat to public safety, and transform the entire criminal alien enforcement process. Through improved technology, continual data analysis, and timely information sharing with a broad range of law enforcement agency (LEA) partners, we are helping to protect communities across the country. This document outlines our goals, objectives, and our strategic approach to accomplishing them.

Details: Wshington, DC: U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, 2009. 28p.

Source: Internet Resource: Accessed April 9, 2013 at: http://epic.org/privacy/secure_communities/securecommunitiesstrategicplan09.pdf

Year: 2009

Country: United States

URL: http://epic.org/privacy/secure_communities/securecommunitiesstrategicplan09.pdf

Shelf Number: 128336

Keywords:
Border Patrol
Border Security
Criminal Aliens
Customs Enforcement
Homeland Security (U.S.)
Illegal Migrants
Immigration Enforcement

Author: Lee, Erik

Title: The State of the Border Report: A Comprehensive Analysis of the U.S.-Mexico Border

Summary: As the debate over immigration reform has brought the management of the U.S.-Mexico border back into the spotlight, this report provides a comprehensive look at the state of affairs in the management of the U.S.-Mexico border and the border region, focusing on four core areas: trade and competitiveness, security, sustainability, and quality of life. The report suggests that rather than consider each issue individually, the interdependent nature of topics like trade and security demand the border be approached from a more holistic perspective.

Details: Washington, DC: Mexico Institute, Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars, 2013. 174p.

Source: Internet Resource: Accessed May 25, 2013 at: http://www.wilsoncenter.org/sites/default/files/mexico_state_of_border.pdf

Year: 2013

Country: United States

URL: http://www.wilsoncenter.org/sites/default/files/mexico_state_of_border.pdf

Shelf Number: 128792

Keywords:
Border Patrol
Border Security (U.S., Mexico)
Illegal Immigrants
Immigration

Author: Koren, Elaine

Title: International Entry-Exit Security Systems: Annotated Bibliography

Summary: This annotated bibliography is based on a literature review using open source, academic and grey literature reviewing existing entry-exit systems used by travellers arriving in or departing from the formal ports of entry (POEs) for three countries and one region. Its focus is to identify relevant research that could identify existing practices and infrastructure established in Australia, the EU, NZ and the US.

Details: Ottawa: Public Safety Canada, 2013. 89p.

Source: Internet Resource: Accessed November 23, 2013 at: http://www.publicsafety.gc.ca/lbrr/archives/cn63312767-eng.pdf

Year: 2013

Country: International

URL: http://www.publicsafety.gc.ca/lbrr/archives/cn63312767-eng.pdf

Shelf Number: 131682

Keywords:
Border Patrol
Border Security (International)

Author: Arbel, Efrat

Title: Bordering on Failure: Canada-U.S. Border Policy and the Politics of Refugee Exclusion

Summary: The report examines Canadian border measures designed to intercept and deflect "undesirable travelers", including asylum seekers, before they set foot on Canadian soil and make a claim for refugee protection. It also examines the U.S.-Canada Safe Third Country Agreement, a "refugee sharing" agreement implemented by Canada and the United States to exercise more control over their shared border. In effect since 2004, the Agreement forces refugee claimants to seek protection in the first country they reach-either Canada or the United States. It prevents asylum seekers who are in the United States, or traveling through the United States, from making refugee claims at the Canadian border (and vice versa), subject to certain exceptions. The report finds that through these measures, Canada is systematically closing its borders to asylum seekers, and avoiding its refugee protection obligations under domestic and international law.

Details: Cambridge, MA: Harvard Immigration and Refugee Law Clinical Program, Harvard Law School, 2013. 115p.

Source: Internet Resource: Accessed January 27, 2014 at: http://harvardimmigrationclinic.files.wordpress.com/2013/11/bordering-on-failure-harvard-immigration-and-refugee-law-clinical-program1.pdf

Year: 2013

Country: Canada

URL: http://harvardimmigrationclinic.files.wordpress.com/2013/11/bordering-on-failure-harvard-immigration-and-refugee-law-clinical-program1.pdf

Shelf Number: 131809

Keywords:
Asylum, Right of
Border Patrol
Border Security
Refugees

Author: Martinez, Daniel E.

Title: No Action Taken: Lack of CBP Accountability in Responding to Complaints of Abuse

Summary: Data obtained by the American Immigration Council shine a light on the lack of accountability and transparency which afflicts the U.S. Border Patrol and its parent agency, U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP). The data, which the Immigration Council acquired through a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request, covers 809 complaints of alleged abuse lodged against Border Patrol agents between January 2009 and January 2012. These cases run the gamut of physical, sexual, and verbal abuse. Although it is not possible to determine which cases had merit and which did not, it is astonishing that, among those cases in which a formal decision was issued, 97 percent resulted in "No Action Taken." On average, CBP took 122 days to arrive at a decision when one was made. Moreover, among all complaints, 40 percent were still "pending investigation" when the complaint data were provided to the Immigration Council. The data indicate that "physical abuse" was the most prevalent reason for a complaint, occurring in 40 percent of all cases, followed by "excessive use of force" (38 percent). Not surprisingly, more complaints were filed in sectors with higher levels of unauthorized immigration. During the time period studied, more than one in three complaints filed against Border Patrol agents were directed at agents in the Tucson Sector. After accounting for the different numbers of Border Patrol agents in each sector, the complaint rate remained the highest in the Tucson Sector, with the Rio Grande Valley Sector a close second. Complaint rates as measured in terms of numbers of apprehensions were highest in Del Rio, Rio Grande Valley, and San Diego. Taken as a whole, the data indicate the need for a stronger system of incentives (both positive and negative) for Border Patrol agents to abide by the law, respect legal rights, and refrain from abusive conduct. In order to do that, complaints should be processed more quickly and should be carefully reviewed. Furthermore, the seriousness of the complaints demands an external review.

