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Return to Article: Staffing shortages at border jeopardize security, economy

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  If the public had any idea of how little we do to vet cargo heads would role. How may empty bays sit empty because the dont have x-ray capabilities and it's to labor intensive to de-van. How little is done to place chip tech to use in the individual boxes etc so that the drivers shippers shipping companies aren't able to point there fingers at each other when contraband is found. We know this is going to take a number of years to accomplish but lets get more then portable units out to the major land crosings.

  WEB Posted January 14, 2008 8:47 AM
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  Let's keep it simple...one...end NAFTA. Two...Customs and immigration are two different things...seperate them again. The red tape has tied them up so much that neither can do their job correctly. Three...Border Patrol...pay them better...give them the freedom to do their job without the red tape and stupid rules imposed on them by DHS...give them the training and equipment to work the border and fight against the drug cartels...Four...quit giving the Mexican Government top-of-the-Line US Military equipment that they sell or give to the cartels anyway. That way our folks have a fighting chance...

  Mike Posted January 10, 2008 5:25 PM
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  I think a lot of the problems stem from the government going to "Business Models" instead of sticking to security. Preventing terrorism is not a business, protecting the country takes a lot more than worrying about a "Bottom Line" and providing "World Class Customer Service".

  Gilbert Harris Posted January 9, 2008 9:55 AM
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  As a former fraudulent document instructor I have to say that the new CBP officers usually could not find a bad document in an empty room. Interceptions of bad documents were down by over 50% when I transferred out of CBP. It's not there fault, they don't have the training and the document experts the old INS inspectors have been driven out of CBP by the discriminatory personnel practices. All of the former Customs officers have received some training in INS law etc but the former INS employee have received little if any training in Customs and as a consequence are past over for promotion with comments like "You need more experience opening bags".

  Former CBP/INS officer Posted January 9, 2008 8:11 AM
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  I do not work at a land border, but staffing at my newest facility does not meet the crazed policies that are thrust on us as employees. There is a new policy that rolled out nationwide Dec 30th, to RIID scan all aviation aircraft, exterior & interior. We do not have enough people to negotiate the procedures already in place, now add the RIID policy .... all the while CBP and it's great Executive Managers decide to cut OT. The port I transferred from was overstaffed AND has an approval to hire additional 35 bodies (that's why i was able to transfer)... and they are still hiring to cut out OT; BECAUSE 34 people were hired last yr., and 29 quit (net gain of 5 out of 35). Why are they leaving? Because they recognize they will never perform as well as Ketter and they're embarrassed? Probably not... but more than likely because this cycle of managed insanity cannot continue until something is displaced...and that's probably a big change once the election takes place. Let's only hope that a change of administration will breathe fresh life into this coffin, and change policy and use of personnel. Whether educated or not, no persons should treat, nor be treated the way CBP employees are, and as well as we're paid, we should not be this disgruntled but policy is outta control - just like DHS

  entrapped Posted January 8, 2008 7:40 PM
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  Dear no body, as you asked I again visited the Customs web site and read the qualifications required, nothing has changed a good enough degree (GED) is all that's needed

  dan ketter Posted January 7, 2008 10:44 PM
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  In my city, El Paso, Texas the local Congressman who has been in power for many years has ignored his city as it pertains to the border crossers. On his watch, he should have had the vison and foresight to petition funding for infrastructure, man power for the Ports of Entry, technology, etc. This should have been done 10 plus years ago so that it could be in place, or almost in place now. Playing catch up now will will take 20 more years to fix. It's a unique problem down here. Give us the support we need!

  Customs Officer Posted January 7, 2008 3:09 PM
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  Ketter, I invite you to visit my federal workplace. The educated degreed people and vets are in the "low-skilled jobs" and the uneducated are running the show. And the educated people and vets are continually denied promotional opportunities. If you want a promotion, you have a much better chance if you have no education and no military status. Low morale is a given here. Doesn't appear to me that low-skilled people are in the low-end jobs at all. And last I looked at OPM's qualifications, a college degree qualified an applicant at the GS 5 level. I invite you to work a CBPO's or BPA's job for a week and see what you think.

  A nobody in DHS Posted January 7, 2008 12:37 PM
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  Why is it that low skill jobs in the government always have poor morale?? Is it the job or might it just be the typr of prople applying for the job. Folks with low skills wanting the world to think they are something special. As I go thru customs its not a job that's either demanding or high skill. The average 8th grade graduate can do it with out any problem

  dan ketter Posted January 7, 2008 10:11 AM
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  What's the root cause here? Our Congress and President Shrub of course! DHS was a terrible mistake, and GW wants NO borders at all, that's obvious. Neither do the greedy businesses in America that exploit the illegal infiltrators, instead of hiring working class poor Americans at decent wages. The Divided States of America is already here. Let's hope that the pending LEO status finally won by the uniformed CBP officers effective this July will bring in more troops. That's what is needed, as the article points out, not more technotoys.

  US Customs Senior Inspector (Retired) Posted January 6, 2008 1:52 PM
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  Same same from the old INS days - slicing the baloney too thin on the land borders has been going on for years. People should not, however, ignore real progress in staffing and compensation that have taken place since I did this job. At this point we need to deal with the physical limits of the POEs if we want to make a difference. This means more ports, bigger ports or working with commercial border crossers to spread out traffic over the day and staff accordingly, overtime or not.

  Thomas Durand Posted January 6, 2008 9:21 AM
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  When you have people walking away from $80K a year, you have big problems. There is low staffing because the agency continues to treat its own employees like trash. Denial of transfers, swaps, shift changes, just to name a few, and all done just because 'they' can. If a little help to the employees was shown, it would go a long way. When I worked at San Ysidro, chiefs would laugh at the requests and say, burn them out, there are more where they came from.

  John Bom Posted January 5, 2008 4:14 PM
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  Interesting. Your article referenced the different testimony in El Paso from government, industry , and the union that all addressed the problems at the border. For the long suffering border community, it is hardly a revelation to note that the Bush Administration has a spotted record of improving security and has been indifferent to the anguish of the long lines of passengers and trucks trying to legitimately cross the border. But those of us that actually attended this hearing heard something different for the first time when the GSA Administrator, Lurita Doan, outlined steps that GSA Is taking to build more roads, toll booths, bridges, and infrastructure needed to help move traffic more quickly, saying that GSA is going to "build what we can where we can as fast as we can". We have never heard anyone in the Administration make such a commitment to actually take steps that would help solve some of the problems at El Paso and other ports of entry along the border. You rarely see the audience at a Hearing like this break out into applause, but they sure did after hearing that speech because there was finally some hope that the Bush Administration might actually do something. Curiously, you never mentioned that part, even though Doan was the most senior government official that testified.

  cwalker Posted January 5, 2008 2:42 PM
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  The last time I read about this guy he would not give the chair of a senate committee a smiple yes or no answer. I even believe it was reported by this site. How come integrity starts at the Officer level and ends at the first line supervisor in CBP? The answer, the upper management is nothing more than a bunch of legacy customs hacks that are way out of their league For that past four years idiots like this guy have just made it up as they went along. Hope everyone feels safer with a bunch of custom or should I say glorified tax collector with guns running INS, customs and US Agriculture. I am willing to bet if I was half the liar this guy is I would be running white house.

  Slave #14222 Posted January 5, 2008 12:17 AM
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  come on, how many times can we contribute low morale to the merger, it's going to continued period.

  rivera Posted January 4, 2008 3:21 PM