The Fiscal Year 2010 Budget For Immigration and Customs Enforcement, Customs and Border Protection, and The U.S. Coast Guard

THE FISCAL YEAR 2010 BUDGET FOR IMMIGRATION
AND CUSTOMS ENFORCEMENT, CUSTOMS AND

BORDER PROTECTION, AND THE U.S. COAST
GUARD
HEARING
BEFORE THE
SUBCOMMITTEE ON BORDER,
MARITIME, AND GLOBAL
COUNTERTERRORISM
OF THE
COMMITTEE ON HOMELAND SECURITY

HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
ONE HUNDRED ELEVENTH CONGRESS
FIRST SESSION
JUNE 11, 2009
Serial No. 11124

Printed for the use of the Committee on Homeland Security
Available via the World Wide Web: http://www.gpoaccess.gov/congress/index.html
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55886 PDF
2010
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COMMITTEE ON HOMELAND SECURITY

BENNIE G. THOMPSON, Mississippi, Chairman
LORETTA SANCHEZ, California
PETER T. KING, New York
JANE HARMAN, California
LAMAR S. SMITH, Texas
PETER A. DEFAZIO, Oregon
MARK E. SOUDER, Indiana
ELEANOR HOLMES NORTON, District of
DANIEL E. LUNGREN, California
Columbia
MIKE ROGERS, Alabama
ZOE LOFGREN, California
MICHAEL T. MCCAUL, Texas
CHARLES W. DENT, Pennsylvania
SHEILA JACKSON LEE, Texas
GUS M. BILIRAKIS, Florida
HENRY CUELLAR, Texas
PAUL C. BROUN, Georgia
CHRISTOPHER P. CARNEY, Pennsylvania
CANDICE S. MILLER, Mississippi
YVETTE D. CLARKE, New York
PETE OLSON, Texas
LAURA RICHARDSON, California
ANH JOSEPH CAO, Louisiana
ANN KIRKPATRICK, Arizona
STEVE AUSTRIA, Ohio

BEN RAY LUJAN, New Mexico
BILL PASCRELL, JR., New Jersey
EMMANUEL CLEAVER, Missouri
AL GREEN, Texas
JAMES A. HIMES, Connecticut
MARY JO KILROY, Ohio
ERIE J.J. MASSA, New York
DINA TITUS, Nevada
VACANCY
I. LANIER AVANT, Staff Director
ROSALINE COHEN, Chief Counsel
MICHAEL TWINCHEK, Chief Clerk
ROBERT OCONNER, Minority Staff Director
SUBCOMMITTEE ON BORDER, MARTIME, AND GLOBAL

COUNTERTERRORISM
LORETTA SANCHEZ, California, Chairwoman
JANE HARMAN, California
MARK E. SOUDER, Indiana
ZOE LOFGREN, California
MICHAEL T. MCCAUL, Texas
GUS M. BILIRAKIS, Florida
SHEILA JACKSON LEE, Texas
MIKE ROGERS, Alabama
HENRY CUELLAR, Texas
CANDICE S. MILLER, Michichgan
ANN KIRKPATRICK, Arizona
PETER T. KING, New York (Ex Officio)
BILL PASCRELL, JR., New Jersey
AL GREEN, Texas
ERIC J.J. MASSA, New York
BENNIE G. THOMPSON, Mississippi (Ex
Officio)
ALISON NORTHOP, Staff Director
DENISE KREPP Counsel
CARLA ZAMUDIO-DOLAN, Clerk
MANDY BOWERS Minority Subcommittee Lead
(II)
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CONTENTS
Page
STATEMENTS
The Honorable Loretta Sanchez, a Representative in Congress from the State
of California, and Chairwoman, Subcommittee on Border, Maritime, and
Global Counterterrorism .....................................................................................
The Honorable Mark E. Souder, a Representative in Congress from the State
of Indiana, and Ranking Member, Subcommittee on Border, Martime, and
Global Counterterrorism .....................................................................................
The Honorable Al Green, a Representative in Congress from the State of
Texas .....................................................................................................................
The Honorable Ann Kirkpatrick, a Representative in Congress from the State
of Arizona ..............................................................................................................
The Honorable Sheila Jackson Lee, a Representative in Congress from the
State of Texas:
Oral Statement .....................................................................................................
Prepared Statement .............................................................................................
The Honorable Michael McCaul, a Representative in Congress from the State
of Texas .................................................................................................................
The Honorable Bill Pascrell, Jr., a Representative in Congress from the
State of New Jersey .............................................................................................
1
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42
34
38
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35
37
WITNESSES
Mr. John T. Morton, Assistant Secretary, U.S. Immigration and Customs
Enforcement, Department of Homeland Security:
Oral Statement .....................................................................................................
Mr. Jayson P. Ahern, Acting Commissioner, U.S. Customs and Border
Protection, Department of Homeland Security:
Oral Statement .....................................................................................................
Admiral Thad W. Allen, Commandant, U.S. Coast Guard, Department of
Homeland Security:
Oral Statement .....................................................................................................
FOR
THE
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25
RECORD
The Honorable Bennie G. Thompson, Chairman, Committee on Homeland

Security:
APPENDIXES
Appendix IFiscal Year 2010 Budget Request ..................................................
Appendix IIQuestions and Responses:
Responses from Adm. Thad W. Allen .................................................................
51
53
(III)
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THE FISCAL YEAR 2010 BUDGET FOR IMMIGRATION AND CUSTOMS ENFORCEMENT,
CUSTOMS AND BORDER PROTECTION, AND
THE U.S. COAST GUARD
Thursday, June 11, 2009
U.S. HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES,

SUBCOMMITTEE ON BORDER, MARITIME,
AND GLOBAL COUNTERTERRORISM,
COMMITTEE ON HOMELAND SECURITY,
Washington, DC.
The subcommittee met, pursuant to call, at 10:06 a.m., in Room
311, Cannon House Office Building, Hon. Loretta Sanchez [chairwoman of the subcommittee] presiding.
Present: Representatives Sanchez, Jackson Lee, Cuellar, Kirkpatrick, Pascrell, Green, Souder, Massa, and McCaul.
Ms. SANCHEZ. [Presiding.] I believe that, with respect to time and
everything, I know that Mr. Souder has said to go ahead with the
hearing so I think that we will begin although he is on his way.
But given some of the constraints, votes on the floor this morning, and I myself also being a senior member of the defense committee, we have markups in two of my subcommittees today, one
starting at 11:00 and, of course, I have to be there, not only for my
amendments but to provide the votes to move that bill along.
So because of that, and I now see that we are going by one of
our colleagues from the other side. So great, thanks for being here
this morning, Mr. McCaul. And so I would like to begin and have
this subcommittee come to order.
This subcommittee, the Border, Maritime, and Global Counterterrorism Subcommittee is meeting today to receive testimony on
fiscal year 2010 budget for immigration and customs enforcement,
Customs and Border Patrol section and U.S. Coast Guard.
I think that this hearing is important because it will hopefully
give us some more information for us to continue to analyze the
budget, not only at the present put forward, but also the one that
is moving through the appropriations subcommittee, which, as you
know, met yesterday. And I believe either today or next week the
full committee will take a look at the funding allocations.
However, this being a policy committee I think we have a lot of
the input to appropriators on that so I think it is important, because when we look at the budget, of course, we look at really the
true priorities.
We can say anything we want but if the monies arent in the
places that are important, that we have talked about, that we have
(1)
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analyzed as a committee, then, you know, what we are really saying is that we dont believe those priorities.
So I am glad that we have a strong showing. I know it is a very
busy time right now in the Congress, and so I am very thankful
that my colleagues on my side in particular have shown up in a
strong force.
I am supportive of the presidents $55 billion request for the Department of Homeland Security, and I agree with many of the allocations that have been made across the board. I in particular would
like to highlight some of the areas.
I am glad that we have a great panel this morning that cuts
across all of our primary areas with the commandant and the assistant secretary and the acting commissioner. Thank you three for
being here today.
I think that we need to make sure that we need to have sufficient staffing given the border violence that we are seeing, in particular Mexico, Corsi underfunded or sometimes the lack of assets
that we have had at the northern border we have also been looking
at. The, what we call the third border, or the whole Caribbean
initiative, then of course that falls strongly with respect to the
Coast Guard.
I saw that in the presidents budget he had put in funding for
85 new CVP officers. I know that we are trying very hard to get
staffing up and well trained so that we can do a good job. So I
would like to hear a little bit about what your needs are and
whether you think that that is enough in the budget.
Also, as a member of the Human Rights Caucus I was pleased
to see the request for $69.3 million for the development of ICEs alternatives to detention programs. The assistant secretary and I had
a little meeting yesterday where we talked something about that.
Of course this involves some of our most vulnerable populations,
such as the elderly, women and children. I know that the president
is inclined to do feasibility about privatizing detention facilities.
Just from the onset, I am probably not really thrilled about that
proposal, just from the standpoint that we havent had enough
oversight on what we have and to have it at an arms length away
from even some oversight from this committee, I have some concerns with respect to that.
And of course we have the Transportation Worker Identification
Card program. The commandant and I have been meeting on that
recently to see how that is rolling out. And I would love to receive
an update, commandant, on how that is going.
So I know that there are particular concerns and questions and
issues that will be brought up by the members who are here. And
so I would like to thank all of you for being here today. And I
would like to yield to my ranking member, the gentleman from Indiana, for his opening statement.
Mr. SOUDER. Thank you, Madam Chair. I am looking forward to
hearing from this great panel of witnesses. I would like to recognize John Morton and highlight that this is his first congressional
hearing other than his confirmation hearing, and I appreciate your
willingness to work with this committee and those of us who are
active on these issues.
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Admiral Allen and Ahern are regulars on the Hill here. I want
to thank you both for your longtime service and also appreciate you
being here today as well. It isnt often that we have the head of
the Coast Guard, the CBP and ICE here together, and therefore I
want to keep my statement relatively short so we have time for the
testimony and questions.
One issue, though, I want to explore is the coordination in intelligence stove piping. It has been a longtime challenge on all of our
agencies and inside DHS. Once you hear interagency coordination
between these three critical DHS components has improved over
fiscal year 2010 budget will further strengthen operational coordination and intelligence sharing.
Also important to this discussion is whether the DHS agencies
have sufficient authority for your broad missions and how they are
coordinating with other federal, state and local agencies. Another
key issue that needs to be discussed today is the operational control of the border, including how new smuggling trends are being
addressed, and sustainable efforts to prevent spillover violence and
assist the government of Mexico with their domestic efforts to fight
drug trafficking organizations.
On Tuesday the chair and I had the privilege to manage the floor
consideration on the House resolution recognizing the 85th anniversary of the border patrol. The 18,000 plus agents work around
the clock to identify and apprehend illegal aliens and smugglers,
always aware that there is a threat of terrorists seeking to exploit
the border.
The administration and Congress must provide additional tools
and resources for them to successfully do their mission. This is true
for all the agencies here, not just the border patrol. I am concerned
that the fiscal year 2010 budget will fall short, especially in gaining
operational control of the border.
According to the budget documents, CBP does not expect to gain
control of one additional mile of the border in 2010. Related to this,
the schedule for SBInet deployment has been delayed again. It is
my understanding that the earliest technology is expected to be deployed outside of the Tucson1 area, which is basically the same
area as Project 28 initiated in 2006, in the second quarter of 2010.
I dont see how this Congress can consider taking up immigration
reform legislation until we control our land and coastal borders.
Even more important is the continued opportunities for unsecured
borders that they offer to violent criminal organizations and potentially to terrorists with access to the United States.
In closing, this committee, and in particular this subcommittee,
support the work of each of your agencies, everything you do, every
day of the year to keep this country safe. Whatever the shortfalls
may be in the budget request, whatever additional authorities or
resources your agencies need, I am confident that we will continue
to work together in a bipartisan fashion to provide the necessary
congressional support and oversight.
Thank you, Madam Chair for this hearing and I yield back.
Ms. SANCHEZ. I thank my ranking member. Other members of
the subcommittee are reminded that, under the committee rules,
opening statements may be submitted for the record.
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FOR
THE
RECORD
PREPARED OPENING STATEMENT OF THE HONORABLE BENNIE G. THOMPSON,

CHAIRMAN, COMMITTEE ON HOMELAND SECURITY
The FY 2010 Budget for Immigration and Customs Enforcement, Customs
and Border Protection, and the U.S. Coast Guard
June 11, 2009 at 10:00 AM
311 Cannon House Office Building
I want to thank our witnesses for being here today to testify in support of the
Presidents Fiscal Year 2010 Budget Request for Immigration and Customs Enforcement, Customs and Border Protection, and the U.S. Coast Guard.
I would also like to congratulate Mr. Morton on his recent confirmation as Assistant Secretary for ICE.
As I stated when Secretary Napolitano testified before the full Homeland Security Committee last month, the Administration has managed to submit a very comprehensive budget that answers a lot of our questions about where the Department
wants to go, despite having numerous challenges on its plate.
As our witnesses well know, ICE, CBP, and the Coast Guard shoulder responsibility for many of the Departments challenges.
The men and women of these agencies are quite literally on the front lines of
Americas security.
That is why I support the Administrations funding request for the three agencies as well as several proposed programmatic changes in the budget.
For ICE, I am pleased that additional resources were requested for southwest
border enforcement and for removal of dangerous criminal aliens.
Similarly, for CBP, I support funding requested to combat smuggling of firearms and currency, which fuels drug-related violence along the southwest border,
and to deploy technology along our Nations borders.
For the Coast Guard, I am pleased that the budget provides the funds necessary
to ensure it can move forward with long-overdue recapitalization of its fleet.
These resources will help ICE, CBP and the Coast Guard better secure our borders and the Nation as a whole.
While I support the budget proposal overall, I do have some concerns, however.
In certain instances, additional funding, personnel, or infrastructure may be
necessary to ensure that ICE, CBP, and the Coast Guard have the tools they need
to fulfill their missions.
These agencies must have adequate resources to carry out critical initiatives
such as 100 percent scanning of inbound cargo, safe and humane detention of undocumented aliens, and deployment of effective border security technology.
It is also imperative that they have appropriate internal resources to oversee
important procurements, such as SBInet and Deepwater, to ensure that our limited
homeland security dollars are well spent.
In these tough economic times, I am committed to helping secure a budget for
the Department that is both fiscally responsible and strengthens the security of the
United States.
I look forward to hearing from each of our witnesses today about how the proposed budget will help you meet the homeland security goals set forth by the President.
Going forward, I hope to continue working cooperatively with you to advance
the Department of Homeland Securitys mission in the interest of the American people.
Again, thank you and I look forward to your testimony.
Ms. SANCHEZ. So I will welcome our panel of witnesses.