Details: Washington, DC: American Immigration Council, 2014. 14p.

Source: Internet Resource: Accessed July 1, 2014 at: http://www.americanimmigrationcouncil.org/sites/default/files/No%20Action%20Taken_Final.pdf

Year: 2014

Country: United States

URL: http://www.americanimmigrationcouncil.org/sites/default/files/No%20Action%20Taken_Final.pdf

Shelf Number: 132573

Keywords:
Border Patrol
Border Security
Illegal Immigrants
Immigrant Detention
Prisoner Abuse

Author: Seghetti, Lisa

Title: Border Security: Immigration Enforcement Between Ports of Entry

Summary: Border enforcement is a core element of the Department of Homeland Security's effort to control unauthorized migration, with the U.S. Border Patrol (USBP) within the U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) as the lead agency along most of the border. Border enforcement has been an ongoing subject of congressional interest since the 1970s, when illegal immigration to the United States first registered as a serious national problem; and border security has received additional attention in the years since the terrorist attacks of 2001. Since the 1990s, migration control at the border has been guided by a strategy of "prevention through deterrence"-the idea that the concentration of personnel, infrastructure, and surveillance technology along heavily trafficked regions of the border will discourage unauthorized aliens from attempting to enter the United States. Since 2005, CBP has attempted to discourage repeat illegal migrant entries and disrupt migrant smuggling networks by imposing tougher penalties against certain unauthorized aliens, a set of policies eventually described as "enforcement with consequences." Most people apprehended at the Southwest border are now subject to "high consequence" enforcement outcomes. Across a variety of indicators, the United States has substantially expanded border enforcement resources over the last three decades. Particularly since 2001, such increases include border security appropriations, personnel, fencing and infrastructure, and surveillance technology. In addition to increased resources, the USBP has implemented several strategies over the past several decades in an attempt to thwart illegal migration. Recently, the Obama Administration announced executive actions to "fix" the immigration system. These actions address numerous issues, including a revised security plan at the southern border. The Border Patrol collects data on several different border enforcement outcomes; and this report describes trends in border apprehensions, recidivism, and estimated got aways and turn backs. Yet none of these existing data are designed to measure illegal border flows or the degree to which the border is secured. Thus, the report also describes methods for estimating illegal border flows based on enforcement data and migrant surveys. Drawing on multiple data sources, the report suggests conclusions about the state of border security. Robust investments at the border were not associated with reduced illegal inflows during the 1980s and 1990s, but a range of evidence suggests a substantial drop in illegal inflows in 2007-2011, followed by a slight rise in 2012 and a more dramatic rise in 2013. Enforcement, along with the economic downturn in the United States, likely contributed to the drop in unauthorized migration, though the precise share of the decline attributable to enforcement is unknown. Enhanced border enforcement also may have contributed to a number of secondary costs and benefits. To the extent that border enforcement successfully deters illegal entries, such enforcement may reduce border-area violence and migrant deaths, protect fragile border ecosystems, and improve the quality of life in border communities. But to the extent that aliens are not deterred, the concentration of enforcement resources on the border may increase border area violence and migrant deaths, encourage unauthorized migrants to find new ways to enter illegally and to remain in the United States for longer periods of time, damage border ecosystems, harm border-area businesses and the quality of life in border communities, and strain U.S. relations with Mexico and Canada.

Details: Washington, DC: Congressional Research Service, 2014. 48p.

Source: Internet Resource: R42138: Accessed January 30, 2015 at: https://www.fas.org/sgp/crs/homesec/R42138.pdf

Year: 2014

Country: United States

URL: https://www.fas.org/sgp/crs/homesec/R42138.pdf

Shelf Number: 134497

Keywords:
Border Patrol
Border Security (U.S.)
Illegal Immigrants
Immigration
Migration
Surveillance Technology

Author: Coombs, Kyle

Title: Do U.S. Border Enforcement Operations Increase Human Smuggling Fees Along the U.S.-Mexico Border?

Summary: Undocumented migrants frequently hire border crossing experts, called "coyotes" to facilitate a successful, safer crossing. U.S. border enforcement actively counters these migrants. U.S. measures of enforcement and coyote fees grew together during the 20th century, suggesting a connection between enforcement and the coyote market. This paper tests the effect of border patrol agents and operations on coyote fees using a dataset compiled from the Mexican Migration Project, U.S. Customs & Border Protection, the Department of Homeland Security, and the United States Sentencing Commission. I do not find a significant connection between coyote fees and border enforcement, but do show that average prison time along the border acted as a shifter of supply prior to 2005.

Details: St. Paul, MN: Macalester College, 2014. 65p.

Source: Internet Resource: Economics Honors Projects, Paper 57: Accessed February 7, 2015 at: http://digitalcommons.macalester.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1058&context=economics_honors_projects

Year: 2014

Country: United States

URL: http://digitalcommons.macalester.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1058&context=economics_honors_projects

Shelf Number: 134556

Keywords:
Border Patrol
Border Security
Coyotes
Human Smuggling
Migration
Undocumented Migrants (U.S.)

Author: Beittel, June S.

