President proposes cutting border patrol

Homeland security officials confirmed the proposed cuts Monday during a budget briefing for reporters. They said no border patrol agents would lose their jobs. Instead, the positions would be cut through attrition as agents retire or leave. Remaining agents would be better paid as part of a plan to increase the salaries of experienced frontline officers. Senior Obama administration officials said they do not expect the proposed cuts to reduce the effectiveness of the border patrol, which has doubled in size during the past five years to more than 20,000 agents. While cutting some border programs, the administration is seeking an additional $10 million to create Border Enforcement Security Task Forces in Honolulu, San Francisco, and Massena, N.Y. These multi-agency teams work to identify and stop criminal organizations that transport drugs and other contraband across U.S. borders. The administration also is seeking more than $103 million to improve the Internet-based E-Verify system that allows employers to check whether job applicants are in the United States legally and are eligible to work. The goal is to improve fraud detection and make the system easier and more reliable to use, homeland security officials said...read more