Our first witness, John T. Morton, is the Assistant Secretary of
Homeland Security for U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, what we call ICE. He leads the principal investigative component of the Department of Homeland Security. It is the second
largest investigative agency in the federal government, with more
than 19,000 employees and an annual budget of more than $5 billion.
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He came to ICE with an extensive background in federal law enforcement, immigration law and policy, having held a variety of positions within the Department of Justice. Mr. Morton was confirmed unanimously by the Senate last month, becoming the third
assistant secretary to lead the ICE in the agencys secured assistance.
Our second witness, Jayson Ahern, was named acting commissioner of the U.S. Customs and Border Protection in March 2009,
following the retirement of our former commissioner. And since August 2007, Mr. Ahern has served as CBPs deputy commissioner.
During this interim appointment as acting commissioner, Mr.
Ahern will continue to serve as chief operating officer overseeing
the daily operations of CBPs 53,000 employee workforce and managing an operating budget of over $11 billion. He is in his 33rd
year of public service. And of course you began your career in San
Ysidro, California, so welcome again,
To our third witness, Commandant Admiral Thad W. Allen, who
is the 23rd commandant of the U.S. Coast Guard, assuming those
duties of May 2006. He leads about 42,000 men and women on active duty, 7,000 civilians, 8,000 reservists and 34,000 volunteer
auxiliarists.
In his 38 years of service, the admiral has held operational command both at sea and the shore, conducting missions to support
the maritime safety security and environmental stewardship interests of our nation.
And today the admiral is leading the Coast Guard through significant modernization to better organize, train, equip and deploy
the men and women to meet the challenges of the 21st century. So
we welcome you, Commandant.
First of all I just would like to thank the three of you because
this is the first time in any of the hearings that I have held as a
chairman that we have received all of our witnesses testimony on
time by the deadline that we asked that testimony for. So I hope
it is the beginning of a good year for us with you.
Without objection your full statements therefore are inserted in
the record, and I will ask you to summarize your testimony in 5
minutes or less, beginning with Assistant Secretary Morton.
STATEMENT OF JOHN MORTON, ASSISTANT SECRETARY, U.S.
IMMIGRATION AND CUSTOMS ENFORCEMENT, DEPARTMENT
OF HOMELAND SECURITY
Mr. MORTON. Chairwoman Sanchez, ranking member Souder,

members of the subcommittee, thank you for inviting me here to
review the presidents fiscal year 2010 budget request for ICE and
to discuss ICEs management, investigative and operational priorities for the upcoming fiscal year.
As you mentioned, Chairwoman, ICE is the primary investigative
agency within DHS. We have a diverse and important mission including the enforcement of more than 400 immigration and customs laws.
Our principal aims are these: to protect national security and
public safety by preventing the illegal entry of terrorists and contraband that would do us harm; to work with our partners at CBP
and the Coast Guard to secure our borders both north and south;
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and to assure, along with CPB and CIS, that our immigration and
custom laws are credibly, but fairly enforced.
While our responsibility to enforce the nations immigration laws
receives much attention, I want to note that there are many other
things that ICE does and does well. For example, we investigate
human trafficking, sex tourism, human rights offenses and international child exploitation.
We investigate the unlawful export and proliferation of military
weaponry and technology, the smuggling of narcotics and the trade
in counterfeit and substandard goods. We target international
money laundering, bulk cash smuggling and international financial
frauds.
These are all vitally important tasks, and I thank you for the authority and support we have received from Congress, to date, to
perform them.
As the new assistant secretary of ICE, my priorities include
strengthening ICEs criminal law enforcement mission, improving
the detention program, raising morale and managing our resources
wisely and efficiently to advance the departments priorities.
Although I have been on the job a very short time, I have already
been struck by the dedication of our men and women in the field.
I have traveled three times, so far, and on each trip I met with,
and heard from, our special agents, deportation officers and attorneys. We have some very, very good people, and I hope to support
them and assist them in building creative and effective programs.
One such program is our work site enforcement program. My
goal is to implement a strategy that will both deter employers from
hiring unauthorized labor and punish those who knowingly violate
the law.
To that end we will seek to identify, prosecute and fine employers who knowingly hire illegal aliens, with a particular emphasis
on those employers who violate the law on a grand scale, or subject
workers to abusive conditions or illegal pay.
If we are to restore integrity to our immigration system, we must
address the magnet of unlawful employment that draws so many
people here. As you recently heard from the secretary, one of the
departments priorities is to address crime and violence across the
southwest border.
This is another area that I want to address and one in which
ICE has a very significant role to play. We have broad powers to
investigate border crimes, including the illegal movement of drugs,
money, guns and people. You can be assured that ICE will be attentive to the many problems along the border and that we will
work well with our federal, state and international partners to get
the job done.
Another priority Secretary Napolitano and I share is the
strengthening of our immigration detention system. When ICE detains people it is important that they be detained in appropriate facilities with good custodial conditions and high standards of medical care.
The system needs to be transparent, well run and focused on the
mission at hand, namely the civil detention of deportable immigrants who pose a serious risk of flight or a danger to the community.
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The budget request presented today reflects the departments priorities and outlines the resources need to support ICE in its mission to enforce laws and protect the public. I am confident that this
budget request will help to advance the important mission of ICE,
and I look forward to next year when I can share the results of implementing these priorities.
The proposed budget builds on the foundation of ICEs recent accomplishments and totals nearly $5.7 billion. This request targets
the administrations priorities and will enable ICE to continue to
address violence along the southwest border, to focus on core improvements to ICEs infrastructure, to identify and remove criminal
aliens from our communities, to strengthen state and local coordination and to provide improved medical care to those who we detain.
I want to thank the subcommittee for its support of ICE and our
law enforcement mission. And as a very recent and new member
of the ICE family, I want to say that I personally look forward to
a very long and productive relationship with the subcommittee.
These are very, sort of, challenging and weighty issues that confront me and our country, and I look forward to working with people of goodwill to try to get to a good result. Thank you.
[The statement of Mr. Morton follows:]
PREPARED STATEMENT
OF
JOHN T. MORTON
INTRODUCTION
Chairwoman Sanchez, Ranking Member Souder, and distinguished Members of
the Subcommittee:
It is my honor and privilege to appear before you today to present the Presidents
Fiscal Year (FY) 2010 budget request for Immigration and Customs Enforcement
(ICE), and to discuss our management, investigative, and operational priorities for
the upcoming fiscal year.
As you know, ICE has a diverse and important mission, including the enforcement
of more than 400 customs and immigration laws. ICE is the primary investigative
agency within the Department of Homeland Security (DHS). Our special agents target, investigate, and dismantle criminal organizations who threaten national security. ICE protects our bordersnorth and southby investigating groups who exploit weakness in our legitimate trade, travel, and financial systems. ICE enforces
the nations immigration laws and is committed to doing so effectively and efficiently. Although not the exclusive mission of ICE, immigration enforcement is a
core mission and priority.
In addition, ICE protects national security through an aggressive proliferation
program and by investigating those who seek to import unsafe consumer products
into the country. ICE also protects communities by identifying and removing criminal aliens, gang members, perpetrators involved with child pornography, trafficking
and smuggling, and human rights violators. It is with your support that we succeed
in our mission.
As the new Assistant Secretary of ICE, my focus will include reforming the detention program, strengthening law enforcement mission, raising morale, and managing our resources wisely and efficiently to advance the Departments priorities. As
the Secretary has made clear, reforming the detention system is among her main
concerns. I share that priority. I am committed to ensure people in our custody receive quality medical care and to enhance the oversight of the detention program.
I recently toured several detention facilities and have faith that the good men and
women of ICE are ready to meet the challenge we face.
One of my first acts when I was sworn in was to travel and meet with ICE personnel in the places where they operate everyday. I was able to hear from some of
the very talented special agents working to advance our mission and ensure safety
and security in our country. I hope to support and assist them in building creative
and effective investigative programs. My priorities include bolstering the investigation and prosecution of major crimes and increasing agency focus on several specific
issues: international money laundering and organized crime, weapons proliferation
and export controls, human trafficking and child exploitation, intellectual property
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and counterfeiting, and immigration and identity fraud that promote travel by terrorists, criminals, and others who pose a threat to public safety.
I also intend to bring new ideas and creativity to our enforcement program, including working with our federal, state and local partners to ensure that exploitative employers that violate labor and other laws are fully prosecuted. My goal is to
implement a strategy that will not only punish employers who knowingly violate the
law, but effectively deter employers from hiring unauthorized labor, addressing the
demand that drives illegal immigration. This will reduce the effect of one magnet
that encourages many people to enter the United States unlawfully.
As you recently heard from the Secretary, another high priority for the Department is to address crime and violence along the southwest border. ICE has a significant role to play in this effort. The agency must effectively confront the illegal movement of drugs, money, guns, and people across the border. ICE continues to work
well with our federal, state, and local partners to address border violence and related crimes.
The budget request presented today reflects not only the priorities of the Department, but the resources necessary to support the vital roles that ICE plays in enforcing laws and protecting the public. I am confident this budget request will help
to advance the important mission of ICE, and I look forward to next year, when I
can share the results of implementing these priorities.
FISCAL YEAR 2010 BUDGET REQUEST
The proposed budget builds on the foundation of recent accomplishments and totals nearly $5.77 billion. This request targets the Administrations priorities and
will enable ICE to continue to address violence along the southwest border, focus
on core improvements to ICE infrastructure, identify and remove criminal aliens,
ensure individuals in ICE custody receive proper care, and strengthen coordination
with our federal, state, local, tribal, and foreign law enforcement partners in the
fight against transnational criminal organizations.
Combating South west Border Violence
Border enforcement and combating border violence is a key component of the ICE
mission. ICE targets organizations that exploit our legitimate trade, travel, and financial systems. ICE uses all enforcement methods to ensure that cross-border
crime is attacked from every possible angle. Indeed, the recent escalation of violence
by Mexican drug cartels and other criminal organizations just over the border demonstrates the ongoing importance of our mission. As Secretary Napolitano recently
testified, the violence in Mexico is a bi-national threat that affects security not only
in Mexico, but also here at home.
Mexico is battling the same cartels that use violence to put drugs on our streets.
Illegal drugs, money, and weapons flow both ways across our border inextricably
linking the U.S. and Mexico in efforts to combat drug cartels. Our countries share
nearly 2,000 miles in border, billions of dollars in trade, a commitment to democracy, and the need to prevail against the transnational threats of organized crime.
The DHS family must act in concert. The violence along our southwest border requires a comprehensive, multifaceted, and collaborative effort. Secretary Napolitano,
who is very much aware of this matter, issued an Immigration and Border Security
Action Directive in January 2009 to use the Departments wide-ranging authorities
to boost efforts to combat such violence.
Additionally, on March 24,2009, DHS, DOJ and the Department of State (DOS)
announced the Southwest Border Initiative designed to crack down on Mexican drug
cartels through enhanced border enforcement. The plan calls for additional personnel, increased intelligence capability, and better coordination with federal, state,
local and Mexican law enforcement authorities to target illegal guns, drugs, and
cash.
The ICE budget requests an additional $70 million for 349 agent and officer positions to increase enforcement staffing at the border, improve cooperative efforts with
the Mexican government, and enhance the capabilities of the Border Violence Intelligence Cell in El Paso Texas. This cross-border initiative will increase national security by expanding activities to secure our southwest border.
Partnering with Federal, State, Local, Tribal, and Foreign Law Enforcement
Improving coordination and partnerships with federal, state, local, territorial, tribal, and foreign law enforcement, particularly in the border region, is essential to securing our nation against the threat of cartel violence. Law enforcement agencies
at all levels of government have significant roles to play in addressing the current
border violence and in preparing for scenarios where violence in Mexico could impact the United States. Law enforcement agencies at the state, local, territorial, and
tribal level have dealt with border violence for many years, and have deep oper-
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ational knowledge of the border region. To confront border violence effectively, federal agencies must collaborate and share resources and intelligence with our partners on the ground.
ICE works closely with federal, state, local, territorial, tribal, and foreign partners
in various ways. For example, in 2005, DHS created the Border Enforcement Security Task Forces (BEST). BEST is an innovative model for collaborative law enforcement. At present, 15 BESTs are operational. Participants include ICE, CBP, the
U.S. Coast Guard, the DHS Office of Intelligence and Analysis, the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives (ATF), the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), U.S. Attorney offices, and
state and local law enforcement agencies. Currently, Mexican law enforcement agencies also have officers assigned to five Indeed, the government of Mexico has agreed
to provide representatives to every BEST team on the southwest border by FY2010.
In addition, ICE participates in fusion centers in many states and large cities, particularly along the southwest border, in an effort to share information and intelligence among all partnering law enforcement agencies.
The BEST model has been successful. ICE, with the help of our partners, has
cracked down on arms trafficking, human smuggling, bulk cash smuggling, and narcotics smuggling organizations. These efforts have disrupted cartel operations in
both the United States and Mexico.
Since July 2005, the efforts of BEST teams, working in conjunction with the Department of Justice (DOJ) and other law enforcement agencies, have been responsible for 2,238 criminal arrests, 2,924 administrative arrests, 1,014 indictments, and
846 convictions. In addition, have seized approximately 9,070 pounds of cocaine,
179,739 pounds of marijuana, 702 pounds of methamphetamine, 99 pounds of crystal methamphetamine, 1,161 pounds of ecstasy, 243 pounds of heroin, 97 pounds of
hashish, 22 pounds of opium, 2,075 weapons, 820 vehicles, seven properties, and
$24.7 million in U.S. currency and monetary instruments.
Weapons and Bulk Cash into Mexico
As President Calerons government continues its courageous struggle against the
drug cartels in Mexico, it has become clear that stopping the flow of weapons southbound out of the U.S. into Mexico is an urgent priority. A large number of weapons
recovered in the Mexican drug war are smuggled illegally into the country from the
United States. President has identified the illegal flow of weapons from the United
States as one of the biggest security threats to Mexico. Stopping weapons smuggling
is a particular challenge, due to both the nature of the southwest border and that
the majority of smuggling occurs in small shipments of a few weapons at a time.
ICEs border authorities are uniquely positioned to address this challenge.
In June 2008, ICE, along with CBP and other federal, state, and local partners,
launched Operation Cruzadas, a partnership with the government of Mexico to fight
cross-border arms smuggling. Under Armas Cruzadas, ICE has taken an intelligence-driven and systematic approach to disrupting and dismantling arms trafficking organizations operating along the southwest border. As part of this effort,
ICE initiated a Weapons Virtual Task Force to create a virtual community where
law enforcement rapidly shares intelligence and communicates in a secure environment through the Homeland Security Information Network (HSIN). ICE also
worked with the Mexican government to create a U.S.-vetted Arms Trafficking Unit,
comprised of Mexican law enforcement officers, to initiate investigations on the
Mexican side of the border.
Since its inception, Operation Armas Cruzadas has resulted in the seizure of
1,441 weapons, more than $6 million in currency and monetary instruments,
122,416 rounds of ammunition, and arrested 338 individuals on criminal charges.
As a result, 94 people have been indicted and 51 convicted.
In addition to weapons smuggling, ICE has partnered with CBP to combat the illegal movement of cash across the southwest border. Drug cartels pose a dangerous
threat in part due to their extensive monetary resources. The U.S. must interrupt
that illegal flow of money. Operation Firewall addresses the threat of bulk cash
smuggling. ICE targets individuals and organizations that exploit vulnerabilities in
financial systems to launder illicit proceeds.
Operation has produced sustained results. In 2005, on the first day of operation
at the Benito Juarez International Airport in Mexico City, Mexican authorities
seized $7.8 million en route to Colombia, concealed inside deep fryers, rotisseries,
and voltage regulators. Other notable seizures include $7.3 million hidden inside
rolls of fabric and plastic and $4.7 million concealed inside air conditioning equipment and metal piping. Since its inception, Operation has led to 452 arrests and
the seizure of more than $195 million, including $64 million seized overseas.
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ICE also recently established a Trade Transparency Unit with Mexico to identify
cross-border trade anomalies, which are often indicative of trade-based money laundering. Under this initiative, ICE and law enforcement agencies in cooperating
countries exchange import and export data and financial information. ICEs efforts
led to more than $50 million in cash seizures in FY2008
Criminal and Fugitive Aliens
ICE is the primary agency responsible for locating and removing criminal aliens
within the United States. $39.1 million of new funding is requested to hire, train,
and equip 80 new enforcement personnel who will identify suspected criminal
aliens, determine their immigration status, prioritize ICE enforcement actions
against removable criminal aliens, and assist in the removal of arrested criminal
aliens. Funding will also support our continued investment in information technology and allow ICE to more efficiently identify and remove criminal aliens.
Through the Secure Communities Program, ICE works to identify criminal aliens
in federal, state, and local custodyprioritizing the removal of convicted dangerous
criminal aliens. Secure Communities provides technology to state and local booking
locations so that booking officers are then able to simultaneously search a persons
criminal history and immigration information using a combined information platform. This process occurs for each person booked, either alien or citizen. The technology saves time, improves accurate identification of aliens, and gives our state and
local partners a powerful tool to identify criminal aliens in their custody. This technology has already been deployed to 50 jurisdictions to support information sharing.
This week, ICE will deploy to an additional six jurisdictions, all of which are along
the southwest border.
The prevention of re-entry into the U.S. by criminal aliens is an important component of the Secure Communities program. ICEs Violent Criminal Alien Section, created as a result of Operation Repeat Offender, is an initiative by the ICE Office of
Detention and Removal Operations (DRO) in collaboration with the U.S. Attorneys
Offices to prosecute dangerous criminal aliens who have been deported at least once,
yet illegally return to the United States. Once convicted, aliens must serve their full
federal sentence before they are removed from the United States. To assist United
States Attorney Offices in handling increased prosecutions, ICE has assigned several agency attorneys to serve as Special Assistant United States Attorneys.
ICE continues to identify and remove criminal alien gang members as part of Operation Community Shield. Since the programs inception, ICE agents working in
conjunction with federal, state, and local law enforcement agencies have arrested
more than 13,000 street gang members and associates throughout the country.
ICEs National Fugitive Operations Program (NFOP) also works to reduce the nations fugitive alien population with an emphasis on criminal aliens and aliens who
pose a threat to national security and public safety. In FY2008, fugitive operations
teams were responsible for more than 34,000 arrests. To date in FY2009, the teams
have arrested nearly 6,000 fugitive aliens who are also criminal. Overall, our nations fugitive alien population fell by 37,000 individuals last fiscal year.
ICE dedicates significant resources to obtaining final orders of removal. Similarly,
the Department of Justice Executive Office for Immigration Review employs hundreds of immigration judges and members of the Board of Immigration Appeals to
adjudicate immigration cases. Final orders of removal must be enforced to ensure
the integrity of the nations immigration system.
Human Smuggling and Trafficking/Identity and Benefit Fraud
I recognize that human smuggling and trafficking is an issue of great concern for
this Subcommittee. I assure you that this has beenand continues to bea significant priority for ICE. As you well know, criminal smuggling and trafficking organizations are not constrained by international borders. They operate in countries of
origin, transit countries, and destination countries, including the United States.
ICE proactively investigates groups engaged in human smuggling and trafficking
by initiating investigations beyond U.S. borders. Organizations can charge thousands of dollars to smuggle aliens, including unlawful men and women who could
pose a threat to the United States. ICE works aggressively with non-governmental
organizations to identify trafficking victims, bring smugglers and traffickers to justice, and increase public awareness of modern-day slavery. In addition, CBP provides ICE with real time, law enforcement sensitive information derived from analysis of travel patterns and the statements from aliens that is critical to the progress
of several ongoing, international alien smuggling investigations.
ICE succeeds in combating alien smuggling, dismantling trafficking organizations
and closing avenues for terrorist travel when we work with other agencies and turn
collective intelligence into action. ICE participates in the interagency Human Smuggling and Trafficking Center (HSTC), which targets human smugglers, human traf-
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fickers, and terrorist travel facilitators. The Director of the HSTC is an ICE Supervisory Special Agent.
ICE has identified various methods and routes used by criminal networks to
smuggle people into the United States. Subsequently, ICE and the Department of
Justice (DOJ) formed the Extraterritorial Criminal Travel (ECT) Strike Force in
June 2006 to target such smuggling methods and routes. The ECT Strike Force
combines investigative, prosecutorial, and intelligence resources to target and aggressively pursue, disrupt, and dismantle foreign-based criminal travel networks.
Complementary to the ECT program is the pivotal role ICE plays as co-chair of the
targeting project of the Interagency Working Group on Alien Smuggling. This program facilitates ICE working with partners in the intelligence community to identify
the most dangerous international human smuggling organizations for investigation
and prosecution-especially those that pose a threat to our national security.
ICE recognizes that combating transnational alien smuggling networks does not
stop with the arrest and conviction of alien smugglers. Indeed, the agency uncovers
ties between smugglers who illegally bring aliens into the country, and individuals
and organizations who help aliens obtain benefits through fraud. Just as smugglers
can earn large fees from aliens who desire assistance in crossing the U.S. border,
immigration service providers have been known to charge aliens substantial sums
to prepare and file fraudulent applications for visas and other immigration benefits.
ICE created Document and Benefit Fraud Task Forces (DBFTF) in April 2006 to
combat vulnerabilities exploited by identity and document fraud organizations.
There are currently 17 located in major U.S. cities serving as models for multi-agency cooperation. Within these task forces, ICE works with U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services the Department of Labor, the Social Security Administration, the
U.S. Postal Service, the Department of State, and state and local law enforcement
agencies.
State and Local Law Enforcement Support
ICE also continues to expand its partnerships with state and local law enforcement under the 287(g) Program, a force-multiplier, which gives specially trained officers authorization to perform immigration enforcement duties under the supervision of ICE agents and officers. ICE has 66 active Memoranda of Agreements
(MOA) with law enforcement agencies in 23 states. As of May 2009, ICEs 287(g)
partners encountered more than 109,000 aliens screened for removability.
Although the program has significant value, the program requires more robust
oversight. ICE has carefully reviewed the recommendations in the Government Accountability Offices (GAO) report, issued in January 2009, and concurs with all of
the recommendations. ICE takes the issue of racial and ethnic profiling seriously.
The agency is committed to addressing these concerns. To that end, ICE works with
the DHS Office for Civil Rights and Civil Liberties and all interested stakeholders,
while also independently and actively monitoring for indicia of profiling.
In the past several years, the 287(g) Program has both grown quickly and caught
the attention of both media and Congress. ICE is currently redrafting the MOA template used to delegate immigration authority to state and local partners. One major
goal is to align state and local initiatives with the priorities of ICE. In addition to
the template MOA, ICE credentials were issued to state and local 287(g) partners
and is currently drafting a policy mandating refresher training through ICE for
all active 287(g) officers.
I am requesting an increase of $1 1.6 million for the Office of State and Local
Coordination (OSLC) to oversee outreach activities for ICE Agreements of Cooperation in Communities to Enhance Safety and Security (ICE ACCESS) initiatives,
which includes the 287(g) Program. Increased funding will allow for permanent
staff, including those dedicated to field oversight, in OSLC, continuation of ICE ACCESS, and training and information technology assistance for participants in the
ICE ACCESS program.
Worksite Enforcement
The opportunity to work is a powerful magnet that draws many people to enter
the country illegally. On April 30, 2009, the Department released worksite enforcement guidance to our agents in the field, marking a clear shift in how ICE now conducts worksite enforcement. The goal of the strategy is to (1) penalize employers
who knowingly hire illegal workers; (2) deter employers who are attempting to hire
illegal workers; and (3) encourage employers to take advantage of compliance tools
and best practices. The strategy emphasizes both the criminal investigation of employers and the use of administrative tools such as Form I9 audits and civil fines.
In addition, ICE will focus on employers who undermine the security by employing
undocumented workers in sensitive industries or at places of critical infrastructure
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and continue to fulfill its responsibility in arresting and processing illegal workers
encountered during enforcement operations.
The most effective strategy in curbing illegal employment is criminal prosecution,
the seizure of assets, and the imposition of meaningful civil penalties upon employers who use and profit from the labor of unauthorized aliens. ICE has also increased
the act of debarring employers who fail to comply with the law, which precludes an
employer from securing work on federal contracts of companies that have knowingly
hired illegal workers. Since July 2008, 18 companies and 20 individuals have been
debarred. With this approach, ICE intends to create an environment of compliance.
The agency also proactively works with the private sector to train employers who
want to avoid unwitting violations of the law through valuable compliance tools like
E-Verify.
There should be no doubt that ICE is committed to enforcement. On May 26 and
27,2009, the ICE Kansas City office executed 10 federal search warrants and eight
federal arrest warrants in the investigation of Giant Labor Solutions (GLS). ICE
agents criminally arrested Abrorkhodja Askarkhodjaev, a citizen of Uzbekistan and
owner and president of GLS, as well as seven other principals and officers of GLS
and its associated companies. As part of this enforcement operation, ICE agents administratively arrested 30 undocumented alien workers. It is suspected that some
of the workers arrested by ICE may have been forced or coerced into working at
GLS. If so, then ICE will work with DOJ and other federal agencies, including the
Department of Labor, to pursue all appropriate relief for the workers.
Improved Detention and Detainee Healthcare Oversight
The reform of the immigration detention system and improvement of healthcare
and oversight of those individuals in our custody is another significant priority for
ICE. ICE established the Detention Facilities Inspection Group (DFIG) to conduct
independent assessment of detention facilities used to house ICE detainees. Last
year, the DFIG conducted reviews of 38 detention facilities used by ICE, making
recommendations for improving management and maintenance of the facilities in
accordance with ICE detention standards. The DHS Office for Civil Rights and Civil
Liberties also conducts independent investigations regarding conditions of detention,
and partners with ICE to improve conditions and develop or revise policy, which has
resulted in the identification of deficiencies within ICE detention facilities so that
corrective actions are taken.
I am requesting an additional $12.4 million to expand the number and scope of
independent inspections on ICE detention facilities. Such an increase in funding will
improve the welfare, safety, and living conditions of ICE detainees and employees.
ICE made several key improvements over the past year through the Division of
Immigration Health Services (DIHS). For instance, standardized DIHS Staff and
Patient Education training materials were developed. DIHS acquired mission-critical medical equipment including dental treatment and pharmacy automation capabilities for several facilities. Finally, with respect to infectious disease, DIHS developed new policies, procedures, and educational and training materials to protective
our employees.
ADDITIONAL FISCAL YEAR 2010 PROGRAM ENHANCEMENTS
ICE also requests program enhancements in the following key areas:
CoLocation of ICE Facilities: A total of $92 million is requested to fund the
second year of the ICE-wide co-location strategy to consolidate ICE personnel
and operations scattered across multiple buildings in select metropolitan areas.
The intent is to improve operational efficiency and long-term cost savings because 72 percent of ICE leases will expire over the next five years. If ICE remains in its current existing space and renews existing leases, ICE will incur
an estimated increase of $69 million between FY2011FY2013 over current
lease costs.
Information Technology Improvements: Total funding of $91.4 million is requested for the following:
Atlas Infrastructure ($9 million): The request for Atlas Infrastructure,
which is the information technology foundation on which ICE applications
operate, will be used to plan, schedule, develop and implement the replacement of many legacy ICE area networks; modernize an additional 290 ICE
sites with new file and print servers; complete the integration of 22 data
collection systems into one database; and oversee the migration of ICE information technology assets from the Department of Justice Data Centers
to the DHS Data Centers.
Detention and Removal Operations Modernization (DROM) ($22 million):
Funding is requested for improvements to the system of detaining and removing illegal immigrants. The funds will be dedicated to developing and
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deploying the Detainee Location Tracking Module as part of the Bed Space
and Transportation Management System, expanding the ICE Data warehouse data capacity and reporting capability to support the Office of Detention and Removal Operations (DRO) information technology data, and expanding Web services to all the Electronic Travel Document application to
communicate with other internal or external applications.
Law Enforcement Systems Modernization ($40 million): This initiative case
management (including the TECS Modernization project), information sharing, and operational support service projects that will improve access to law
enforcement information.
($20.4 MILLION): This request will address the Division of Immigration
Health Services infrastructure deficiencies and begin the design and development of an electronic health records system, which will allow real-time
reporting of detainees medical information.
T3Data Center Migration: A total of $33.9 million is requested to assist migrating
data center operations, active on-line data, and other information technology assets from two Department of Justice (DOJ) data centers and multiple processing centers to two new DHS data centers.
CONCLUSION
The Presidents FY2010 budget request for ICE reflects the Departments ongoing
commitment and the dedication of ICE employees to protect the American people.
I am committed to working with this Subcommittee and Congress to address the
significant challenges we face in our efforts to enforce of our nations immigration
and customs laws.
I thank the Subcommittee for its support of ICE and our law enforcement mission.
Your support is vital to the work of ICE. Your continued interest and oversight of
our actions is important to the men and woman at ICE, who work each day to ensure the safety and security of the United States. I look forward to a long and productive relationship with this Subcommittee.
I would be pleased to answer any questions you have at this time.
Ms. SANCHEZ. Thank you, Mr. Secretary.