Title: Mexico: Organized Crime and Drug Trafficking Organizations

Summary: Reversing a fairly robust record of capturing and imprisoning leaders of Mexico's drug trafficking organizations (DTOs), the escape of notorious cartel leader Joaquin El Chapo Guzman on July 11, 2015, was a huge setback for the Mexican government already beleaguered by charges of corruption and low approval ratings. Mexico's efforts to combat drug traffickers have touched all of the major organizations that once dominated the illicit drug trade: for example, the February 2014 capture of Guzman who leads Sinaloa, Mexico's largest drug franchise; top leaders of Los Zetas in 2013 and March 2015; the October 2014 arrests of Hector Beltran Leyva of the Beltran Leyva Organization and, later, of Vicente Carrillo Fuentes of the once-dominant Juarez cartel. The DTOs have been in constant flux in recent years. By some accounts, in December 2006 there were four dominant DTOs: the Tijuana/Arellano Felix organization (AFO), the Sinaloa cartel, the Juarez/Vicente Carillo Fuentes organization (CFO), and the Gulf cartel. Since then, the more stable large organizations have fractured into many more groups. In recent years, the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) identified the following organizations as dominant: Sinaloa, Los Zetas, Tijuana/AFO, Juarez/CFO, Beltran Leyva, Gulf, and La Familia Michoacana. In some sense, these might be viewed as the traditional DTOs. However, many analysts suggest that those 7 seem to have now fragmented to 9 or as many as 20 major organizations. Several analysts estimate there have been at least 80,000 homicides linked to organized crime since 2006. Few dispute that the annual tally of organized crime-related homicides in Mexico has declined since 2011, although there is disagreement about the rate of decline. It appears that the steep increase in organized crime-related homicides during the six-year administration of Mexican President Felipe Calderon (2006-2012) is likely to trend down far more slowly than it rose. The Mexican government no longer publishes data on organized crime-related homicides. However, the government reported the rate of all homicides in Mexico has declined by 30% since 2012 (roughly 15% in 2013, and another 15% in 2014). Although murder rates have diminished, the incidence of other violent crimes targeting Mexican citizens, such as kidnapping and extortion, has increased through 2013 and stayed elevated. Notably, questions about the accuracy of the government's crime statistics persist. Former President Calderon made his aggressive campaign against the DTOs a defining policy of his government, which the DTOs violently resisted. Operations to eliminate DTO leaders sparked organizational change that led to significantly greater instability among the groups and continued violence. Since his inauguration in December 2012, Mexican President Enrique Pena Nieto has faced an increasingly complex crime situation. The major DTOs have fragmented, and new crime groups have emerged. Meanwhile, the DTOs and other criminal gangs furthered their expansion into other illegal activities, such as extortion, kidnapping, and oil theft, and the organizations now pose a multi-faceted organized criminal challenge to governance in Mexico no less threatening to the rule of law than the challenge that faced Pena Nieto's predecessor. According to the Pena Nieto Administration, 93 of the 122 top criminal targets that their government has identified have been arrested or otherwise "neutralized" (killed in arrest efforts) as of May 2015, although Guzman's escape confounds that achievement. Congress remains concerned about security conditions inside Mexico and the illicit drug trade. The Mexican DTOs are the major wholesalers of illegal drugs in the United States and are increasingly gaining control of U.S. retail-level distribution through alliances with U.S. gangs. This report provides background on drug trafficking and organized crime inside Mexico: it identifies the major DTOs, and it examines how the organized crime "landscape" has been significantly altered by fragmentation.

Details: Washington, DC: Congressional Research Service, 2015. 37p.

Source: Internet Resource: R41576: Accessed July 28, 2015 at: https://www.fas.org/sgp/crs/row/R41576.pdf

Year: 2015

Country: Mexico

URL: https://www.fas.org/sgp/crs/row/R41576.pdf

Shelf Number: 136160

Keywords:
Border Patrol
Border Security
Drug Cartels
Drug Trafficking
Drug-Related Violence
Homicides
Organized Crime

Author: Sluyk, Robin Philip

Title: Strengthening the Enforcement Capacity of the Serbian Customs Administration

Summary: This is the final evaluation report of a project aimed at strengthening the capacity of the Serbian Customs Administration, in further support of harmonisation with methodologies and operational standards of EU enforcement agencies. The project covered training as well as procurement of training tools for Custom Houses in Belgrade, Nis, Novi Sad and Kraljevo in the Republic of Serbia. Implementation ran from July 2009 to July 2010. The overall objective of this project was to contribute to enabling the Republic of Serbia to establish open and secure borders through efficient border control and management systems, based on EU best practices. Its project purpose was to provide technical support to build up capacity of the Serbian Customs Administration by institution building in order to improve efficiency and effectiveness of border control. The project sought to address this issue via achieving the following results: 1. Establishment of an overall specialised training programme; 2. Improved training programme of the Enforcement Division; 3. Enhanced insight in the specific technical needs of the Custom Units. The project is regarded as successful. Needs assessments were finished in support of the EU project fiche that this project belongs to. Specialist trainers designed and provided a training programme in line with EU standards (e.g. CAFAO), as well with beneficiary needs. Equipment to support training facilities was timely purchased and delivered, and enhanced insight in specific equipment needs was obtained through the preparation of a tender package that was intended to be executed via the donor, the EU Delegation in Belgrade. The weak point of this project was its design and its incidentally conflicting project documents - the EU Action Description and the UNODC Project Document. Baseline data were missing which led to weak indicators at the objective levels. The reporting frequency was rather low which hampered thorough monitoring, which means that some outputs could not always be measured against indicators. The development of 'master trainers' (via ToT) to provide sustainable capacity development should be exploited further. Training Modules were produced however not specifically for this project, rather in line with CAFAO methods. It is unclear to what extent the beneficiary units have adopted it. Additionally, the master trainers have conducted no training yet. Lack of experience may result in low confidence. The quality of training scored high, although a 'notable' number of participants stated not to use the learned material in their work. Survey feedback shows that the score for practical use is high in absolute terms, but on the low side of other scores. This deserves further analysis. Specifications for portal monitors and procurement of special equipment (e.g. night vision adapters, etc.) proved to be problematic. Night vision adapters had to be omitted from the project due to UN Procurement regulations (only eligible firm also dealt with landmine import-export). The tender for portal monitors took a long time to draft.

Details: Vienna: United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime, 2010. 44p.

