Rep. Jeff Duncan, R-S.C., convenes with Chief of Border Patrol Michael Fisher before the hearing. Duncan suggested American families living on the border feel unsafe (Catherine Reid/Medill).
WASHINGTON—U.S. homeland security spending on border and maritime security has been “done in an ad hoc way” and needs a more systematic approach, the head of a House homeland security subcommittee said Tuesday.
The subcommittee on border and maritime security looked at efficient use of resources, the best way to measure progress and solutions moving forward.
“Spending has been done in an ad hoc way,” said Rep. Candice Miller, R-Mich., chairwoman of the panel. “We’ve been throwing our resources at the problems without connecting what we are trying to achieve.”
Chief of Border Patrol Michael Fisher said that Customs and Border Protection needs to increase advanced information it gathers to understand the environment in which the agency operates.
“We need to differentiate areas of the border and see that we are applying resources in higher risk areas to optimize capability,” Fisher said. “The more we know about intent and capability, the better tactical advantage we have in protecting this country.”
Marc Rosenblum, a Congresional Research Service immigration specialist, listed the lack of biometric entry-exit systems at most border crossings as a gap in border security and the low threat of worksite enforcement as a gap in immigration enforcement.
Rebecca Gambler, director of homeland security and justice issues at the Government Accountability Office, said that agency effectiveness can be more accurately measured if CBP establishes a standardized approach across all sectors. The GAO found that data collection has been dependent on an individual officer’s discretion, inhibiting decisions regarding resource deployment.
Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee, D-Texas, and Bennie G. Thompson, D-Miss, feared that the sequester, automatic spending cuts that go into effect Friday unless Congress acts, would undermine the progress made with Department of Homeland Security investments.
The spending cuts will slash Custom and Border Protection’s budget by half a billion dollars, reducing the work hours of more than 5,000 border patrol agents and 2,750 CBP officers. The Coast Guard will shrink its air and surface operations by more than 25 percent, officials say.
Assistant CBP Commissioner Kevin McAleenan said a 12.5 percent reduction in staff would increase wait times and hurt CBP’s ability to move people and resources along the border.
“Although border control will have reduced capability, we will prioritize with the resources we have,” Fisher said.