Now we will have our commissioner, Mr. Ahern, for 5 minutes
or less.
STATEMENT OF JAYSON AHERN, ACTING COMMISSIONER, U.S.
CUSTOMS AND BORDER PROTECTION, DEPARTMENT OF
HOMELAND SECURITY
Mr. AHERN. Good morning, I certainly thank you very much for
the opportunity to be here today. And Chairwoman Sanchez, ranking member Souder and to all those other members, CBP has a
great story to tell, and much of the credit for our success is actually
due to the Congress.
Fortunately over the last few years, since 2004 our budget has
been doubled, and we thank the Congress for that, and our agency
has grown to over 53,000. It will actually be 55,000 by the end of
this year, significant growth for protecting the countrys front line.
Our 2010 budget request actually includes over $10 billion in appropriated resources and over $1.3 billion in user fees because we
do have a lot of fees that are funded by international travel. And
this will support our operational missions for the organization. It
shows an increase of $229 million over our 2009 level.
The 2010 budget, a couple of key initiatives to highlight, it certainly shows some of the evolving concerns we have with our border security. The southbound efforts we have for firearms, weapons
going to Mexico, there is $26.1 in initiative for that, as well as continuing to focus on the northern border and deployment of technology there to meet the risk in the area on that northern border,
given its remoteness, $20 million for northern border technology to
continue to build on the technology suite we have up there.
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Certainly the accomplishments, because of the support of Congress we have actually continued to use the effective combination
of personnel, technology infrastructure to gain more effective control of our borders.
And ranking member Souder talked about miles of effective control, and we continue to build more miles of effective control. We
have over 700 on the southwest border, and we will continue to
build as we go forward.
Certainly the apprehensions along our ports of entry are going
down substantially. I will be happy to talk in more detail about
those on the southwest border.
Also as far as the drug interdiction mission of our organization,
oftentimes since the creation of the Department of Homeland Security, it has been stated we perhaps might have overlooked our drug
interdiction mission over the last few years. I would respectfully
state that is not the case.
And when you take a look at the 15 million pounds of drugs we
have actually seized in the last few years, this is a significant accomplishment of critical note to show what we are seeing in the
southwest area, specifically, a 49 percent increase in marijuana
interceptions coming across versus last fiscal year-to-date.
So that is a significant increase, and actually those numbers, just
to put the percentages in perspective, that is 2.2 million pounds
thus far this year. That is considerable.
With any organization, particularly given the mission we have
border security, our resources. Our most precious resources are
people. Certainly continuing to build upon our resources, we now
will have by the end of this year over 20,000 CBP officers at our
ports of entry and will actually achieve a number later this year
for 20,000 border patrol agents at our ports of entry.
These two primary mission of entities that we have, or operational entities of our mission, our front line personnel will be complemented by over 1,000 pilots and vessel commanders to make
sure that our air and marine division continues to be as robust as
it needs to be in some of these areas between the ports of entry.
And I think it is also important to recognize one of the other missions we have in the organization, and that is protecting the American industry or domestic industry of agriculture products.
And we actually now have over 2,300 agricultural specialists that
we have been able to afford to bring on board to protect the American food supply. That is a critical part of our mission with the organization.
Technology, making sure as we continue to deploy not only
SBnet-type technology but the suite of sensor and bubble surveillance systems, as well as our UAS along the border. Those are the
key things we continue to deploy.
And at our ports of entry more large scale x-rays, radiation portable monitors, things of that nature to make sure that we maintain
not only the security that is necessary, but the flow of legitimate
trade and commerce coming across those borders air, land and sea.
Continuing to upgrade and modernize our ports of entry, we certainly thank the Congress for the funding that we were able to receive through the stimulus package. That certainly will be used not
only to modernize and increase the security of our facilities, but
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also to continue the efficient movement of people and goods coming
across those borders, as well on the north and south, so we appreciate the support on that.
I know it is a topic of interest, the number of border patrol
agents that we actually have deployed to the northern border, and
do we have the right balance? That is a key feature. We will actually have 1,845 border patrol agents on the northern border.
That may not seem enough when you compare it to the 18,000
that we will have at the end of the year on the southern border,
but it is a 700 percent increase over our strength that we had in
the time around 9/11. You know, we will continue to grow that
number as we look to achieve 2,212 by the end of fiscal year 2010.
Our organization also has deployed other resources to the northern border beyond just the border patrol agents, and that is opening five air branches and marine units as well as deploying our
UAS in the environment.
The southern border, just to close on that, will continue to be a
focus as we go forward. We will be happy to take questions about
the initiative we have in the funding package for the additional
technology for license plate readers, as well as the deployment of
personnel to combat the threat of movement of currency, which
since the initiative started in March, there has been over $13 million in cash seized, joint participation with ICE in those very critical focus outbound operations, as well as weapons, going forward.
Thank you very much.
[The statement of Mr. Ahern follows:]
PREPARED STATEMENT
OF
JAYSON AHERN
Chairwoman Sanchez, Congressman Souder, esteemed members of the Subcommittee, it is a privilege and an honor to appear before you today to discuss the
work of U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP), particularly the tremendous
dedication of our men and women in the field both at and between our ports of
entry.
I want to begin by expressing my continuing gratitude to Congress for its enduring support for the mission and people of CBP. It is clear that the Congress is committed to providing us the resources we need in order to increase and maintain the
security of our borders. We appreciate your efforts and assistance.
I would also like to thank you for your support for provisions in the American
Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009, which provided $680 million to CBP for
greatly needed improvements to our aging infrastructure, and for the addition of
new technology at our nations borders. These funds will support planning, management, design, alteration, and construction of CBP-owned land ports of entry; procurement and deployment of non-intrusive inspection system; expedited development and deployment of border security technology on the southwest border; and
for the procurement and deployment of tactical communications equipment. In addition, the bill included $300 million for the construction and repair of land ports of
entry owned by the General Services Administration (GSA). Secretary Napolitano
has made clear that we are to move swiftly and with great transparency as we put
these investments to use.
CBP is the largest uniformed, Federal law enforcement agency in the country. We
station over 20,000 CBP officers at access points around the Nation, including at
air, land, and sea ports. As of mid-May, we have deployed over 19,000 Border Patrol
agents between the ports of entry. These forces are supplemented with 1,058 Air
and Marine agents, 2,318 agricultural specialists, and other professionals. These
personnel are key players to the implementation of Secretary Napolitanos Southwest Border Security Initiative.
I am pleased to report that CBP continues to perform all of our missions successfully, which include stemming the flow of illegal drugs and contraband, protecting
our agricultural and economic interests from harmful pests and diseases, protecting
American businesses from theft of their intellectual property, enforcing textile
agreements, tracking import safety violations, regulating and facilitating inter-
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national trade, collecting import duties, facilitating legitimate travel, and enforcing
United States trade laws. CBP facilitates lawful immigration, welcoming visitors
and new immigrants while making certain those entering this country are indeed
admissible, and taking appropriate action when an individual fears being persecuted
or tortured if returned to their home country At the same time, our employees maintain a vigilant watch for terrorist threats. In fiscal year 2008, CBP processed more
than 396 million pedestrians and passengers, 122 million conveyances, 29 million
trade entries, examined 5.6 million sea, rail, and truck containers, performed over
25 million agriculture inspections, apprehended over 720 thousand illegal aliens between our ports of entry, encountered over 220 thousand inadmissible aliens at the
ports of entry, and seized more than 2.8 million pounds of illegal drugs.
We must perform our important security and trade enforcement work without stifling the flow of legitimate trade and travel that is so important to our Nations
economy. These are our twin goals: border security and facilitation of legitimate
trade and travel.
Border Security Between the Ports of Entry
The primary goal of our strategy between the ports of entry is to gain effective
control of our Nations borders. Effective control is achieved when a Chief Patrol
Agent determines that agents deployed in a given area consistently: detect illegal
entries into the United States, assess and classify any threats associated with the
illegal entries, respond to the area, and bring the situation to a successful law enforcement resolution.
During Secretary Napolitanos congressional hearing a few weeks ago, she explained the importance of having a border security strategy that incorporates the
elements of effective control. CBP establishes operational control through a balanced
combination of technology, personnel, and tactical infrastructure allowing Border
Patrol agents to confront the criminal element. Secretary Napolitano often refers to
this strategy as the three-legged stool. One of these legs cannot provide operational control by itself. The mix of these three elements will vary depending on the
challenges of the focus area. Technology allows us to detect the entries and to assess
and classify the threat. Personnel provide the response to confront the criminal element. Tactical infrastructure cludessupports the response by either providing access or extending the time needed for the response by deterring or slowing the
criminal elements ability to easily cross the border and escape.
As of May 31,2009, we have determined that 894 miles of border are under effective control. This includes 697 miles along the southwest border, 32 along the northern border and 165 in the coastal regions. Across the southwest border, we have
made significant strides in increasing our situational awareness and tactical advantage over those seeking to violate our laws. With increased situational awareness,
we can better understand where we have the highest threats and vulnerabilities,
and assess where we need to apply our resources. Situational awareness also enables our agents to perform their jobs more safely and more effectively. This is especially critical during times such as these where we are experiencing higher levels
of violence at our Nations borders.
Between the ports of entry, the Border Patrol Sector Chiefs are the field commanders, and CBP personnel involved in border security include Border Patrol
Agents and Air and Marine Interdiction Agents. Personnel in adequate numbers are
highly effective resources. They can observe and therefore provide for the type of
situational awareness that is necessary for operational control. Unique among the
elements of the three-legged stool, personnel also have the capacity to respond. Personnel are highly effective and flexible, but the number of personnel required to perform the entire border security mission would be prohibitive if they were not properly augmented by tactical infrastructure and technology.
Tactical infrastructure includesamong other thingspedestrian fence, vehicle
fence, roads, and lighting. Tactical infrastructure supports CBPs ability to respond
in several ways. Fence, for example, is a fixed resource that provides a constant and
continuous effect. I wish to be very clearfence alone does not and cannot provide
effective control of the border. It does, however, deter and delay illicit cross-border
incursions. This continuous and constant ability to deter or delay is what we refer
to as persistent impedance. There are areas of the border where we have concluded that we must have persistent impedance in order to achieve operational control, because we must at least delay attempted illicit incursions. These delays buy
time for our agents to respond. This is critical in areas near cities, for example,
where illicit border crossers can easily blend into the population before we interdict
them. It is also critical in areas where vehicles reach nearby roads faster than we
could respond without persistent impedance.
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Technology is an important leg of the stool. Although some refer to technology as
a virtual fence,technology does not have the persistent impedance capability of a
real fence. It does, however, provide timely and accurate information that physical
infrastructure could not. Between the ports of entry, technology includes sensors,
command and control systems, and communications. Technology is a powerful force
multiplier because it has tremendous capability to provide the situational awareness
that is a precursor to operational control. Sensors can watch the border continuously, guided by appropriate command and control systems. These command and
control systems can also help sort the data coming from the sensors so that our
agents have very quick access to the most critical information. Technology also supports response capability. With accurate information to identify and classify illicit
incursions, agents have many more options about how and when they will respond
to the incursion. Improved communications capability also supports response by ensuring our agents will be properly directed and coordinated.
Over the past year, we have made significant strides in strengthening all three
legs of our stool. As of midMay, we had 19,065 Border Patrol Agents on-board. Of
the 661 miles of southwest border identified by CBP as requiring persistent impedance, fencing has been constructed along 627 miles (as of May 22nd). Most of the
remaining mileage is under construction and will be complete this summer. With
respect to technology, we have purchased 40 mobile surveillance systems (MSSs)
and deployed them to the northern and southwestern borders. These MSSs provide
a flexible solution to give our operators radar and camera coverage in high priority
areas, and serve as a gap-filler while we develop and deploy more permanent technology solutions. Later in the testimony, I will provide additional detail about our
vision for those more permanent solutions.
The northern border of the United States continues to be important to our national security. In fact, one of the first directives that Secretary Napolitano issued
shortly after being confirmed was to review our strategies, plans and operational capabilities along the northern border. As we have designed programs to afford greater protection against the entry of dangerous goods and people at all our borders,
we have also focused increased attention on specific needs along the Canadian border.
For instance, the Integrated Border Enforcement Team (IBET) program, encompassing 15 regions along the northern border, is a multi-faceted law enforcement
initiative comprised of both Canadian and American partners. The IBET core agencies include CBP, the U.S. Coast Guard (USCG), Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), the Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA), and the Royal Canadian
Mounted Police (RCMP). This longstanding, bi-national partnership has enabled the
participating law enforcement partners to share information and work together
daily with other local, State, and provincial enforcement agencies on issues related
to smuggling, organized crime, the vulnerabilities associated with unguarded roads,
and other criminal activities along the U.S.-Canada border at and between the ports
of entry.
In addition, DHS developed the Border Enforcement Security Task force (BEST)
concept to coordinate the efforts of ICE, CBP, and DHS intelligence personnel working cooperatively with foreign, Federal, State, and local law enforcement agencies
to take a comprehensive approach to disrupt and dismantle criminal organizations.
In early 2008, the first northern border initiated operations in Blaine, Washington
and Buffalo, New York, The BESTs complement and increase the effectiveness of
the IBETs by augmenting their investigative capability.
We have also increased the number of Border Patrol agents deployed to the northern border. Our plans call for 1,845 agents by the end of this year, and 2,212 by
the end of next year. Our Air and Marine organization has deployed significant resources to the northern border, including the recent deployment of an Unmanned
Aerial System (UAS) based in Grand Forks. The DHS Science and Technology Directorate has a number of research projects designed to evaluate technology opportunities tailored to the northern border environment that will advise our plans in
the future. Our Secure Border Initiative (SBI) program began implementing a measured deployment of fixed and mobile sensors in our Buffalo, Detroit, and Swanton
sectors starting this spring.
Travel Facilitation at the Ports of Entry
CBP welcomes nearly 400 million travelers into the United States annually. While
security will always be primary missionwe also continue to strive to make the
process of entering the U.S. more streamlined, user-friendly and understandable.
In past hearings, we have highlighted our initiatives to streamline the processing
of travelers through our land ports of entry and to extend security beyond our physical borders. Those efforts continue and will continue for the future. CBP imple-
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mented the Western Hemisphere Travel Initiative (WHTI) secure document requirements at land and seaports on June 1, 2009, on time and on budget. All the project
pieces were carefully planned and executed in advance-Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) enabled documents, new software technology for the vehicle primary
lanes, and the RFID physical infrastructure at our high volume land ports. CBP
continues to remain practical and flexible in our implementation approach of the
WHTI documentary requirements.
Efficient and effective land border primary operations require a well-integrated
strategy and as well as synchronized and coordinated technologies, processes, and
infrastructure. Building upon the initial success of the WHTI deployment, CBP has
identified other critical process areas to integrate, facilitate, and enhance border security such as our commericalpassenger dual use lanes, pedestrian processing,
and traffic management strategies.
We are continuing to enhance and expand our trusted traveler programs, which
expedite the processing of known, low-risk travelers so that we can better focus our
attention on higher risk, unknown travelers. Global Entry is another program to expedite processing of low-risk travelers-in this case, United States citizens and Lawful Permanent Residents. This program is a pilot that we are testing in select airports. It provides automated kiosks to validate identification by matching travel documents with biometrics.
The Importer Security Filing interim final rule, also known as 10+2 went into
effect earlier this year and has already yielded some promising results. This program will provide CBP timely information about cargo shipments that will enhance
our ability to detect and interdict high risk shipments. Comments on aspects of this
rule were accepted until June 1, 2009, and implementation using informed compliance will continue until January of next year. This initiative will augment CBPs
efforts to review 100 percent of all cargo before it arrives in the United States using
advanced cargo data, automated targeting and risk assessment systems, intelligence, and cutting edge inspection technologies such as large scale X-ray, gamma
ray machines, and radiation detection devices. Shipments determined by CBP to be
high risk are examined either overseas as part of our Container Security Initiative
or upon arrival at a U.S. port. Additionally, over 98% of all arriving maritime containerized cargo is presently scanned for radiation through radiation portal monitors.
The infrastructure and facilities supporting many of our ports of entry are outdated and aging. As mentioned earlier, the commitment within the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act by President Obama, Secretary Napolitano, and Congress
to enhance and improve the ports of entry is an important step to overhauling
CBPs infrastructure. We believe these funds will allow us to accelerate our upgrades, which will in turn increase our quality of service, throughput, and overall
performance at the ports.
Technology is also a key enabler for our operations at the ports of entry. A key
focus is on the area of NonIntrusive Inspection. The ability to non-intrusively
screen and examine cargo and conveyances will allow us to interdict weapons of
mass effect and other contraband more effectively while facilitating the flow of legitimate trade and travel.
Southwest Border Security Initiatives
DHS continues to address cartel violence in Mexico through targeted initiatives
and adept coordination with U.S. Federal, state, local, tribal, and Mexican authorities. In an effort to further facilitate these partnerships, Secretary Napolitano announced the appointment of Alan Bersin as DHS Assistant Secretary for International Affairs and Special Representative for Border Affairs. The recently announced Southwest Border Security Initiative, U.S./Mexican Counter Drug Initiative, and 2009 National Southwest Border Counternarcotics Strategy all rely on this
coordination. Through these initiatives, the Department will increase personnel at
the border, position technology at strategic locations, and provide assistance for