Source: Internet Resource: Accessed August 10, 2015 at: https://www.unodc.org/documents/evaluation/Independent_Project_Evaluations/2011/SRBT82_Final_evaluation_report_30May2011.pdf

Year: 2010

Country: Serbia and Montenegro

URL: https://www.unodc.org/documents/evaluation/Independent_Project_Evaluations/2011/SRBT82_Final_evaluation_report_30May2011.pdf

Shelf Number: 136378

Keywords:
Border Patrol
Border Security
Police Training

Author: Cory, Bettina J.

Title: Re-casting the U.S.-Mexico border security net

Summary: The terrorist attack in 2001 left the United States with a sense of vulnerability and generated both demand and need to protect the nation. Fortifying the border has created diminishing returns. In addition, it has created negative side effects and unintended consequences that undermine the very nature and reason for installing border fences. Immigrants have been forced into the hands of criminal organizations and are more vulnerable now than in the past. Building a wall has deterred some illicit activity, but it does not deter the motivational factors. By hardening the borderline, the U.S. has issued a challenge, practically daring anyone to attempt entry though immigration has been reduced, drug trafficking organizations (DTOs) have picked up the gauntlet thrown by the United States and are finding ingenious methods to overcome and bypass the tightening border controls. Determined and motivated people will continue to find a way, even if it takes multiple times to find loopholes and weakness in the border. Border policy has resulted in unintended consequences, specifically, attracting DTOs, stimulating innovation, creating sophisticated networks within the black market arena, and rendering the fence obsolete. The cost effectiveness of current border security practices have reached the culminating point. Policymakers need to find alternative solutions, because current methods are unsustainable

Details: Monterey, CA: Naval Postgraduate School, 2014. 105p.

Source: Internet Resource: Thesis: Accessed August 14, 2015 at: http://calhoun.nps.edu/bitstream/handle/10945/41362/14Mar_Cory_Bettina.pdf?sequence=1

Year: 2014

Country: United States

URL: http://calhoun.nps.edu/bitstream/handle/10945/41362/14Mar_Cory_Bettina.pdf?sequence=1

Shelf Number: 136418

Keywords:
Border patrol
Border Security
Drug Trafficking
Homeland Security
Human Trafficking
Illegal Immigrants

Author: Slack, Jeremy

Title: Border Militarization and Health: Violence, Death and Security in Mexico and the United States

Summary: Despite proposed increases in spending on personnel and equipment for border enforcement tied to the amended version of the U.S. Senate's current immigration reform bill, the public health impacts of border militarization are relatively under-examined. We begin to explore these health impacts by drawing on the Migrant Border Crossing Study (MBCS) a new data source based on 1,110 surveys of a random sample of deportees we carried out with a bi-national team in five Mexican border cities and in Mexico City. The violence generated by current border and immigration enforcement practices has led to a humanitarian crisis on the U.S.-Mexico border. We specifically examine the risks and dangers associated with contemporary border crossing experiences, migrant deaths in the desert, abuses committed by U.S. authorities involved in immigration enforcement, and migrants' conditions while in U.S. custody, including access to medical attention. The paper also draws from research with families of migrants in Puebla to expand our understandings of the health impacts of migration that extend beyond people impacted directly by U.S. policies to include their families and return migrants' experiences. We end this paper with suggestions about how to address negative health impacts through policy changes.

Details: Tucson, AZ: University of Arizona, Center for Latin American Studies, 2014. 26p.

Source: Internet Resource: Accessed August 14, 2015 at: http://works.bepress.com/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1039&context=scott_whiteford

Year: 2014

Country: United States

URL: http://works.bepress.com/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1039&context=scott_whiteford

Shelf Number: 136420

Keywords:
Border Patrol
Border Security
Illegal Immigrants
Immigration Enforcement
Migrant Deaths

Author: Eren, Yunus

Title: The Impact of Land Border Security on Terrorism Financing: Turkey's Southeast Land Border and the PKK

Summary: Terrorism has become the one of the major threats facing many states. Understanding the potential sources of and preventing the financial support of terrorist organizations takes an important place in countering terrorism. This thesis focuses on the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) financing activities through the land border of Turkey. In doing so, this study mainly examines how the Turkish border security system can stop the trans-border financial activities of PKK along its land borders with Iran, Iraq and Syria. This thesis also takes the U.S. as a case study in terms of border security measures, and within that framework, makes recommendations for safeguarding Turkey's land borders to prevent financial activities of the PKK terrorist organization without affecting free trade and the economic flow of services. Presently, the Turkish border security system is fragmented and poorly coordinated. Border management is currently split between the army, gendarmerie, police and coast guard. Moreover, international and interdepartmental collaborations are extremely limited. The prevention of cross-border financial activities of the PKK might be accomplished by forming an independent border security agency, adopting modern international standards and the latest technological innovations, and sustaining international and interdepartmental cooperation.

Details: Monterey, CA: Naval Postgraduate School, 2013. 90p.

Source: Internet Resource: Thesis: Accessed August 25, 2015 at: http://calhoun.nps.edu/bitstream/handle/10945/38924/13Dec_Eren_Yunus.pdf?sequence=1

Year: 2013

Country: Turkey

URL: http://calhoun.nps.edu/bitstream/handle/10945/38924/13Dec_Eren_Yunus.pdf?sequence=1

Shelf Number: 136575

Keywords:
Border Patrol
Border Security
Organized Crime
Terrorist Financing

Author: Coyne, John

Title: Securing the Australian Frontier: An agenda for border security policy

Summary: This report explores the key border security concepts and emergent policy challenges that will impact on Australia's border security policy. Effective border security allows for the seamless legitimate movement of people and goods across Australia's borders, which is critical to enhancing trade, travel and migration. The provision of border security involves far more than creating a capability focused solely on keeping our borders secure from potential terrorists, irregular migrants and illicit contraband. Border security policy deals with a unique operating space, in which extraordinary measures (extraordinary in character, amount, extent or degree) are often needed to provide a sense of security at the same time as creating the sense of normalcy that will allow economic interactions to flourish.

