Land-Based Ports of Entry Are Weak, Claims Texan Group

More customs inspectors are needed for goods and travelers entering the U.S. through the nation’s southern land ports of entry, a border advocacy group said Wednesday.

The ports are under-funded, understaffed, and in serious need of improvements to infrastructure and technology, reported the Texas Border Coalition. These factors make the land-based ports of entry the preferred route of drug- and human-smuggling operations.

The number of successful illegal entries to the United States illegally by the southern land border is anyone’s guess, the report said, since the only concrete numbers available are for those who are apprehended.

The group has claimed that current funding differences between the customs efforts and border patrol makes the ports of entry “more attractive targets for smuggling,” as drug cartels are opting to do business “across the bridges and highways, through the ports of entry,” veering away from the more dangerous open land and Rio Grande crossings.

Comprised of mayors, county judges and economic development commissioners from border cities, TBC has called for $6 billion, which they say is needed to fund improvements in the nation’s southern land ports of entry and an additional 5,000 customs officers over a four-year period.

TBC pointed to a funding discrepancy between the Border Patrol, which protects the areas between ports, and the customs officers working the ports. The Border patrol budget has increased from $400 million in 1993 to a projected $3.6 billion for 2010. In comparison for the same period, customs funding has increased from $1.6 billion to an expected $2.7 billion, said the group’s report.

The Government Accountability Office (GAO) said in 2007 that managers at the land ports of entry reported “morale problems, fatigue, lack of backup support and safety issues” added to the threat of terrorists, illegal goods and “inadmissible travelers” entering the country.

Both the Department of Homeland Security and the National Treasury Employees Union, which represents customs workers, have said improvements are needed.

Source: TheTrucker.com: Texan group warns of weakness at land ports.

Image: Lenny Ignelzi / AP

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