Mexican security needs through resources and partnerships. The recent Merida Initiative is a prime example of this kind of assistance. In the future, DHS will work
closely to help Mexico build capacity for its long term border security needs. Taken
as a whole, these initiatives aim to crack down on the illegal activities that fuel the
drug war in Mexico.
In March, DHS, the Department of Justice (DOJ) and Department of State announced the Presidents Southwest Border Security Initiative, which involves the
deployment of hundreds of new personnel and enhanced intelligence technology to
maximize capabilities and strengthen coordination with other federal law enforcement entities such as DOJ, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explo-
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sives, the DEA, and the FBI, as well as State, local, tribal, and Mexican law enforcement authorities. With regard to CBP, the Presidents initiative:
Initiates 100 percent southbound rail scanningCBP previously did not
screen any of the cargo traveling by rail from the United States into Mexico; it is
now scanning all rail cargo for weapons, ammunition, and currency. Existing nonintrusive inspection equipment is being used to detect contraband in cargo on each
of the eight rail crossings on the southwest border.
Adds Border Patrol Agents at POEsCBP is placing up to 100 Border Patrol
agents at southwestern ports of entry to assist the Office of Field Operations (OFO)
and to bolster outbound inspections from the U.S. into Mexico in order to detect
arms and bulk-cash smuggling.
Adds Mobile Response TeamsThree Mobile Response Teams of 25 CBP officers each are periodically deploying to the southwest border to participate in focused
operations developed to combat arms and bulk cash smuggling.
Augments Search TechnologiesAn additional two low-energy mobile x-ray
units have been moved to the southwest border, in addition to the seven already
present, to help CBP identify anomalies in passenger vehicles.
Engages Canine TeamsA total of twelve teams of cross-trained canines
-trained to identify both firearms and currency -have been deployed to the southwest border.
Adds License Plate ReadersOutbound lanes currently equipped with license
plate readers will receive upgraded license plate reader technology to improve CBPs
ability to identify the vehicles of known or suspected smugglers of cash, weapons,
drugs, or persons. This information is shared with other law enforcement agencies
through EPIC and the OCDETF Fusion Center.
Enhances Operation Stonegarden Grant Funding on the BorderGrant
guidance for the remaining balances in Operation Stonegarden from fiscal year 2006
to fiscal year 2008 will be modified to enhance current State, local, and tribal law
enforcement operations on the southwest border. The new guidelines will expand
the scope of what the funds can be used for, freeing up to $59 million for State,
local, and tribal law enforcement on the border to pay for additional law enforcement personnel, operational overtime expenses, and travel or lodging for deployment
to the southwest border.
Actively Engages State, Local, and Tribal Law EnforcementDHS is aggressively reaching out to law enforcement in border communities, recently conducting a firsthand tour of State and local law enforcement operations along the
southwest border and leading bi-monthly conference calls with chiefs of police and
sheriffs in a classified setting.
We have already begun to feel the impact of this initiative. Between March 12
and June 1, CBP seized over $13.2 million in outbound currency. On May 10, CBP
seized $200,000 in U.S. currency during outbound inspections in Progreso, Texas,
when officers detected anomalies while performing a routine X-ray scan on a pickup
truck. Following a canine inspection, the officers discovered 18 heat-sealed packages
of U.S. currency hidden in a roaster oven inside the vehicle. In addition, on May
2, CBP officers and ICE agents in Laredo, Texas, seized more than $302,000 in
American currency hidden in boxes of detergent during a joint outbound operation.
The funding for these efforts will be from budget realignments and reprogramming from lower priority activities. The Presidents fiscal year 20 10 budget continues to support these efforts by providing funding to combat southbound firearms
and currency smuggling.
Support of U.S./Mexican Counter-Drug Initiatives
A key and growing area of emphasis involves DHSs role in interdicting the illegal
flow of weapons and currency into Mexico. The recent surge in violence in the interior and border cities of Mexico poses a significant threat in Mexico and is a serious
concern of the United States. Secretary Napolitano has tasked all DHS components,
including CBP, to examine how we can reasonably increase our enforcement activities in an effort to identify and interrupt efforts to smuggle weapons and bulk cash
shipments into Mexico.
A large portion of illegal drugs consumed in the United States pass through Mexican territory and territorial seas. Illicit trafficking profits flow back to Mexican drug
trafficking organizations across our common border. The Mexican Governments
ability to confront its drug trafficking industry and its willingness to cooperate with
U.S. efforts directly affect the impact of any southwest border activities.
CBP works with its partners in the Drug Enforcement Administration and the
High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area centers to expand the National License Plate
Reader (LPR) initiative to exploit intelligence on drug traffickers and drug trafficking organizations. The LPR initiative will utilize established locations to gather
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information regarding travel patterns and border nexus on drug traffickers to enable intelligence driven operations and interdictions. While the LPRs are currently
deployed along the southwest border, the program will be expanded to encompass
the northern border and other areas throughout the country in the near future. Its
capabilities can be utilized to assist other law enforcement entities in their investigations of their high value targets, by combining existing DEA and other law enforcement database capabilities with new technology to identify and interdict conveyances being utilized to transport bulk cash, drugs, weapons, and other illegal
contraband.
In a spirit of cooperation, CBP has established positions at the El Paso Intelligence Center (EPIC), the Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force
(OCDETF) Fusion Center, and the DEA Special Operations Division. These initiatives enhance interaction with the Intelligence Community (IC) and law enforcement agencies to more effectively facilitate the collection, analysis, and dissemination of actionable drug-related intelligence. CBP has also established two full-time
positions at the National Gang Intelligence Center (NGIC) and has partnered with
the National Gang Targeting, Enforcement and Coordination Center (Gang TECC).
Additionally, CBPs Office Intelligence and Operations Coordination established a
National Post Seizure Analysis Team (PSAT) at the National Targeting CenterCargo, and is in the process of establishing Intelligence Operations Coordination
Centers (IOCC) with the first one under construction in Tucson, Arizona. The
IOCCs will make CBP a more fully integrated, intelligence driven organization by
linking intelligence efforts and products to operations and interdictions.
CBP views the border as a continuum of activities with the physical border being
the last line of defense, not the first. As such, effectively securing the border requires attention to processes that begin far outside U.S. borders, occur at the border, and continue to all interior regions of the United States. Consequently, CBPs
strategies address the threats and challenges along the entire continuum. For this
reason, CBP takes part in various initiatives, including Operation Panama Express,
which relies on strategic partnerships.
Operation Panama Express is an OCDETF initiative, executed through OCDETF
Co-located Strike Forces, in which CBP participates with the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), U.S. Immigration and
Customs Enforcement, Internal Revenue ServiceCriminal Investigations Division,
the U.S. Coast Guard, and multiple State and local law enforcement agencies in a
multi-agency international drug flow investigation that combines detection and
monitoring, investigative, and intelligence resources to provide actionable intelligence to Joint Interagency Task ForceSouth (JIATFS) operations to interdict the
flow of cocaine from northern South America to the United States. JIATFS interdiction operations in the transit zone, supported by CBP P3 Airborne Early Warning, CBP P3 Tracker aircraft, and Coast Guard HC130, along with U.S. Coast
Guard surface vessels, interdict large, sometimes multi-ton, shipments before they
can be split into smaller loads for movement across the southwest border over multiple routes and distributed to U.S. cities, towns, and small communities. Interdicting these large loads in the Transit Zone supports the Southwest Border and
Merida Initiatives by preventing illicit drugs from entering the distribution networks through Central America and Mexico. This deprives the violent Drug Trafficking Organizations of the product and subsequent cash flow that supports their
operations.
CBP is also responsible for detecting and preventing unauthorized incursions into
the United States. Toward this end, CBP continues to work with the Mexican Government in the development of increased law enforcement surveillance and interdiction capabilities. Detection of U.S./Mexican border air intrusions is essential to effective interdiction operations along our borders with Mexico. The primary means of
detection is a large radar network, monitored at the Air and Marine Operations
Center (AMOC) in Riverside, California. Information is fed to the AMOC through
a network of airborne early warning, aerostat, Federal Aviation Administration
(FAA), and ground based radar systems. Both CBP and Mexican Law Enforcement
Personnel stationed at the AMOC detect aircraft short landingsand border penetrations and coordinate CBP and Mexican interdiction assets to intercept, track, and
apprehend smugglers as they transverse the U.S./Mexico border.
The Government of Mexico maintains a strong commitment to interdiction. CBP
will continue to assist the Government of Mexico in its counter-drug effort, including
Command, Control, Communications, and Information support.
Intelligence and Operational Coordination
CBP continues to evolve into a more integrated, intelligence driven organization
and partner in the DHS Intelligence Enterprise. We are in the process of estab-
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lishing a more robust field organization by means of several programs. For example,
the CBP Office Intelligence and Operations Coordination is in the process of developing capabilities which will integrate CBP intelligence and operational elements
for more effective command and control, mission deployment, and allocation of resources.
Intelligence gathering and predictive analysis require new collection and processing capabilities. CBP is developing the Analytical Framework for Intelligence
(AFI), a set of data processing tools that will improve the effectiveness of CBP and
other DHS analysts in detecting, locating, and analyzing terrorist networks, drug
trafficking networks, and similar threats. CBP has instituted training for Border
Patrol Agents and CBP Officers to better recognize indications of human trafficking,
hosted a Human Trafficking Symposium in 2008, and has developed a Human Trafficking Public Awareness Campaign which includes the use of informational posters
located in public areas of U.S. ports-of-entry and Human Trafficking Information
Cards that are designed to raise the awareness of the both the traveling public and
potential victims to the crime of human trafficking These intelligence and operational coordination initiatives complement the Secure Border Initiatives (SBI)
technology programs and will be shared with other agencies, includingbut not limited tothe Drug Enforcement Administration.
Secure Border Initiative (SBI)
The Secure Border Initiative (SBI), as currently configured, contributes to two of
the three legs of our border security stool.
As I previously mentioned, the Border Patrol identified 661 miles along the southwest border where persistent impedance was a necessary condition for effective control. In those areas, the only cost-effective options to provide persistent impedance
are physical infrastructure or personnel. Within the miles identified by the Border
Patrol, our analysis shows that technology is not an adequate substitute. Technology
might well allow us to watch illicit border crossers blend into the population or travel to a route of egressbut it does not delay or impede the crossers long enough
to enable an effective response.
Going forward, the BSFIT appropriation, which is managed by the SBI office, will
continue to dedicate funding to additional tactical infrastructure programs. Much of
the focus, however, will be on high priority infrastructure projects other than
fencefor example, roads and lighting. With the fence projects largely complete, we
will be increasing our emphasis on technology within the SBI programSBInet.
Our recent activity has been focused on development of the SBInet Block 1 system, which we are deploying this year to two locations in Arizona known as Tucson
1 and Ajo 1, totaling about 53 miles of border. After completing System Qualification Test (SQT) last December, while CBP had confidence in the overall system design, there were some open issues that needed to be resolved prior to giving the go
ahead to move forward with these initial operational deployments. The SBInet team
worked with Boeing to resolve the issues from SQT and complete the appropriate
analysis in order to provide adequate confidence in the system design. This analysis
suggested that, to a reasonable level of engineering confidence, the system meets
its design requirements. Further confirmation will require actual deployment and
checkout of the system in the real operational environment -an opportunity that will
be provided with the deployment of the system to Tucson- which began on May 4.
The deployments of Tucson-1 and Ajo-1 will lead to a more formal operational test
and assessment by the Border Patrol to determine how well the system meets the
agents needs. The results of the engineering tests and the Border Patrols operational testing will then advise future changes and enhancements to the system, as
well as a decision to deploy the system to additional locations.
FY2010 Budget
The Department of Homeland Securitys Budget will strengthen current efforts
that are vital to the nations security, bolster DHS ability to respond to emerging
and evolving threats, and allow DHS to embrace new responsibilities in order to secure the nation. This budget puts forward critical investments in the protection of
the American people. With these priorities in place, the budget expands activities
that secure our nations borders.
A responsible budgeting process not only identifies funding needs, but also ways
to save taxpayer dollars. To this end, Secretary Napolitano recently launched an Efficiency Review initiative. This program is committed to improve efficiency and
streamline decision making through a series of agency wide initiatives ranging from
eliminating non-mission critical travel to acquiring enterprise licenses for commonly
used software, which are collectively expected to lead to millions of dollars in cost
avoidance across the department.
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CBPs fiscal year 2010 budget reflects $10 billion in appropriated resources and
$1.4 billion in funding acquired through user fees, for a total of $11.4 billion. The
direct appropriated request for fiscal year 2010 represents an increase of $230 million, or 2.3% over fiscal year 2009. Highlights of fiscal year 2010 major initiatives
are provided below:
Data Center Migrations...............$38.6M (0 FTE)
Resources are requested to provide a standardized information technology (IT) resource acquisitions across DHS Components, and streamline maintenance and support contracts, allowing for less complex vendor support and expediting response
times in the event of an emergency. Benefits derived from consolidation are enhanced DHS IT security posture, improved information sharing with stakeholders,
and increased operational efficiencies over time.
Combating Southbound Firearms and Currency Smuggling .......$26.1M (63
FTE)
Resources are requested to provide CBP with an enhanced capability to combat
southbound firearms and currency smugglers through additional personnel at and
between the ports of entry and along the southern border, as well as to continue
to expand and maintain the Licensed Plate Reader (LPR) program. The combating
firearms initiative will add 44 Border Patrol agents, 65 CBP officers and (CBPOs)
16 support staff to expand capacity to effectively combat firearms and currency
smuggling. The LPR program reads license plates as vehicles pass through the ports
of entry and automatically queries the TECS database for law enforcement information. This information is then passed to the officers. Placement of LPR along the
southern border will be based upon current and developing intelligence.
Law Enforcement Enhanced Retirement.........$25.0M (0 FTE)
Public Law 1 1016 1 established special retirement provisions for CBP officers,
similar to the retirement coverage for law enforcement officers and firefighters. The
enhanced retirement package became effective on July 6,2008, covering 19,865 employees. Funding was included in the fiscal year 2008 and fiscal year 2009 appropriations for this purpose. An additional $25 million is requested in fiscal year 2010
as the final increment to fully fund the new retirement coverage. CBP officers face
the same risk and challenges as law enforcement personnel in other organizations
as they are accountable for ensuring the security of our nation.
Western Hemisphere Travel Initiative (WHTI)......$20.9M (0 FTE)
Resources are requested to continue maintaining and operating the WHTI program that supports Departmental efforts to facilitate the efficient movement of people at the land border ports. WHTI provides a tool to conduct the necessary document authentication at the time of crossing and it also accelerates the verification
process mandated by law to the extent possible with Radio Frequency Identification
(RFID) Technology and communications technology.
Northern Border Technology........$20.00M (0 FTE)
Resources are requested to assist CBP in providing situational awareness along
the northern border. Funding will also support the design, deployment, and integration of surveillance, sensing platforms, detection technologies and tactical infrastructure requirements. This technology will serve as a force multiplier and increase the
probability of successful detection. The systems capability will provide increased detection and a higher probability of successful detection.
Air and Marine (A&M) Personnel..........................$19.1M (72 FTE)
Resources are requested to hire 68 pilots, 20 marine, and 56 support personnel.
These positions are necessary for A&M to achieve maximum compliance with strategic goals and objectives and to support Border Patrol agents on the ground. During fiscal year 2010, A&M plans to continue the expansion of its capabilities across
the northern and coastal border and place heavy emphasis on the maritime requirements along the southeast/Carribbean borders.
Import Safety and Trade Enforcement...................$9.3M (52 FTE)
Resources are requested to hire 12 scientists, 1 paralegal, 34 international trade
specialists, 32 auditors, 10 attorneys, 3 import specialists and 1 1 support personnel
to implement the Action Plan on Import Safety developed in response to Executive
Order 13439. The increase of personnel will offer an optimal mix of trade activities
and resources that allow CBP to meet the growing demand in trade volume, meet
CBPs mission of enforcing trade laws and collecting revenue, achieve executive
management goals and objectives for the trade mission, align activities with the appropriate skill levels, leverage efficient gains from technology process improvements,
and combat risks inherent in priority trade areas.
Cyber Security............$5.0M (0 FTE)
Resources are requested to provide continuous Top Compartmented Information
and collateral classified processing capabilities within a Focused Operationsbranch
that will provide tactical cyber intelligence of ongoing threats to CBP and DHS
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while also providing skilled forensics experts capable of staffing a DHS/CBP Digital
Media Analysis lab to identify and attribute cyber attacks.
Global
Advanced
Passenger
Information
(API)/Name
Record
(PNR).....$3.0M (0 FTE)
Resources are requested to continue the program in two key security partner
countries (including continuing the program for a country previously identified in
fiscal year 2008), and to implement the program in one additional key country, resulting in the deployment of three countries by the end of fiscal year 2010. Funding
will also support start up costs, acquisition of hardware and software, recurring information technology costs, training and travel expenses.
Analyze and Employ Information and Intelligence................$2.8M (11 FTE)
Resources are requested to hire a total of 20 CBP officers and two support positions. The 20 CBP officers would be evenly split between the passenger and cargo
facilities of the National Targeting Center providing additional operational and analytical support, which is needed in both environments. The increased staffing levels
will also ensure that NTC continues to provide CBP personnel with immediate responses to targeting and research inquiries.
Conclusion
Madame Chairwoman and members of the Subcommittee, your continued support
of CBP has led to many positive outcomes in border security and improvements in
travel and trade facilitation. The results of your recent investments to improve
CBPs aging infrastructure will soon be evident. The resources we put at our border,
whether it is people, technology, or tactical infrastructure, enhance our ability to address hazards and threats at our Nations borders.
We believe the next logical investment is in the workforce itself. A very important
aspect to our staffing is being sure that our officers and agents have the right training, pay, and benefits commensurate with their complex and often dangerous work.
Over the next year, we will be looking closely at ways to ensure we have the ability
to recruit, retain, and compensate our workforce.
Thank you for the opportunity to describe our plans for border security and to
highlight some of our progress to date. With President Fiscal Year 2010 Budget Request for the Department of Homeland Security and your continued support of DHS
and CBP, I am confident that we will continue to make tremendous strides in increasing control of our borders.
I look forward to your questions.
Ms. SANCHEZ. Thank you, Commissioner, now we will hear from