Details: Barton, ACT, AUS: Australian Stategic Policy Institute, 2015.

Source: Internet Resource: Accessed November 12, 2015 at: https://www.aspi.org.au/publications/securing-the-australian-frontier-an-agenda-for-border-security-policy/SR83_ASPI_Border_security_agenda.pdf

Year: 2015

Country: Australia

URL: https://www.aspi.org.au/publications/securing-the-australian-frontier-an-agenda-for-border-security-policy/SR83_ASPI_Border_security_agenda.pdf

Shelf Number: 137275

Keywords:
Border Patrol
Border Security
Illicit Goods
Irregular Migrants
Terrorists

Author:

Title: Streamline: Measuring Its Effect on Illegal Border Crossing

Summary: Streamline is an initiative to criminally prosecute individuals who illegally enter the United States through defined geographic regions along the Southwest border. We reviewed: (1) whether Border Patrol measures Streamline' effect on illegal re-entry; (2) whether the cost of Streamline can be determined; and (3) how Streamline affects U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) Office of Enforcement and Removal Operations' (ER)) resources.

Details: Washington, DC: Department of Homeland Security, 2015. 43p.

Source: Internet Resource: OIG-15-95: Accessed January 11, 2016 at: https://www.oig.dhs.gov/assets/Mgmt/2015/OIG_15-95_May15.pdf

Year: 2015

Country: United States

URL: https://www.oig.dhs.gov/assets/Mgmt/2015/OIG_15-95_May15.pdf

Shelf Number: 137459

Keywords:
Border Patrol
Border Security
Illegal Immigrants
Immigration Enforcement
Operation Streamline

Author: Cantor, Guillermo

Title: Hieleras (Iceboxes) in the Rio Grande Valley Sector: Lengthy Detention, Deplorable Conditions, and Abuse in CBP Holding Cells

Summary: Each year, the Border Patrol-a division of U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) - holds hundreds of thousands of individuals in detention facilities near the U.S. southern border. These facilities are not designed for overnight custody, and yet they are routinely used in this way. Until recently, CBP policy was clear that these facilities were to serve exclusively as short-term holding cells-meaning that a person should be held there less than 12 hours. Evidence presented in this report, which pertains to Border Patrol holding cells in the Rio Grande Valley (RGV) Sector, reveals that, instead, individuals are routinely held for days. In October 2015, CBP updated its guidance on how long it may detain individuals. The new guidance states that "short-term" detention generally should last no longer than 72 hours. Notably, however, no structural changes have been made to the facilities. These facilities, which are often referred to as "hieleras" (Spanish for "freezers" or "iceboxes"), remain wholly inadequate for any overnight detention. Moreover, the conditions are reprehensible, even with respect to truly short-term detention. In addition to the fact that there are no beds in the holding cells, these facilities are extremely cold, frequently overcrowded, and routinely lacking in adequate food, water, and medical care. Recent accounts from families held in short-term facilities also demonstrate that Border Patrol officers harass and ridicule individuals in their custody and separate mothers from their minor children. This report focuses on two aspects of detention in CBP facilities in RGV. First, based on never-before-released government data and documents obtained through the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA), it examines length of detention. Second, analyzing new survey data from the Binational Defense and Advocacy Program (in Spanish, Programa de Defensa e Incidencia Binacional, or PDIB), as well as declarations from a sample of women who were recently detained in RGV facilities, it sheds light on the conditions of detention that are prevalent in Border Patrol holding cells in the RGV sector. Government data show that during the months of August, September, October, and December of 2013, on average, 1173 individuals were detained in RGV facilities at any given time. Also, on average, 212 individuals were held in custody for over 72 hours at any given time. The share of individuals detained for over 72 hours ranged from 2.3 percent of all detainees at its lowest point to 42.5 percent at its peak. A significant number of individuals were held in detention even after their CBP "processing" was completed - meaning that these individuals were ready to be released or transferred to another federal agency. These data reveal that the Border Patrol regularly uses holding cells to detain people for prolonged periods, forcing men, women, and children to sleep on concrete floors and hard benches in holding cells that have no beds and are not equipped for sleeping. Additionally, our analysis of the PDIB survey data collected between June and November 2015 reveals that previously reported issues such as extreme temperatures, overcrowding, and inadequate food are routine. Three out of every four individuals detained in the RGV sectors reported having been exposed to extremely cold temperatures. Everyone who was held in detention in the RGV sector agreed that there was not enough space in the holding cell to lie down, and all but one indicated that there was not enough space for people to sit down. Almost all of the interviewees who were detained in RGV asserted that the food they received while detained was insufficient. In an effort to better illustrate the conditions individuals experience while in detention, the report also analyzes personal accounts of women who were held in CBP facilities in the Border Patrol RGV Sector. These accounts, shared by women who were held in Border Patrol cells in October or November 2015, reveal the markedly dehumanizing conditions to which these women were subjected while in Border Patrol custody. Recurring themes include overcrowding, separation of mothers from their children, inadequate access to medication and/or medical care, extreme temperature, lack of access to showers, food insufficiency, and sleep deprivation.

Details: Washington, DC: American Immigration Council, 2015. 31p.

Source: Internet Resource: Accessed January 11, 2016 at: http://www.immigrationpolicy.org/sites/default/files/docs/hieleras_iceboxes_in_the_rio_grande_valley_sector.pdf

Year: 2015

Country: United States

URL: http://www.immigrationpolicy.org/sites/default/files/docs/hieleras_iceboxes_in_the_rio_grande_valley_sector.pdf

Shelf Number: 137460

Keywords:
Border Patrol
Border Security
Illegal Immigrants
Immigrant Detention
Immigration
Immigration Enforcement

Author: Carper, Thomas R.

