Arizona Border Patrol chief cites need for more resources, personnel
New agents are scheduled to be deployed to region, but will take up to two years to be fully trained.
Tucson, Ariz. -- The chief of the Border Patrol's busiest sector says his force needs more personnel and resources, including new fences, in order to control escalating violence in certain border areas.
"I don't believe at this point that we have operational control of the border, but we're getting there, and that's the goal," Chief Michael Nicely told Government Executive during a recent interview. He is in charge of the Border Patrol's Tucson sector, which covers about 260 miles of mostly barren land and has the highest rate of illegal immigration in the country.
Nicely said the Homeland Security Department needs to "methodically" continue adding more resources to his sector, such as agents, sensors, cameras and border barriers.
"I don't think the sector this year is going to be where it needs to be, but I think it's important to talk about the overall strategy," he said. "What I don't need is Border Patrol agents arm in arm across the Sonoran Desert. I need an appropriate mix of technology, infrastructure and personnel resources."
Nearly 500,000 illegal immigrants were apprehended in the Tucson sector last year, up from 350,000 in 2003. Since the start of fiscal 2005, agents in the sector have arrested more than 260,000 illegal aliens, of which about 17,000 have been identified as criminal aliens.
Agents also are experiencing more confrontations and violence. During the first six months of this fiscal year, officials recorded 132 assaults on agents, including 15 shootings. For the entire last fiscal year, 118 assaults were reported.
Nicely said his sector is scheduled eventually to have 2,500 agents, up from about 1,800 now. The second phase of the Arizona Border Control Initiative will add 534 more agents. Out of that, 155 experienced agents will be transferred to the region permanently from other areas, while 379 agents will be new hires that need to be trained.
The fiscal 2006 DHS budget requests 210 new agents for the Border Patrol. Where they would be deployed still has to be determined.
Additionally, the Senate approved a measure last week that would give DHS $390 million to hire 650 new Border Patrol agents, 250 Immigration and Customs Enforcement investigators and 168 immigration enforcement agents and detention officers. The measure was included in an $81 billion supplemental spending bill for combat and reconstruction in Iraq and Afghanistan. The final bill still has to be approved in conference committee, then by both the House and Senate, before it can be sent to President Bush.
Agents are quick to point out that it takes time to bring new trainees up to speed. Agent Jeff Calhoon, who is temporarily in charge of the Border Patrol's Nogales Station in Arizona, said it takes up to two years to fully train a new agent. He added that the Border Patrol does not have a regular program that requires agents to transfer between stations.
Nicely said he plans to target main smuggling and illegal immigration routes in his sector with the resources he has. He noted that San Diego was overrun with illegal smuggling and immigration activity until a focused crackdown that included building new fences.
"If you look at a place like San Diego, where the border works and the border is secure, that's what we're going to replicate here in Arizona," Nicely said. "And I think it's going to happen. It's not if, it's when."
He added: "Getting down to zero people trying to enter the United States illegally is not going to happen, but we can control the flow. We can assign enough resources where we can detect and interdict."