our commandant for 5 minutes or less.
Commandant Allen?
STATEMENT OF ADMIRAL THAD W. ALLEN, COMMANDANT, U.S.
COAST GUARD, DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY
Admiral ALLEN. Madam Chairwoman Sanchez and ranking member Souder, thank you very much for having us here today. And,
maam, I think you are right. I think this is a historical hearing
today with the three of us here. And I want to congratulate you
and the ranking member on your leadership for bringing this together.
Some of the oversight issues in Congress are very complicated
right now, but I think this is a very important hearing. And again,
I thank you very much.
When we talk about Coast Guard operations a lot of folks tend
to think of the coast, but we are much broader in scope and mission than that both geographically and what we do with our statutory authorities.
And as we speak here this morning, we have Coast Guard personnel deployed in the Persian Gulf protecting oil platforms off of
Iraq. The Coast Guard Cutter Boutwell which is transiting through
the Mediterranean right now just finished a historic port call in
Turbruq, Libya, the first time a U.S. ship had been in there in 40
years working with U.S. African command and General Kip Ward.
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We have challenges in the Arctic with increased open water up
there right now and extensive counter drug operations in the Caribbean and in the eastern Pacific, also South America in the transit
zone where we work very closely with our CBP partners and DOD.
We talk a lot about the southwest border and the issues related
to drug movement down there. I would tell you a very critical
southern border is the southern border of Mexico with Guatemala
and Central America, where the majority of the cocaine enters the
United States first.
It is the Central AmericanMexican corridor. We work very
closely as a team on that challenge and moving forward, work very
close with the combatant commanders. We are very much involved
right now in issues related to piracy off the Horn of Africa and U.S.
flagships that are operating there. I would be glad to discuss that
moving forward as well.
Madam Chairwoman, as you noted in your opening remarks the
number one job right now in the Coast Guard is to reposition ourselves in the 21st century to be a more flexible, agile organization.
And we are conducting probably the largest modernization since
the modern Coast Guard was formed in 1915, looking at anything
from our acquisition organization, and some of the issues that were
identified several years ago with our deep water program, to logistic support and basically reinventing the Coast Guard and changing our business practices to make us more effective and also to integrate into Homeland Security.
The demand for our services has never been greater. In addition
to what is normally thought of as Coast Guard classic missions
there is a vast expansion of maritime transportation, especially the
energy realm with oil and off-shore gas explorations, movement of
liquefied natural gas, which presents both safety and security
issues for the homeland.
I talked about more open water in the arctic, we are about ready
to issue regulations that will bring the towing vessel industry
under an inspection regime that will place more demands on us as
well as the safety of the commercial fishing vessel industry.
Taken collectively that is a very broad set of mandates, and in
addition to that we will continue to support our combatant commanders overseas. The current budget that is before the Congress
right now for 2010 totals $9.96 billion.
The increment over the prior year enacted level is $284 million.
It is slightly more than current services, keeps us at pace for capital replenishment that we vastly need in the Coast Guard to replace our aging assets and some modest program enhancements.
On the recapitalization side we are very much concerned about
the aging high endurance cutter fleet that we have right now and
their ability to carry out their mission. We want to put our fourth
national security cutter under contract with this budget.
We want to continue to build out our new patrol boats and move
response boats out to the field as fast as we can. In enhancing safety, security and stewardship we have some modest additions in the
budget this year that will help us meet some of the issues with
maritime transportation systems growth.
We are looking to put more marine inspectors out there to increase our safety and inspection capability, and we are also work-
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ing very hard to increase our biometrics at sea capability. This is
something that we have worked over the last 3 or 4 years and has
resulted in a significant downward trend in illegal migration from
the Dominican Republic and Puerto Rico.
We are now deploying that to both waters off Haiti and Cuba.
Also, looking to improve our command and control with $1.1 million that will go into the Charleston Harbor Operations Center,
which is one of our integrated operations centers which we are trying to deal with around the country.
In closing we have talked about gaining control of the southwest
border, if you look at the maritime borders of the United States including the Great Lakes, Alaska and the rivers and the other navigable waterways we have to defend we are looking at 95,000 miles.
I wouldnt sit here this morning and even pretend to tell you that
is under control.
What constitutes an adequate maritime security regime in this
country moving forward, I think, will be the subject of an ongoing
discussion, but it will only be met through a one DHS posture moving forward.
And again, I want to congratulate my fellow leaders who are sitting here at the table with me today and their willingness to work
with us on these very difficult problems as we move forward. And
I look forward to answering your questions this morning. Thank
you.
[The statement of Admiral Allen follows:]
PREPARED STATEMENT
OF
ADM. THAD W. ALLEN, COMMANDANT
INTRODUCTION
Good afternoon Madame Chairwoman and distinguished members of the Committee. Thank you for the enduring support you have shown to the men and women
of the United States Coast Guard.
Over the past year, Coast Guard men and women -active duty, reserve, civilian
and auxiliarists alikecontinued a consistent trend of delivering premier service to
the public. They performed superbly in the heartland, in our ports, and while deployed at sea and around the globe to safeguard Americas maritime interests. They
saved over four thousand lives; worked closely with Department of Homeland Security (DHS) partners to respond to last summers damaging floods in Missouri and
North Dakota; conducted 680 domestic icebreaking operations to facilitate the movement of more than $2 billion in commerce; operated with other federal partners at
sea and in the air to prevent nearly 400 thousand pounds of cocaine from reaching
Americas borders or streets; and continued to serve on the front lines to support
Operations Iraqi and Enduring Freedom.
When I became Commandant in 2006, one of my primary objectives was to evolve
the Coast Guard into a change-centric organization through a modernized command,
control and logistics support structure, an optimized workforce and improved business practices. Building upon the Coast Guards culture and bias for action, we have
made significant strides toward those goals. As we have carried out our modernization efforts, the dedication, expertise and professionalism of your Coast Guard has
been a constant. The impacts of the global economic crisis, climate change, activity
in the polar regions, persistent conflict, piracy, drug and human smuggling, and the
increasing expansion and complexity of the Marine Transportation System (MTS)
call not only for a modernized Coast Guard, but for authorities and capabilities
needed to carry out all of our safety, security and stewardship missions in a rapidly
changing operating environment.
Coast Guard authorities must keep pace with evolving threats. The recent prosecution of the first self-propelled semi-submersible (SPSS) operator under the Drug
Trafficking Vessel Interdiction Act of 2008 is an important example.
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Self-propelled smi-submersible
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This law provides our men and women with the tool necessary to deliver consequences to drug traffickers who would otherwise scuttle their vessels, destroying
any evidence that may have been captured, and allowing them to return to their
country of origin as a search and rescue victim. I applaud Congress for their responsiveness to this threat and appreciate the close cooperation that led to the creation
of this vital legislation.
I also appreciate Congress continuing efforts to coordinate closely with the Coast
Guard to support our progress in modernizing our acquisitions program. I look forward to working with the Committee on this effort and several other modernization,
management and operational issues as we move together to achieve our shared
goals of a stronger, more capable and effective Coast Guard across all of our safety,
security and stewardship missions.
Roles and Missions
The U.S. Coast Guard is one of the five Armed Services of the United States and
the only military organization within the Department of Homeland Security (DHS).
Unique among the Armed Services, the Coast Guard is also a law enforcement and
regulatory agency with broad domestic authorities. The Coast Guard delivers innovative solutions and services across a spectrum of authorities, capabilities, competencies, capacities, and partnerships (ACCCP). Today, as in the past, the Coast
Guard continues to leverage its multi-mission structure, guardian ethos and established partnerships to protect the American public and global marine transportation
system.
27
Modernization
The Coast Guards modernization efforts represent our commitment to improving
the effectiveness and efficiency of not only our mission execution, but also our stewardship of the publics trust and resources as well. The establishment of the Surface
and Aviation Forces Logistics Centers introduced immediate improvements to our
logistics system through the use of a proven, bi-level maintenance model that minimizes both costs and operational down time. Moreover, our Headquarters policy and
management functions were streamlined as well with the establishment of the Deputy Commandant for Operations and Deputy Commandant for Mission Support.
These organizations ensure our strategies, policies and human, information technology and capital resource management efforts focus on long-term planning, goals
and objectives without sacrificing the organizational agility necessary to address
emerging and evolving operational threats and national priorities.
Functional alignment and agility at all levels within our organizational structure
are critical to our modernization effort. With the appropriate authorities, we will be
able to continue to this effort with the stand up of the Operations Command
(OPCOM) and the Force Readiness Command (FORCECOM).
Although the current Area Command have served us well, they creat a bifurcated
command, control and support structure that no longer meets our operational coordination and readiness requirements. Increasingly complex transnational and regional threats demand a centralized command and control structure with the ability
to allocate, coordinate and surge assets regionally and globally both independently
and in cooperation with our DHS, Department of Defense and international partners. Similarly, we must be able to sustain our aging cutters, boats and aircraft,
and train and equip our workforce to operate at maximum efficiency and effectiveness using standardized Coast Guard-wide procedures and processes. OPCOM and
FORCECOM will give us the ability to meet these requirements and deliver unsurpassed service to the American people. The modernized command and control structure will significantly improve our ability to support and execute missions. I ask for
your support to provide the Coast Guard with authority to carry out the remainder
of our modernization efforts, which is known as the Admiral and Vice Admiral provision.
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Marine Safety
In 2007, I introduced the Coast Guards Marine Safety Improvement Plan, which
was followed shortly thereafter by the Marine Safety Performance Plan. Expanding
the Coast Guards capacity and continuing to develop the expertise of our marine
safety workforce is an-essential component of my plans to ensure the Coast Guard
remains strong and ready to serve the nation and around the world. I appreciate
Congress support in the effort, but there remains a great deal of work to continue
to achieve our shared goals in the Marine Safety program.
28
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As I have stated before, there are still too many lives lost at sea, too many people
injured, and too much property and environmental damage because of avoidable accidents in our nations maritime industries. Commercial fishing continues to be one
of the most dangerous occupations in the world, yet the Coast Guard has no mechanism to require uninspected fishing vessels to carry minimum safety equipment or
meet minimum vessel safety standards. Maintaining such standards, in addition to
expanded licensing requirements for towing vessels, would have a positive impact
on our ability to protect lives and property in these vital industries.
The safety of recreational boaters and sport fishers is also an important component of the Coast Guards efforts, in partnership with State and local authorities,
to reduce the number of deaths and injuries in our nations waterways. Reauthorization of the Sport Fish Restoration and Boating Trust Fund (SFRBTF) supports State
boating safety and education and law enforcement.
Maritime Security
As the violence by Mexican drug cartels increases along our Southwest border, it
has become abundantly clear more must be done to stop of the flow of drugs into
Mexico and across our borders. The Coast Guard plays a vital role in reducing the
flow of cocaine trafficked through Mexico and the rest of Latin America from South
America with record cocaine removals in 2007 and 2008. By the end of 2009, it is
likely the Coast Guard, in cooperation with our partners in support of Joint Interagency Task ForceSouth, will have stopped over one million pounds of cocaine
from reaching the United States over the last three years. Our modernization efforts
and sustained recapitalization of our aging cutters and aircraft is essential if we are
going to address this persistent threat to our Nation.
Similarly, alien migrant smuggling presents a persistent threat to the security of
our Nation. Human smugglers are following the lead of Drug Trafficking Organizations (DTO) and are using more aggressive and dangerous tactics including the use
of go-fast vessels to evade Coast Guard interdiction assets. As efforts continue to
increase security at the land border, I am concerned smugglers will shift to maritime vectors, where the unique operating environment and current legal constraints
make consequence delivery more difficult. I am grateful for Congress ongoing consideration of the Maritime Alien Smuggling Law Enforcement Act (MASLEA) to address the shortfalls in current statute and provide the U.S. Government with appropriate law enforcement and prosecutorial tools that are uniquely tailored to the
maritime environment in which this crime occurs.
As we pursue strategies, tactics and authorities to secure our borders from entry
of dangerous materials and people, we must also consider the security of legitimate
commerce in the maritime domain. This is particularly important when considering
the health and safety risks vessels carrying Certain Dangerous Cargoes (CDCs)
such as Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG), chlorine, anhydrous ammonia and various petroleum products present in our ports, waterways and adjacent population centers.
The expansion of LNG facilities and corresponding increase in waterborne LNG
shipments to meet our nations energy demands is well known. However, LNG is
just one of many CDCs transported through the MTS that must be considered in
a national dialogue on cargo and energy infrastructure security.
29
LNG Tanker security zone enforced by Coast Guard small boat.