Title: Stronger Neighbors - Stronger Borders: Addressing the Root Causes of Illegal Migration from Central America

Summary: Given the increasingly dangerous world in which we live today, there is broad agreement among Americans that secure borders are more important than ever. In response to those concerns, our country has spent nearly $250 billion over the past decade to make our southern border with Mexico more secure. We've built over 600 miles of fencing. We've doubled the number of Border Patrol agents to more than 21,000. And we've deployed technology such as drones, helicopters, sophisticated surveillance systems, and ground sensors. But all of these security enhancements along our borders could not hold back the waves of tens of thousands of unaccompanied children and families who arrived at our southern border in 2014, mostly into Texas. Significant flows continue even today. The overwhelming majority of these migrants are coming -not from Mexico -but from El Salvador, Guatemala and Honduras, three Central American countries collectively known as the Northern Triangle. For the most part, the children and families aren't evading Border Patrol agents. They are surrendering and asking for help.

Details: Washington, DC: U.S. Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs, 2015. 54p.

Source: Internet Resource: Accessed March 5, 2016 at: http://www.carper.senate.gov/public/_cache/files/0d5438ad-7cfb-4afe-be3f-f94a01546f6a/stronger-neighbors---stronger-borders.pdf

Year: 2015

Country: United States

URL: http://www.carper.senate.gov/public/_cache/files/0d5438ad-7cfb-4afe-be3f-f94a01546f6a/stronger-neighbors---stronger-borders.pdf

Shelf Number: 138111

Keywords:
Border Patrol
Border Security
Illegal Immigrants
Immigration Enforcement
Migrants

Author: Cantor, Guillermo

Title: Detained Beyond the Limit: Prolonged Confinement by U.S. Customs and Border Protection along the Southwest Border

Summary: For some time now, U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) has been in the spotlight for its questionable practices regarding the treatment of migrants. One such practice concerns the manner in which the Border Patrol-a component of CBP-operates its holding facilities near the U.S.' southern border. Each year, hundreds of thousands of individuals are held in these facilities, which are meant to hold individuals for a short time while they undergo initial processing and until a decision is made about the appropriate next step in their case. The holding cells, which are often referred to as "hieleras" (Spanish for "freezers" or "iceboxes"), are typically small concrete rooms with concrete benches and no beds. They are not designed for overnight custody, and yet they are routinely used in this way. Government records analyzed in this report, which contain information on length of detention for all Border Patrol sectors along the U.S.' southwest border, reveal that individuals are frequently held for days and sometimes even months in such facilities. As numerous reports, media accounts, and documented complaints of former detainees have previously shown, these facilities remain wholly inadequate for any overnight detention. Moreover, the conditions are reprehensible-as consistently reported by many who were held in them-even with respect to truly short-term detention. In addition to the fact that there are no beds in the holding cells, these facilities are extremely cold, frequently overcrowded, and routinely lack adequate food, water, and medical care. This report, which is based on never-before-released government data and documents obtained by the American Immigration Council through the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA), examines length of detention in nine Border Patrol sectors: Big Bend, Texas; Del Rio, Texas; El Centro, California; El Paso, Texas; Laredo, Texas; Rio Grande Valley, Texas; San Diego, California; Tucson, Arizona; and Yuma, Arizona. Between September 1, 2014 and August 31, 2015, 326,881 individuals were held in CBP facilities across the southwest border. Of the cases analyzed, which include only cases with complete data (326,728), 69,016 (21.1 percent) were women. Mexican nationals represent the largest share (57.1 percent) of those detained in CBP facilities during this period, followed by Guatemalans (16.9 percent), Salvadorans (12.7 percent), and Hondurans (9.8 percent). Looking at all sectors combined, the data reveals that a shocking 217,485 individuals (or 67 percent of the total number detained during this period) were held in CBP facilities for 24 hours or more; 93,566 (29 percent) for 48 hours or more; and 44,202 (14 percent) for 72 hours or more. The average number of hours that individuals were detained shows some variation, ranging from 65 hours at its lowest point in July 2015 to 104 hours at its peak in October 2014. Length of detention varies considerably across border sectors. For example, lengthy detention is remarkably frequent in the Laredo, Rio Grande Valley, Tucson, Yuma, and El Centro sectors. Laredo in particular shows the most disturbing numbers; 54 percent (19,000) of the 35,494 individuals held in detention facilities in Laredo were detained for at least 72 hours. A recent report by the U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO) raises questions about the possible existence of irregularities in the way Border Patrol officers capture information on length of detention. Consequently, the data presented here should be interpreted with caution. However, the findings of our analysis are consistent with those reported in previous publications by the American Immigration Council. For example, according to a report released in May 2015, 58,083 individuals-or over 80 percent of people detained by the Border Patrol in its Tucson Sector between January 1, 2013 and June 30, 2013-were held for over 24 hours, and 10.9 percent (7,839 individuals) were held for 72 hours or more. Another report which focused on the Rio Grande Valley Sector showed that during the months of August, September, October, and December of 2013, the share of individuals detained for over 72 hours ranged from 2.3 percent of all detainees at its lowest point to 42.5 percent at its peak. Lengthy detention is especially problematic given the inhumane conditions that characterize these holding facilities. The findings presented in this report document a troublesome reality: lengthy detention is not just a random occurrence that happens to a few individuals in one or two Border Patrol sectors; it is, instead, a systemic practice that affects, to varying degrees, all the sectors along the southwest border.

Details: Washington, DC: American Immigration Council, 2016. 16p.

