Operations at the CBP Ports of Entry, overlooked and under staffed. by Bob Wilson

POSTED WITH PERMISSION

The Ports of Entry along the United States-Canada Border in the Eastern half of Washington State are severely understaffed. The CBP Officers work double shifts, often from 8:00 am to Midnight, only to return the next morning at 8:00 am for another shift. Occurrences of officers working several sixteen hour shifts in a two week period are common. Working a double shift preceded and or followed by eight hours down time, causes the body to become exhausted and contributes to human errors.

What does this matter to the lay person?  A viable terrorist threat and specific cells have been identified in Canada.  Tremendous budget increases have been dedicated to the US Border Patrol to aid in the overall protection of this county. A glaring gap in our security is the staffing and budgets for the Ports which has been virtually ignored, presenting an attractive target for the entry of terrorists and weapons of mass effect.  A physically exhausted CBP Officer manning a two man Port of Entry is susceptible to making costly errors in judgment easily leading to their death or serious injury and possibly to the successful entrance of a terrorist or weapon of mass effect.  A CBP Officer failing to identify a terrorist or weapon of mass effect may lead to a national disaster!

CBP Officers conduct inspections of persons and cargo entering into the United States.  They are tasked with locating weapons of mass effect, narcotics, determining admissibility of applicants and identifying terrorists, along with a host of other duties.  Their duties are exacting and often very time consuming.

The Border Patrol, the sister agency under the CBP umbrella, is responsible for identifying and locating all surreptitious entries between the Ports.   The US Border Patrol and the CBP Officers jointly, are responsible for entry related violations along all parts of the U.S. Border.
 
The United States Border Patrol has beefed up its footprint by almost double since 911 to nearly 20,000 agents across the United States.   The Spokane Sector of the US Border Patrol which encompasses an area from Oroville to Eureka, Montana has well surpassed this rate of increase.  Spokane Sector’s manpower has grown from under 50 agents prior to 911 to almost 250 now, a 500 percent increase.

The increase in manpower in the Spokane Sector and along the northern border is due to the threat of terrorism from various cells identified in Canada.  Many congressional representatives complained that the northern border was extremely undermanned.  Now, although still considered porous by some, the presence of agents has increased more than five fold in the Spokane Sector and similar increases have occurred across the northern border.  Dramatic increases in budgets, allowing for the purchase of high tech gadgets considered force multipliers, including cameras, sensors, and even unmanned aircraft and a large increase in support personnel have caused the Border Patrol to become an effective force on the northern border.

CBP Operations at the Ports have not followed with the same increases in manpower or budget increases.  Critical requirements of equipment to effectively perform the duties at the Ports are often ignored while the officers are required to work many overtime shifts and become physically and emotionally exhausted.

I worked at the Metaline Falls Border Patrol Station as a supervisor for over six years out of my 25 years with this organization.   The Metaline Falls Port of Entry, a small port which operates from 8:00 am to Midnight, has a staff of only five officers and one supervisor while the Metaline Falls Border Patrol Station is approaching 30 agents.  The Metaline Falls Border Patrol is considered by most to be amply or even overstaffed with agents often bored in their duties.  In sharp contrast the POE is drastically understaffed and the officers overworked to the point of exhaustion.

Another glaring difference in policy and mindset is of a safety concern.  The US Border Patrol operates many checkpoints across the United States.  Because of the tragic incident in which two agents, AZRACK and NEWTON, were kidnapped and murdered many years ago, all Border Patrol Checkpoints operate with a minimum of three officers and usually, even in very isolated areas, will operate with 4 officers or more.  Again in sharp contrast to the safety protocols of the Border Patrol, many Ports along the Border between Washington and Canada are still staffed with only two officers on evening and midnight shifts!

To successfully prevent the entry of potential threats to our country, the Border Patrol under the CBP umbrella can not receive an inordinate amount of staffing and budget increases while CBP Operations at the Ports are left with skeleton crews.  CBP budgets need to examined and manpower added or reassigned to the Ports in order to effectively execute their duties-otherwise this is a recipe for a national disaster.