In their maritime security plans, LNG, high capacity passenger vessels and critical maritime infrastructure must pay particular attention to vulnerabilites to small
vessel attacks. Since small vessels are not required to participate in a tracking or
reporting regime as larger, commercial vessels, they can operate virtually without
restriction in our ports and waterways. In 2008, DHS promulgated the Small Vessel
Security Strategy. The Coast Guard was an integral part of the development of this
strategy in partnership with the Department and other DHS components including
Customs and Border Protection. The Coast Guard is currently working with our
DHS partners to develop an implementation plan.
Small boats are also the conveyance of choice for pirates to use in assaulting commercial vessels. Piracy presents an international maritime security challenge. Similar to the shared security responsibilities associated with Especially Hazardous
Cargo vessels, the security of commercial vessels against piratical acts requires a
coordinated strategy across the Federal government, industry and the international
community. Although the U.S. Government has been successful negotiating an arrangement with the Government of Kenya to begin prosecuting Somali pirates captured in the Horn of Africa, more international engagement and coordination on this
issue is required.
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Stewardship
Whether enforcing fisheries in the Arctic or responding to hazardous materials
spills in the Gulf of Mexico in the aftermath of a hurricane, I am committed to ensuring the Coast Guard maintains the capability to protect our environment and our
natural resources. The Coast Guards authorities under our stewardship missions
are extensive. We are currently developing new Ballast Water Discharge and Non
Tank Vessel Response Plan regulations to decrease the introduction of invasive species in U.S. internal waters and ensure industry has sufficient response capability
to minimize the impact of hazardous materials spills.
30
The Coast Guard routinely investigates allegations of wrongdoing that turn on the
availability of a foreign seafarer witness who possesses direct knowledge of how
damage to the environment, cargo, and vessel, as well as loss of life, occurred. The
ship ownerwho is aware of the importance of foreign seafarer witnesses to an investigation, as well as his practical ability to control the continued availability of
the witnesses in the United Stateswill threaten to abandon the crew to protect
his interests in a criminal or administrative investigation. Without the ability to
protect and temporarily support these crewmembers in the case of abandonment,
the Coast Guards ability to investigate alleged criminal or illegal activity is severely
impaired. In addition, seafarers may be abandoned in the United States for purely
economic reasons. There is currently no authority nor resources for the Coast Guard
to assist these seafarers, and no incentive for other nations to assist American seafarers in a similar situation.
CONCLUSION
As a maritime Nation and leader in the global maritime environment, our security, resilience, and economic prosperity are intrinsically linked to the oceans. Safety
and freedom of transit on the high seas are essential to our well-being, yet are very
fragile. Threats to border security, growth in the global marine transportation system, expanded use of the Arctic, and burgeoning coastal development are challenging conventional paradigms. The Coast Guard is ideally-suited to help the Nation address these and other challenges through its comprehensive, complementary
authorities, flexible and adaptive operational capabilities, and centuries of experience
protecting Americas maritime security interests. Full support for the Presidents fiscal year 2010 budget request is an important step forward. Our ability to optimize
our broad spectrum of authorities, capabilities and partnerships remains critical to
effectively allocating resources across the Coast Guards broad mission portfolio.
As our Nation faces the challenges of a global economy, the environmental impacts of climate change, piracy, and the long-term struggle against radical extremism; the Coast Guard must be equipped to conduct preparedness and response operations across a broad spectrum of potential risks, threats and hazards. The men
and women of the Coast Guard with courage, sacrifice and dignity and are eager
and prepared to answer the Nations call now and into the future.
Thank you for the opportunity to testify before you today. I am pleased to answer
your questions.
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Ms. SANCHEZ. Thank you so much, Admiral. With now having