Source: Internet Resource: Accessed September 23, 2016 at: https://www.americanimmigrationcouncil.org/sites/default/files/research/detained_beyond_the_limit.pdf

Year: 2016

Country: United Kingdom

URL: https://www.americanimmigrationcouncil.org/sites/default/files/research/detained_beyond_the_limit.pdf

Shelf Number: 146113

Keywords:
Border Patrol
Border Security
Illegal Immigrants
Immigrant Detention
Immigration Enforcement

Author: Australia. Auditor General

Title: The Australian Border Force's Use of Statutory Powers

Summary: Background 1. On 9 May 2014, the Minister for Immigration and Border Protection announced the government's decision to bring together the Department of Immigration and Border Protection (Immigration) and the Australian Customs and Border Protection Service (Customs) in a single department from 1 July 2015. Within the integrated department, the government established the Australian Border Force (Border Force) as a 'single frontline operational border agency to enforce our customs and immigration laws and protect our border'. 2. Both the Customs Act 1901 (Customs Act) and Migration Act 1958 (Migration Act) contain a wide range of powers. While many of these are essentially administrative in nature, there are a wide range of coercive powers - such as powers to question, search, detain or arrest people, or enter and search vehicles or premises - which departmental officers, such as Border Force officers, can now exercise. Other Acts (such as the Maritime Powers Act 2013) also confer powers on officers. In total, officers can exercise coercive powers under 35 Acts and more than 500 empowering provisions. Audit objective and criteria 3. The objective of the audit was to assess the establishment and administration of the Australian Border Force's framework to ensure the lawful exercise of powers in accordance with applicable legislation. 4. To form a conclusion against the audit objective, the ANAO adopted the following high-level audit criteria: Is there an effective accountability and reporting framework for the lawful exercise of powers? Do Border Force officers have adequate knowledge of their powers and how to use them? Conclusion 5. As part of the integration of Immigration and Customs, the department has made progress towards establishing a framework to ensure Border Force officers exercise coercive powers lawfully and appropriately. However, significantly more work needs to be done to gain assurance that controls are effective. 6. The department's enterprise risk management framework does not adequately address the risk of officers exercising coercive powers unlawfully or inappropriately. Several internal assurance reviews have uncovered problems relating to the exercise of statutory powers. The Border Force has established an integrated operational quality assurance team, which has not yet finalised any reports. Delegations and authorisations for coercive powers are complete and in place but not all instruments are accessible to officers. 7. The ANAO found instances of potentially unlawful searches and failure to comply with instructions under both the Customs Act and Migration Act, which indicate current internal controls for mitigating the risk of unlawful or inappropriate use of coercive powers are inadequate. 8. The department has not provided adequate instructions and guidance for officers exercising coercive powers. There is currently no single source of instructions and guidance material for Border Force officers, and much of the guidance material available is out of date and inaccurate. While positive foundational work has commenced on integrating the former Customs and Immigration training regimes, officers have been exercising significant coercive powers without having undertaken pre-requisite training. Supporting findings 9. The department's approach to risk management at the enterprise level has been developing over the past two years. It has established an enterprise risk framework and is finalising profiles for each of its enterprise risks. The current profile relating to unlawful or inappropriate use of coercive powers conflates this risk with integrity and corruption risks, which require different internal controls. This has the potential to divert attention from controls relating to the risk of unlawful or inappropriate use of coercive powers. 10. The department has undertaken several internal assurance reviews that have uncovered problems relating to the exercise of statutory powers. The Border Force has recently established an integrated team responsible for operational quality assurance testing. The team has not yet completed any reviews. Prior to this, the department did not have satisfactory mechanisms for gaining assurance that officers understand their powers and are exercising them lawfully. 11. Instruments of authorisation and delegation for coercive Migration and Customs Act powers are complete and up-to-date. While Migration Act instruments of authorisation and delegation are available on the intranet, instruments relating to the Customs Act (and other Acts) are not accessible to officers. 12. Some personal searches of passengers at international airports examined by the ANAO were unlawful or inappropriate, indicating weaknesses in the control framework. A number of searches of premises under the Migration Act potentially exceeded the authority of the warrant which authorised them, and officers routinely questioned people without documenting their legal authority to do so. Officers also frequently failed to comply with departmental policy instructions, including compliance with certification and recordkeeping requirements. 13. The department has commenced a project to identify the statutory powers of officers of the integrated department, with a longer term view to possibly amending some powers. As part of the project, in July 2016, the department completed a consolidated inventory of all powers available to departmental officers under Commonwealth legislation. Such an inventory will enable the department to identify overlap, duplication, redundancy and inconsistency within and between Acts. It will also assist with identifying any gaps or deficiencies in powers in order to be able to submit a proposal for potential legislative change for government consideration. 14. The Border Force is developing a coordinated systematic framework for reporting on its use of coercive powers. It presently does not have such a framework. 15. Many of the instructions that are provided to Border Force officers on the department's intranet are out of date, incomplete, inaccurate and are not accessible to all officers. A project to remedy this situation was endorsed by the department's executive in December 2015 and has to date delivered only a very small number of operational instructions for Border Force officers. 16. The department has made progress in integrating the former Customs and Immigration training regimes and addressing deficiencies identified through pre-integration training audits conducted in 2014. The establishment of an integrated Learning and Development Branch and the Border Force College has been managed as a priority project, under the Reform and Integration Taskforce. While this project has delivered solid foundations for enhancing the learning maturity of the department, at the time of examination the results of these foundational efforts had yet to be realised. 17. Not all officers exercising coercive powers under the Migration Act and Customs Act have received pre-requisite training. The department has established an integrated Learning Management System but issues remain in relation to the completeness of training records. 18. The department has been undertaking a project to transition to a new workforce model, which has involved establishing 'vocations', profiling job roles under each vocation, mapping required competencies, and developing high level curricula. Training needs analysis for the Border Force vocational stream commenced in October 2016.

