Agents Warn Budget Cuts Will Leave the Border Unprotected

While Homeland Security officials stick to their claim that the border is as "secure as it’s ever been," this week the Border Patrol effectively cut some 4,000 agents from its force due to budget cuts — 20 percent of its total manpower. The cuts, meant to close a $250 million shortfall due to “sequestration,” forced Border Patrol brass to make some tough choices. One option included putting agents on furlough two days a month — but agency administrators instead opted to eliminate overtime, according to Shawn Moran, vice president of the National Border Patrol Council. While the overtime cuts could be seen as inconsequential, agents insisted it’s actually quite a blow. In many border areas, agents don't actually live in the immediate border region. They drive from home to headquarters, which in Tucson is more than an hour from the border, about the same as in San Diego. For agents in Casa Grande, Arizona, the commute is closer to 2 hours. For the agency, the drive time is treated as overtime, thus allowing line agents to put in a full eight-hour shift actually patrolling the border. However, effective April 7, agents will be forced to leave the border after a five- or six-hour shift in order to make it back under the mandated eight hours. Agents said the down side will be that areas of the border will be left unprotected for hours at a time. "This is best thing that could happen to smugglers and coyotes and drug smuggling organizations,” said Moran. “They already know the border patrol is looking at staffing cuts.” In some sectors, managers will increase the number of shifts to cover the overtime cuts, but they recognized that will mean fewer agents on patrol. In Arizona, elimination of overtime equates to 700 fewer agents on a daily basis — nationwide it’s 3,000 to 4,000...more