heard the testimony I want to thank you for that. I will remind
each member that he or she will have 5 minutes to question the
witnesses, and I will now recognize myself for 5 minutes.
Assistant Secretary Morton, again, welcome to your new job. We
look forward to working with you. Back in March the full committee had a hearing on the 287(g) program and recommendations
were made by a Government Accountability Office report. Some of
31
those recommendations were improving ICE supervision of participating communities and documenting program objectives.
What is the status of improving the 287(g) program through the
recommendations from the GAO report? And are there any specific
budget requests that will carry out those recommendations?
Mr. MORTON. Here is the latest on 287(g). We are in the process
of revising our memorandum of agreement that will govern all of
the 287(g) agreements that we have.
That revision is directly related to the criticisms that were in the
GAO report, and although we are not quite finished, I think the
final MOA will address each and every one of the concerns, namely
the concerns about oversight, the lack of performance standards,
the lack of an appropriate level of supervision by ICE and a lack
of clear priorities within the agreements. So I expect that shortly.
Secondly, the budget request itself that is now before the Congress includes money within the office that is responsible for the
oversight and execution of the program, and there are several
pieces to it.
There is a component of oversight. There is additionally monies
for independent OPR inspections and then a request for officers
and employees to permanently staff the office so that we can have
sort of a sustained good management of the program.
So in short, I am fairly confident that we are turning an important page on the program. It is an important statutory authority
that Congress has provided for, and my objective is to see that it
is implemented in a way that meets the objective of our state and
local partners, but at the same time reflects the priorities of the
federal governmentfocuses the agreements on, you know, the appropriate priorities within the immigration enforcement arena.
Ms. SANCHEZ. Do you know about how many local agencies now
use this program, and does this infrastructure that you are putting
in to oversee this program, does it include increasing the number
of jurisdictions where 287 might apply? Or is this infrastructure
more to get under control what we already have in agreements?
Mr. MORTON. We have 66 agreements right now. There are a
number of pending agreements that we are waiting on the revision
of the MOA to move forward on. We have a lot of additional requests for authority and some of those requests I anticipate will be
granted.
The principal focus of the budget request is to solidify the management of the program and to provide for an appropriate level of
oversight and to address some of the concerns in the GAO report.
But I do anticipate that additional counties and cities will come
to us and ask for authority, and I do anticipate that some of those
in the future under the new regime will be approved, in addition
to the ones that we already have, 66.
Ms. SANCHEZ. Thank you. Assistant Secretary, an Associated
Press Article earlier this year stated that more than half of the
detainees held by ICE had no previous criminal record. Given that
statistic I believe that ICE should explore alternatives to detention
for people who dont pose a threat to our communities, possibly including non-criminal elderly people for example, asylum seekers.
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I think the majority of the people that we are holding in detention are those that we have a fear will flee before we finish the paperwork and decisions on them.
Could you tell us what the field guidance is, too, for screening
vulnerable populations for possible alternatives to detention? What
are you doing about that, and what is your plan to expand and explore the different community-based alternatives for detention?
Mr. MORTON. I mentioned in my opening statement the strengthening and improvement of the detention system is a single priority
for me, and it is something that I want to spend a lot of time on.
Alternatives to detention are a critical piece of that. We have important statutory responsibilities to detain and remove people who
pose a serious risk of flight or a danger to the community. But just
as in the federal criminal system there are various ways to go
about that, and sometimes detention is not necessary in some lesser form, that is, an alternative to detention isnt appropriate.
The key is to come up with alternatives to detention that work.
I dont want to spend the precious dollars that the taxpayer provides us on alternatives that dont achieve the basic aims that Congress has provided.
That said, I think alternatives to detention are a very promising
alternative, and they are something that we are exploring right
now. I am going to put a lot of time into it, and I think you will
see that we are going to do more of that and still find that we can
enforce the law, particularly for the vulnerable populations that
you mentioned.
Ms. SANCHEZ. Thank you, Mr. Secretary. I will now recognize the
ranking member of the subcommittee, the gentleman from Indiana
for questions.
Mr. SOUDER. Thank you. Before getting to the main part of my
questions, and it would be easy to use more than 5 minutes on
each category, I wanted to make a couple of brief requests and
comments.
One is Congressman Pascrell and I had had some discussions in
a previous hearing about how we cooperate with our allies on
somewhether it be the BEST teams or some air resources. I think
it would be good if we could have, most likely, a classified briefing
because some of that is not necessarily what we would want in an
open hearing, and I am sure
Ms. SANCHEZ. Expand on that a little bit? Is that with our counterparts from other nations?
Mr. SOUDER. No, no, no.
Ms. SANCHEZ. Or is that within the agency?
Mr. SOUDER. How our area resources are used, how some of the
intelligence and cooperation of law enforcement.
Ms. SANCHEZ. I think we have had one briefing already a little
bit on that. But we will do it again.
Mr. SOUDER. Yes. Second thing is that I have also asked the Ambassador from Mexico, and have not had this back, if we are going
to have a serious arms trafficking discussion. And this is probably
Mr. Morton as well as Mr. Ahern, that the 90 percent figure we are
hearing from the U.S.anybody who is tracking this understands
that it is only the 3 percent of the guns that have a marking on
it, and since we are the only country that asks for a marking, of
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course, those would be from the United States. The question is
where are the other 97 percent coming from?
And Mexico is also trying to figure this out when we were down
in Mexico, but we need to be very cautious about making assumptions about the extent of the problem. It is likely that many are
coming from the United States, but we need that statistic or there
is going to start to be some balking in Congress about the heightened focus on this because the data is not there right now.
The third thing is I noticed in Mr. Aherns testimony that you
mentioned a number of agencies and this proliferation and stove
piping and how do we get cooperation. You didnt mention HIDTAs
and HIDTAs are one of the most important parts because that is
what local law enforcement supports the most.
Not OCEDEF or others, because they dont have votes at the
same level. They would like all the different agencies, but was that
an omission or are you back tracking? We have had some problems
with some agencies pulling out of the HIDTAs.
Mr. AHERN. No it was not an omission. Certainly we could give
you the details of how many agencies involve
Mr. SOUDER. Okay. Thank you. Now I would like to follow up
with you a little bit in my remaining time on the border. That first
off we have moved from operational to effective control. In your
budget you state just control. First let me get the mileage sorted
out. In your testimony it was 697, a total of 895, the budget says
815?
And it also says not additional mileage in 2010? Does that mean
what the budget says, the 85 miles isnt the biggest concern, the
question is that are we stopping at either 812 or 895? Can you hit
your
Mr. AHERN. How about that?
Mr. SOUDER. Yes.
Mr. AHERN. Certainly as far as we are not stopping, a lot of this
certainly is funding dependent as well. We are taking a look at the
miles of fence. We currently have 627 miles of fence. We will have
the remaining 34 miles to actually get to the point of 661 within
the coming months.
We will get those construction projects done. We will then assess,
as far as the additional areas that we need to continue to build,
those miles should be very few because we did the gap analysis initially, and we have not seen any changes in the patterns that could
have been created by putting that tactical infrastructure in place.
So that continues to be a key part of the strategy. Putting the
border patrol agents out there, one of the key things that we have
talked about which is why you wouldnt see such a significant resource request for this year.
This is needed, stabilization for our workforce. We now have
close to 46 percent of our workforce in the border patrol with less
than 3 years of experience. We need to stabilize that going forward
to make sure that we continue to build their capability into gaining
and maintaining control.
And as was noted early on was the SBI deployment. Certainly
we have wanted from the beginning to make sure that we deploy
an effective technology and be good stewards of the taxpayers dol-
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lars so we have not just certified deployment until we were certain
it was going to work more effectively.
We just did begin in the last 2 weeks with the beginning of the
construction and deployment in the Tucson1 area, and we will actually then begin in August of this year to get Aho1, combining
those two locations that will give us 53 miles as we go forward.
After we then make those deployments we need to assess how effective that technology is going forward because this is going to be
a performance assessment. What we need to do after it is deployed
we then need to determine its cost effectiveness.
Mr. SOUDER. Let me ask you a question then. Are you counting
those miles as effective control before you have measured whether
they are effective control?
Mr. AHERN. I do not believe we have added those in at this point,
but I can give you a more exact answer.
Mr. SOUDER. And when you say effective operational control,
does that mean, since you are saying you have 697 miles of a 2,000
mile southern border and approximately 100 miles of a 4,000
northern border, are you saying you dont have effective control
then of 1,300 miles of the southern border and of 3,900 miles of the
northern border? What is effective control and not effective control,
what is the difference?
Mr. AHERN. Right. And we will be able to give you the precise
definitions we have used on each one of those categories to be able
to identify, detect, classify and be able to bring to a law enforcement resolution
Mr. SOUDER. It is pretty tough to convince members to pass an
immigration bill when you say, in public testimony, that you have
control of 700 of 2,000 miles. That is a rather gaping hole.
Mr. AHERN. Well that certainly is one conclusion that could be
drawn. That is not necessarily the one that we would draw because
we do have resources and technology and other capabilities in other
areas along those borders as well.
We have, again, had some
Mr. SOUDER. Right, in other words you have a sight strategy
looking towards the roads and so on.
Mr. AHERN. Right.
Mr. SOUDER. And that is why the definition of effective control
becomes very important here because in effect, most people would
like 2,000 miles of effective control on a border. Is that less than
effective, partially effective?
How does the department distinguish becomes a critical matter
if we are ever going to have any real reform because American citizens want to know that the border is controlled and we arentif
we, for example resolve status domestically that we dont have another millions of people coming up.
That is the immigration side for narcotics and terrorism. We
want 100 percent effective control for nuclear, for example. So this
is an ongoing discussion, but I wanted to raise those points.
Mr. SOUDER. Absolutely, and if you would like, we would be able
to give you the precise breakdown of the different levels of control
for each mile of the border we have on the southern tier.
Ms. SANCHEZ. The Chair now recognizes Ms. Kirkpatrick.
Ms. KIRKPATRICK. Thank you Madam
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Ms. SANCHEZ. For 5 minutes.
Ms. KIRKPATRICK. Thank you, Madam Chairwoman. My first
question is for the Assistant Secretary Morton. And let me just say
that I had the opportunity to visit an ICE detention center near
Coolidge, Arizona, which is in my district, and I was very impressed with the professionalism of the people working there.
Quite a facility and, you know, seeing firsthand just the difficulty
in detaining that many people. They do an excellent job. I was especially interested in how they handled the various drug cartel,
gang members that they have that require, you know, keeping
them apart. And so I just want to let you know that, I think you
are doing an excellent job there.
Mr. MORTON. Thank you.
Ms. KIRKPATRICK. I am very glad to see the commitment to border security demonstrated by the nearly 10 percent increase in the
request for ICE. Currently only about 1,300 ICE agents are certified to enforce drug laws under Title 21.
If ICE were provided full Title 21 authority, would the additional
enforcement role require more funding for the agency or would you
be able to roll that responsibility into your requested budget without needing to make cuts elsewhere?
Mr. MORTON. Title 21 authority is, at the present, is principally
an issue of making sure that with our existing resources we can
bring the appropriate level of special agents to bear. And as you
have noted, right now the agreement has a cap.
And so regardless of what our overall resources are, we are limited in the number of agents who can be authorized to perform
these duties. It is something that I am very concerned about. I am
working with the administrator of DEA as we speak to try to come
to a revised understanding between our agencies and a much better working relationship.
What I will say is I have found the acting administrator to be
very reasonable on this point. We are working very hard together
and sort of, say, stay tuned, but I think things are generally moving in a very positive direction.
We take the narcotics, the anti-narcotics mission very seriously
along the southwest border. The southwest border was the first
place I went to as assistant secretary. And I went to Arizona, and
I went to Tucson and Nogales.
And I am very focused on making sure that we have the appropriate authority to carry out our mission to make sure that illegal
contraband doesnt come in to the United States.
Ms. KIRKPATRICK. Thank you very much. Thank you. Thank you,
Mr. Chair, I mean. Thank you.
Mr. MCCAUL. Thank you, Mr. Chairman and thank the witnesses. I also commend the shift of attention to the southwest border, and as certainly coming from my state of Texas, it has been
a concern we have had for many years, and I appreciate that.
I have got several questions, one is following up on Madame
Chair, she is no longer here, on the 287(g) program for you, Mr.
Morton. It has been in my view, a very successful program and experience I have seen in my state, and it is something that is a force
multiplier.
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I think more people would like to participate. More law enforcement would like to participate. One of the concerns or issues that
would come up when I would meet with ICE officials, for instance
in the Houston area, was the detention and removal operations.
That when these criminal aliens, and we are not talking about
illegal aliens, we are talking about aliens in the country committing crimes. They were very candid, the ICE officials, and they
would literally point the finger at me being a member of Congress
that I was to provide the solution in terms of funding.
And that there was a lack of funding and a lack of resources necessary to process these criminal aliens. I see the budget numbers
have risen, but not very significantly. I introduced a bill that would
double these resources because that was what the guys on the
ground are telling me that they need.
So with that being said, you are in charge of this whole operation, Mr. Morton. Can you tell me what you opinion is?
Mr. MORTON. It is my 4th week on the job, so?
Mr. MCCAUL. And I appreciate that.
Mr. MORTON. bear with me a little bit. But the detention and
removal operations are obviously critical if we are going to have
some level of true border security. And as part of the secretarys
announcement, before I even became assistant secretary, we sent
a fairly healthy level of additional deportation and removal officers
to the southwest border to focus on exactly that, the identification
and removal of criminal aliens.
One of the very first jobs I ever had in government was as an
INS trial attorney, and I worked the detained criminal docket. So
I can tell you to rest assured that the identification and removal
of criminal aliens is a real priority for me.
I need to get in to the weeds a little bit more on the detention
and removal program. A very significant amount of the agencys
budget is diverted to detention and removal operations. It is a very,
very big operation, but I want to make sure that we have got the
right level of focus, the right level of resources.
I have myself, every time I go out on these trips I talk to the detention and removal folks, and they tell me similar things to what
they tell you. And so I hear that message loud and clear, some of
our deportation officers handle a huge docket. And what I would
say is I am on it. I want to take a look at it. It is a serious part
of what we need to do, and we need to do it well.
Mr. MCCAUL. Let me say also I appreciate your background. I
think you bring a great experience to your position. And I would
encourage you to talk to them at the field level because I think you
will hear a consistent theme and message of we need more to adequately do our jobs. We are strapped. We are completely underfunded.
And again, when they look to me as a member of Congress for
the solution, I think we do have that responsibility in the Congress,
and that is the whole point of this hearing is to look at your budget
and determine whether we should be providing more funding for
you.
I happen to think that we do, and I have introduced a bill to do
just that. But I would encourage you not to be shy. and that when
you talk to your men in the field and women, when they tell you
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that you report that to the Congress so that we can provide you
the resources that I believe they desperately need.
And I see that my time is running out. With that, I yield back.
Mr. PASCRELL. [Presiding.] Thank you, gentleman from Texas. I
am going to recognize myself for 5 minutes. Mr. Morton, I want to
pursue, continue to pursue what two members have already
brought up, and that is the subject that is before us right now on
dangerous criminal aliens.
In September of 2006, a memo came out of the department to the
agencies within Homeland Security, and specifically we are talking
at the National Fugitive Operations Program. And that memo said
that there would be quotas that each of these teams established
throughout the United States of America. We wanted to gather
numbers apparently.
And the agency that I am referring to today in 2006, there was
a tremendous drop in my state of New Jersey of how many criminal undocumented aliens were arrested, a 42 percent decrease,
making the country more vulnerable since we were concentrating
on how many rather than to whom we went after.
First of all, Congress was not told about this. None of us were,
that I know of, that policy to do that. We were slow learners but
we finally find out many times later on, I know that.
Now I am going to ask you some questionss and the first question, which is a yes or no answer, is are those quotas still in order?
Mr. MORTON. No.
Mr. PASCRELL. Thank you.
Mr. MORTON. And if I could just follow up on that, I mean I addressed this question in my confirmation. And my view is that hard
quotas and law enforcement are not a good mix. That is different
from saying that there should be priorities, but as you noted when
you have a hard quota it can be skew the end result.
And it leads people to focus on achieving the number rather than
focus on the mission at hand. And so you can find yourself in a situation where the agencys priorities for focusing on the worst of the
worst then get skewed because at the end of the day people need
to?
Mr. PASCRELL. Well, I am concerned about what happens when
the, you know, we know very specific anecdotal stories now. In the
city of Paterson, New Jersey, I have lived there all my life, I know
something about it.
Walter Chavez, his home was raided by ICE agents just last
year. And this is what he said, They zealously came into our home
with guns and hostility. He is 44. He is legal, as his wife is legal
and his now 10 year old son is legal.
They asked us to show we were legal. And when we showed
them, they demanded to know where the illegals were in the
house. These folks were not looking after criminals, Mr. Morton.
They terrified my son, who was nine at the time, came running
out of his room, and an agent held a gun to him.
He is a traumatized child because of that. At the same time in
2007, we had a shooting in Newark, New Jersey by a gentleman
called, and I used the word loosely, Jose Carranza who shot, execution style, three citizens of Newark. Shot them down and killed
them. They were students. Shot them down in a school yard.
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He was an illegal alien with impending violent criminal indictments, and yet he was roaming the streets of Newark. He was not
detained.
Mr. Morton, I can cite other cases. I cite these because they are
pretty close to home. This is not acceptable for the Congress. And
this is the result of bravado and trying to create fear rather than
attacking the issue and the problem. We dont want any criminals
on the street, whether they are legal or not legal.
The department had a recess from its original policy, and I think
it has led to all kinds of major problems. Would you just quickly
comment, and then we will move on.
Mr. MORTON. I am not familiar with the individual cases that
you cite, but I dont doubt that they occurred. Obviously they just
occurred before my time. What I will say is that, and I think the
point that you touch upon, is that in a world of limited resources,
the agency needs to make a rational set of priorities for the execution of its authorities and resources.
In my view I dont think that there is any daylight between us
on this, nor do I suspect there is much daylight between us and
any other members of the committee when it comes to the identification and removal of people who are here unlawfully.
We start first and foremost with those people who are committing crimes. And it doesnt make a lot of sense to have large numbers of people who are committing crimes not be the focus of the
agency. It is going to be my focus. We are going to spend a lot of
time on it, and I want to have, you know, fewer of the concerns
that you cited be the ones that are raised to me.
And that is why we have the request in here for secure communities. It is part of just a sustained effort that we are going to stay
focused on to identify and remove criminal aliens from all of
the
Mr. PASCRELL. Thank you, Mr. Morton, and good luck on your
new job.
Mr. MORTON. Thank you.
Mr. PASCRELL. Chair recognizes my friend from Texas, Ms. Jackson.
Ms. JACKSON LEE. Thank you very much, Mr. Chairman, and I
thank the witnesses for their presence here. I believe congratulations are in line for Assistant Secretary Morton. And just for my
edification, Mr. Morton, your background includes what? I was not
obviously at the confirmation hearings. You seem to suggest that
you were at INS for a period of time?
PREPARED STATEMENT
OF THE HONORABLE SHEILA JACKSON LEE, A

