Chertoff celebrates DHS anniversary with defense of virtual fence
Border control efforts won't be delayed by three years, he says.
Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff Wednesday strongly defended border security projects undertaken by his department, asserting that virtual fencing in Arizona is working and that border-control efforts are not being delayed by three years.
"I have read in the newspapers that there is a three-year delay and for the life of me I cannot figure out where that comes from," Chertoff said in an interview with reporters marking the five-year anniversary of the Homeland Security Department. "There's no doubt that the process of working out some of the kinks delayed this by five to six months, but to say it's three years, I don't know where that comes from."
GAO testified before the House Homeland Security Committee Feb. 27 on the department's SBInet border security program, which includes the building of a virtual fence on 28 miles in southern Arizona, dubbed Project 28.
"We reported in October 2007 that SBI program office officials expected to complete all of the first phase of technology projects by the end of calendar year 2008," GAO testified. "However, in February 2008, the SBI program office estimated that the first planned deployment of technology ... will occur in two geographic areas within the Tucson sector by the end of calendar year 2008, with the remainder of the deployments to the Tucson, Yuma and El Paso sectors completed by the end of calendar year 2011."
Chertoff said "somebody when they wrote the report ignored the first phase and conclusion and just took two dates and said, well, one is 2008 and one is 2011, therefore it's a three-year delay."
Overall, he said, the report is not "terribly different" from what the department has conceived for SBInet. He said the department plans to build out border control capabilities in more of the Tucson sector this year, followed by the Yuma sector in 2009 and the El Paso sector in 2010.
He said the virtual fence "does add value" but acknowledged it "wasn't as good as it could be."
"Here's the bottom line: This is a workable, successful system," he said. "[It's] not an answer for every square mile of the border but useful in some parts of the border depending on the landscape."
But he said Project 28 is not all of SBInet. "It is to SBInet what a single cruiser is to the United States Navy. It is part of the fleet but is not the entirety of the fleet."
SBInet, Chertoff said, could include the use of up to 10,000 unattended ground sensors and 40 mobile radar stations this year, along with four unmanned aerial vehicles. Additionally, the department plans to have 670 miles of physical barriers constructed along the border by the end of this year.
Chertoff outlined his major goals for the remainder of the Bush administration.
Along with border security, he said he wants to have a major cybersecurity initiative up and running and begin implementing a law that requires states to issue residents secure driver's licensees and identification documents.
The law goes into effect May 11, but states can seek a waiver from the department to give them more time to comply. A handful of states still have not sought a waiver.
Chertoff said residents of those states should be prepared for hassles boarding planes by federal officials beginning May 12 if waivers are not asked for.
Chertoff said he also wants to make progress this year on implementing a system that uses biometrics to verify when foreigners leave the country by air. And he wants to have an electronic travel-authorization system in place for citizens of countries who do not need visas to travel to the United States.
"If we get that stuff done, plus some further integration in the department, I think we will be able to say that we have left this department in very sound condition for the next leadership team," Chertoff said.
On another front, Chertoff said he hopes to issue a rule this summer that will require private charter planes flying from Europe and Asia to the United States to submit the names of their crew and pilots to the department for vetting before they will be allowed to land in this country.
The rule would then be expanded to require that private planes screen their passengers and undergo scanning abroad to determine if they are carrying any radioactive material.
"This would very dramatically reduce the risk that someone, if they got a hold of a nuclear bomb, would rent a private jet and then fly the bomb into the United States," Chertoff said.
"In thinking about what I would do if I were a terrorist and in consulting with other people, including people in the industry, it occurred to me that why would I put the bomb in a container if I can rent the jet and put it in the jet?"