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Border Security
 The main purpose of the U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP), which
is under the Department of the Homeland Security is to prevent the entrance of
terrorists and their weapons to the United States. The
borders are patrolled 24
hours, 7 days a week. The U.S. welcomes travelers and trade that are legitimate,
and its Border Patrol Agents enforce the U.S. laws that apply to the borders.
The CBP is constantly on the lookout for narcotics, smuggled goods, and
agricultural pests which are illegal under U.S. law. U.S. Customs and Border
Protection are also responsible for recognizing and arresting individuals with
criminal warrants that are outstanding. The United States currently has 314
ports of entries which include land, air and seaports. Last year on an average
day officers from CBP allowed 1.2 million individuals to enter the U.S. while
turning down more than 3,000 individuals that were considered not admissible.
President Bush has increased funding for the U.S. Customs and Border Protection,
which will allow them to hire 1,000 additional Border Patrol agents to their
current force of over 11,000. Since 9/11 about 3,000 Border Patrol agents have
been added. The increased funding is due to the passage of the Homeland Security
Appropriations Bill, which also granted a greater budget to the U.S. Immigration
and Customs Enforcement (ICE). A greater budget will allow the ICE to add more
detention beds, 250 criminal investigators, Immigration Enforcement agents and
fugitive operations teams. Criminal investigators focus their efforts on human
smugglers and other criminal groups that may represent a threat to the country’s
borders. In addition, the ICE will add 100 Deportation officers and 400
Immigration Enforcement Agents.
The main purpose of the U.S. Border Patrol is to prevent and detect the entry of
illegal immigrants. An additional 2,000 beds are being added to their
deportation facilities bringing the total to 20,000 beds and the
deportation
process will be further expedited. Border Patrol agents patrol both the Mexico
and Canadian borders. The area the agents are responsible for include 6,000
miles of land borders (Mexico and Canada) and 2,000 miles of coastal waters
(areas surrounding Puerto Rico and Florida Peninsula). Patrolling of the waters
is done by using marine craft. The fleet of the U.S. Border Patrol includes more
than 130 vessels. The patrolling of the border is accomplished by surveillance,
leads, electronic sensor alarms, sightings by aircraft and discovering tracks
left behind and following them. Border Patrol agents take part in highway
checkpoints set up near the border, conduct transportation checks and city
patrols, and investigate anti-smuggling activities. The checkpoints are not only
set up to cut down on the number of illegal immigrants getting further into the
U.S. but to detect narcotics as well. The efforts of the U.S. Border Patrol have
resulted in nearly 16 million illegal immigrants being apprehended at the border
since 1994. Last year alone the Border Patrol agents arrested nearly 1.2 million
illegal immigrants who were trying to cross the border. Due to the terrain the
Border Patrol agents have to deal with—isolated mountains, canyons and
deserts—they have added specialized equipment and integrated methods to better
help them monitor illegal immigrants. Some of the technologies the Border Patrol
agents are resorting to are electronic sensors, night vision scopes, and
unmanned aerial vehicles (UAV). Agents patrol the border by foot, aircraft,
vehicles, boats, horses, snowmobiles, bicycles, and all-terrain motorcycles.
The role of the U.S. Border Patrol when it comes to drug detection has also
grown. With the help of dogs that are specifically trained to detect narcotics
among other substances, the Border Patrol agents were able to confiscate more
than 1.2 million pounds of marijuana and over 12,000 pounds of cocaine during
fiscal year 2005. The street value of the narcotics confiscated last year was
estimated at nearly $1.5 billion. While the Border Patrol continues to make
progress, they are currently in need of reinforcements. President Bush proposed
that 6,000 National Guard troops be sent to the border to support the U.S.
Border Patrol for a time period of about two years. This time period should give
the U.S. Border Patrol sufficient time to hire an additional 6,000 Border Patrol
agents by the end of 2008. Bush has reiterated that National Guard troops will
not take on the responsibilities of border enforcement and that the U.S.-Mexico
border will not be militarized. By the end of June or beginning of July, there
will 2,500 National Guard troops present at the bordering four U.S. states with
Mexico. When the first of August comes around, this number will reach 6,000
troops. While emphasis is being placed on the southwest border, this does not
mean that the northern border with Canada will be ignored. The patrolling of the
Canadian border will remain at the current level with possible reinforcements
also being made there in the future.
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