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A report released Thursday found "a great deal of fear and uncertainty" among border inspectors within the Homeland Security Department that could undermine border security if not addressed.

The report, released by the Migration Policy Institute, evaluated the "One Face at the Border" initiative within DHS' Customs and Border Protection bureau. The initiative was established in 2003 to merge the functions of immigration, customs and agriculture inspectors and create a unified border inspection process at U.S. land, sea and air ports of entry.

"The short timeline by which DHS and CBP had to become operational after passage of the [2002] Homeland Security Act resulted in a lost opportunity to carefully design a border management agency for the future, and likely to avoid a number of the challenges that have since arisen," wrote the report's author, policy analyst Deborah Meyers.

"Little advance planning was undertaken about how things would actually work, not for lack of good intentions, but for lack of time," Meyers added. "The long-discussed merger of the border agencies could have been an opportunity to craft a new approach to border management, create the organizational structure needed to implement it, and build a new culture."

Meyers found a number of weaknesses at CBP, such as a lack of immigration expertise at field offices and minimal outreach efforts between the government and community-based groups.

According to the report, border inspectors expressed uncertainty about several issues within the agency. For example, they were concerned about overly broad standards regarding unauthorized disclosures of sensitive or classified information, including attempts to make them sign a secrecy pledge. Legacy inspectors also were concerned about being represented by three different unions, while new employees were concerned about not having any representation.

Inspectors were also worried about DHS' plan to revamp its human resources system to include a pay-for-performance system.

The report recommends that CBP take actions specifically with regard to retaining and developing specialization and expertise, building a new institutional culture, increasing public outreach and addressing systemic obstacles and strategic thinking.

The report was the second in a series of three this summer from MPI to assess border control measures since the 9/11 attacks. The first report addressed the US-VISIT entry-exit system; the final report will address changes in visa procedures and requirements.

COMMENTS

• I couldn't agree more. Trying to train one officer to handle three distinct and complicated disciplines is comparable to telling a psychiatrist that he must also be a brain surgeon and a gynecologist because, after all, aren't they all doctors? What you get is a jack-of-all trades, and a master of none. That's what it's like with "One Face at the Border". Why not have lawyers perform the jobs of electricians, or have politicians sell used cars (bad example, they'd probably do well). The same applies for ICE, where legacy Customs and INS investigators were thrown together for no good reason by politicians who had no idea what their jobs actually were. Throw in FPS, which basically guards federal buildings, and air marshals, and look at the result, an unholy alphabet soup consisting of different agencies with little or nothing in common. Who will take responsiblity for this huge mistake, and enormous waste of taxpayer dollars? Just look at the exodus of executives from DHS since it's inception in March, 2003, and the difficulty in attracting new leaders to what everyone knows is one huge, dysfunctional mess, set up to take the fall after the next terrorist attack, so the FBI and CIA can avoid blame. I'm still carrying my old badge and credentials after more than 2 years, and I'll continue to identify myself as a "Customs Special Agent", a title that has tradition, pride and honor associated with it, rather than try to explain to anyone why my title is different from the ID I carry! GovExec.com reader Posted June 29, 2005 5:12 PM
• Fear and uncertainty indeed. Having worked in or with ports of entry for the INS for some time, I knew the nonsensical approach taken towards the Immigration Inspector position would not have the outcome the DHS'ers thought it would. Most of this was at the behest of the overheated management of the then Customs Service who thought that everything INS was bad and had to go and that having inspectors gawk at computer displays all day while doing three skillled jobs at once was a substitute for the skills at forensic document and illicit travel recognition techniques that went out the window with the bathwater during this re-org. You wanted it - you got it! This has taken place at a time when training in immigration work and the skills going with it have been de-emphasized, and a hiring freeze has resulted in extremely long waits for incoming passengers and fatigue and turnover among stressed out CBP officers who are so intent on observing zero tolerance for mistakes policies that they are cutting corners and not taking risks. Secondary inspection areas are loaded with "hummer" cases because there is no discretion left and, conversely, few skills with which to make the hard grabs. "One Face At The Border" is failing in the face of poor training, lack of resources, and a completely unrealistic "jack of all trades" approach to what, at its finest, was a job that required broad knowledge of law, geography, culture (foreign and local), human relations, counterfeiting, travel patterns, and general common sense conveyed through the years by a cadre of experienced officers. You should tune the system up and make acknowledge the differing character of immigation, customs, and ag work while keeping some of the refinements, such as good administration, IT, and chain of command reforms. Instead of "One Face..." lets have "Interoperational - But Not Interchangeable...." Stamp Monkey Posted June 28, 2005 7:00 PM
• No wonder that border inspectors are confused, the DHS is an ill-conceived joke! Each job, Immigration, Customs, Agriculture is separate and distinct. Parts on a car, TV, computer are interchangable, people's careers aren't. Trying to make the alphabet agencies cooperate took longer than the creation of DHS, and still hasn't happened effectively. It's time to re-group, separate and define the above agencies again, instead of blending them into one huge vat of cement. GovExec.com reader Posted June 26, 2005 9:25 AM