Details: Barton, ACT: Australian National Audit Office, 2017. 60p.

Source: Internet Resource: Accessed March 7, 2017 at: https://www.anao.gov.au/sites/g/files/net2766/f/ANAO_Report_2016-2017_39.pdf

Year: 2017

Country: Australia

URL: https://www.anao.gov.au/sites/g/files/net2766/f/ANAO_Report_2016-2017_39.pdf

Shelf Number: 146415

Keywords:
Border Patrol
Border Security
Customs Enforcement
Illegal Immigration
Immigrants
Immigration Enforcement
Use of Force

Author: Drake, B. Shaw

Title: Crossing the Line: U.S. Border Agents Illegally Turning Away Asylum Seekers at U.S. Border

Summary: The U.S. government is illegally turning away asylum seekers at official land crossings all along the southern border. Border agents must refer a person seeking asylum or expressing a fear of persecution to a protection screening interview or an immigration court proceeding where they can seek asylum. Instead, some border agents are blocking access to asylum by refusing to process protection requests. This practice violates both U.S. law and U.S. treaty obligations. It also clashes with the ideals of a nation that has often led globally on refugee protection, a nation that President Reagan aptly described as a "beacon" to people searching for freedom. U.S. government entities have raised concerns about the treatment of asylum seekers. In 2016, for example, the bipartisan U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) cited some Customs and Border Protection (CBP) officers' "outright skepticism, if not hostility, toward asylum claims and inadequate quality assurance procedures." Also in 2016 Human Rights First and other non-governmental organizations raised concerns about reports that the government was turning away asylum seekers in San Ysidro, California as CPB officers struggled to manage an increase in arrivals. This practice proliferated after the November 2016 election and persists even as the number of arrivals has fallen sharply. In the wake of the election and President Trump's January executive orders relating to refugees, CPB agents have in some cases claimed the United States is no longer accepting asylum seekers. For example, a CBP officer in south Texas reportedly told a Central American asylum seeker, "Trump says we don't have to let you in." In San Ysidro a CPB officer reportedly told a Mexican asylum seeker, "[Christians] are the people we are giving asylum to, not people like you." CBP officers are improperly rejecting asylum seekers at small ports of entry and major ones across the border, including in Brownsville, McAllen, Laredo, El Paso, and San Diego. When they are blocked from protection, asylum seekers face continued danger in Mexico, often immediately. Cartels, smugglers, and traffickers - who control areas around border crossings and wait outside some ports of entry where they see migrants and asylum seekers as easy prey - have kidnapped, raped, and robbed asylum seekers wrongly turned away by the U.S. government. In February, March, and April, Human Rights First researchers visited the border regions of California, Texas, and Arizona, and the Mexican border cities of Reynosa, Matamoros, Nogales, and Tijuana. They interviewed asylum seekers, attorneys, non-profit legal staff, faith-based groups assisting refugees, and migrant shelter staff. While recent data shows CBP agents referred some 8,000 asylum seekers at ports of entry from December 2016 to March 2017, an unknown number of asylum seekers have been unlawfully rejected. This report is based on 125 cases of individuals and families wrongfully denied access to U.S. asylum procedures at U.S. ports of entry. Many more have likely suffered a similar fate as these abuses often goes unreported due to the security threats faced by those who are turned away, the dearth of legal counsel, and the lack of effective compliance mechanisms and monitoring of CBP practices.

Details: New York: Human Rights First, 2017. 32p.

Source: Internet Resource: Accessed May 5, 2017 at: http://www.humanrightsfirst.org/sites/default/files/hrf-crossing-the-line-report.pdf

Year: 2017

Country: United States

URL: http://www.humanrightsfirst.org/sites/default/files/hrf-crossing-the-line-report.pdf

Shelf Number: 145318

Keywords:
Asylum Seekers
Border Patrol
Border Security
Human Rights Abuses
Immigration Enforcement
Immigration Policy

Author: Coyne, John

Title: Border security lessons for Australia from Europe's Schengen experience

Summary: Brexit, and the 2016 US presidential election result, provided tangible evidence that migration and border security policies are becoming increasingly politicised in Western liberal democracies. Public policy dialogue on migration and border security has become ever more polarised into a zero sum game in which debates on both issues descend into a binary 'secure' or 'insecure' ultimatum. Far too often, pragmatism is giving way to simplistic 'balancing' metaphors that achieve neither security nor border facilitation goals. It's this binary border security policy thinking that's tearing at the Schengen Area's collaborative strategy. Adding further complexity to this policy space is a phenomenon in which citizens of Western liberal democracies are experiencing an inexplicable and illogical fear of migrants. In a practical sense, the public policy dialogue, along with its media coverage, is widening the gap between the fear of migrants and migration-related risks and the actual or estimated probable threat. From a security perspective, people are more scared of migration and migrants than they ought to be. US President Trump's successful 2016 election platform engaged with this emotively charged public fear by further demonising migration.

Details: Barton, ACT, AUS: Australian Strategic Policy Institute, 2017. 12p.

Source: Internet Resource: Strategic Insights, 117: https://s3-ap-southeast-2.amazonaws.com/ad-aspi/import/SI117_-Schengen-lessons-for-Australia.pdf?fr4QW2WQxT2ozsmvLeaOyunDB7o83kWb

Year: 2017

Country: Australia

URL: https://s3-ap-southeast-2.amazonaws.com/ad-aspi/import/SI117_-Schengen-lessons-for-Australia.pdf?fr4QW2WQxT2ozsmvLeaOyunDB7o83kWb

Shelf Number: 149753

Keywords:
Border Patrol
Border Security
Illicit Goods
Irregular Migrants
Terrorists

Rutgers - School of Law, Newark

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