IN CONGRESS FROM THE STATE OF TEXAS
REPRESENTATIVE
Foremost, I would like to extend my thanks to Chairwoman Sanchez for hosting

this important hearing today. I would also like to thank our distinguished witnesses:
Mr. Morton, Assistant Secretary, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, Department of Homeland Security
Mr. Ahern, Acting Commissioner, U.S. Customs and Border Protection, Department of Homeland Security
Admiral Allen, Commandant, U.S. Coast Guard, Department of Homeland Security
I thank you all for bringing your advice and expertise today as we work together
to determine budget priorities for the Department of Homeland Security (DHS)
within the context of the Presidents Fiscal Year 2010 Budget Request. This hearing
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will examine the financial needs and requirements for the U.S. Immigration and
Customs Enforcement (ICE), U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP), and the
U.S. Coast Guard (USCG) respectively.
BACKROUND
On February 26, 2009, President Barack Obama submitted a Budget Blueprint
as a preliminary budget request to Congress, with the intention of submitting a
complete budget proposal at a later date. On May 7, 2009, the President submitted
the FY 2010 budget request to Congress. In the budget proposal, the President requests $55.11 billion in total budget authority for the Department of Homeland Security, a $2.63 billion (5%) increase over the FY 2009 enacted budget. The request
for discretionary spending for the Department is $42.7 billion, an increase of $2.66
billion (6.6%) over the FY 2009 enacted budget.
The Presidents Budget request states that increases in net discretionary spending
will further strengthen the Departments ability to fulfill its mission through five
main action areas: (1) Guarding against terrorism; (2) Securing our borders; (3)
Smart and tough enforcement of immigration laws and improving immigration services; (4) Preparing for, responding to, and recovering from natural disasters; and (5)
Unifying and maturing DHS.
On June 8, 2009, the house Appropriations Committee, Subcommittee on Homeland Security, marked up the FY 2010 Homeland Security Appropriations Act. The
subcommittee reported out a $42.6 billion bill for the Department, which would provide a 6.5 percent increase over fiscal 2009 but about 1% less than the Presidents
request.
Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) is responsible for investigating the
illegal introduction of goods, terrorists, and criminals across our borders, detaining
criminal and undocumented aliens, and protecting critical infrastructure. Therefore,
the Committee supports the FY 2010 Budget request as is, is adequate for this mission, though increased resources may be necessary in certain areas.
The Presidents FY 2010 Budget request for the Coast Guard provides the agency
with much-needed funding to replace aging assets. The Committee recognizes it is
necessary to provide the Coast Guard with the tools it needs to ensure our Nations
shores are protected from possible harm.
Overall, the Presidents Budget request provides adequate funding for Customs
and Border Patrol (CBP), especially given the significant investment in border security this Congress has already made in recent fiscal years. However, there are a few
areas that may need more resources. For example, hiring of CBP officers has long
lagged behind hiring of Border Patrol agents, and this budget does not improve
their numbers significantly. Furthermore, with the agencys rapid growth in recent
years, it remains to be seen how CBP would manage without constriction funds over
the long term.
OVERVIEW OF FY2010
On June 8, 2009, the house Appropriations Committee, Subcommittee on Homeland Security, marked up the FY 2010 Homeland Security Appropriations Act. The
subcommittee reported out a $42.6 billion bill for the Department, which would provide a 6.5 percent increase over fiscal 2009 but about 1% less than the Presidents
request.
Immigrations and Customs Enforcement
The Presidents FY 2010 Budget requests $5.76 billion in total budget authority
for ICE. Although this appears to be a decrease of $171 million (3%) from the
FY2009 enacted budget, the Department proposes to transfer the Federal Protective
Service (FPS) and its $640 million in funding from ICE to the National Protection
and Programs Directorate (NPPD). Excluding the FPS budget, the FY 2010 budget
request in net discretionary spending for ICE is actually an increase of $496 million
(9.9%) over the FY 2009 enacted budget, including an additional 1,229 FTEs.1
Customs and Border Protection
The Presidents FY 2010 budget requests $10.1 billion in net discretionary spending for CBP, which is $229.8 million (2.3%) above the FY 2009 enacted budget
amount of $9.82 billion.2 The FY 2010 budget request provides a modest increase
1 This number excludes the decrease of 1,225 of FPS personnel proposed for transfer from ICE
to NPPD.
2 The FY2009 figure in the Presidents FY 2010 Budget request does not include an additional
$680 million provided in the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (P.L. 1115) for construction at ports of entry, non-intrusive inspection equipment at ports of entry, SBInet technology,
and tactical communications modernization along the southwest border.
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for CBP, including 2,524 FTEs, which should meet most of the agencys needs,
though there are a few programs that could benefit from additional resources and
personnel.
U.S. Coast Guard
The Presidents FY 2010 Budget request in net discretionary spending for the
Coast Guard is $8.37 billion, an increase of $268 million (3.3%) in comparison with
the FY 2009 enacted budget. The request for FY 2010 includes the addition of 715
FTEs. The Committee believes this request will provide adequate funding for the
Coast Guard to meet its safety and security missions.
CONCLUSION
In conclusion, I support the Presidents comprehensive FY 2010 $55.11 billion
budget proposal for the Department of Homeland Security, which includes $42.7 billion in net discretionary spending. This budget will enable the Department to efficiently carry forth its obligations as well as address any remaining departmental
management and operational challenges. Furthermore, I support ICE, CBP, and
USCG requests, as these important divisions are in need of additional funding and
personnel in order for them to function at their full potential. I urge my colleagues
to support the Presidents FY 2010 budget proposal for the Department of Homeland
Security.
Thank you Chairwoman, I yield the rest of my time.
Mr. MORTON. I am a career federal prosecutor. I have been, until

4 weeks ago, I was a career government employee my entire professional career. I started at the Department of Justice as an INS
trial attorney. I then went on to work for the deputy attorney general, who as it turns out ended up being the attorney general, Eric
Holder.
And I was also a federal prosecutor at Alexandria, Virginia for
nearly 7 years. And then I ran part of the criminal division in main
justice for 3 years, ending up as the acting deputy assistant attorney general before I became the assistant secretary.
Ms. JACKSON LEE. Let me thank you, and I know the other gentlemen, let me welcome them again to our hearing. And I think
that background, Mr. Morton, is enormously important. First of all
your commitment to public service, but I do hope as we help you
establish priorities in this committee that we have a breath of fresh
air.
Frankly, I think enforcement is very, very important. However,
the comments that you heard from my colleagues I want to associate myself with coming from Houston, Texas, and want to particularly focus in on two aspects of your work. That is again the
criminal aliens and the history of raids.
Frankly, I think the raiding instructions or directives were politically based. It was a mixture of the frustration of local authorities
and local populations who were saying enough is enough. And our
inability as a Congress to put in place comprehensive immigration
reform, which would have been the kind of roadmap that then allows enforcement to follow a particular track.
So in Houston we had what we call the Rags Companys raids.
Let me count that scene since some of them were in my congressional district, and I went to visit those business persons. And the
raid was on a workday.
It had workers climbing up bundles of clothing at the large warehouse, pregnant women running for their lives and some even falling off the large stacks of items that were in the warehouse. I have
not followed the case to give you a precise detail as to its status,
but I will tell you that the owner said they had documentation, as
much as what was required at that time.
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So my question is what is the status of random and reckless
raids? And what priorities are you putting on enhanced training to
assure the capture and prosecution of criminal aliens?
One of the issues that provoked our community extensively was
the shooting death of Officer Johnson, beloved officer, family man,
father, husband, by someone, a child predator, who had come back
across the border. This individual certainly should have been captured and not released.
So I want to try to get down to the priority, the training, the collaboration with the FBI, the DEA, U.S. Marshals, ATF, et cetera,
in honing in on criminal aliens. I almost would like to hear that
we have designated a task force and we have trained individuals
to be specifically keenly expert in going after criminal aliens. And
then if you would, the question of the raids.
Mr. MORTON. Thank you. Very briefly and in light of my time let
me review some of the
Ms. JACKSON LEE. And let me do this so that I can have it on
the record please. Admiral Allen, if you could explore, and thank
you again for your service, could you explore the comfortableness
that you feel that your team, your operations are handling TWIC
and its enforcement and explain for us, I may have the wrong terminology, but I visited our Coast Guard unit in Houston for what
we call Rescue 21 or the new services that we are going to have.
And on Mr. Ahern, your work, I understand that you may not
have as many opportunities for hiring as the border patrol. I want
to know where you stand on the need for more hires on the border
protection. Mr. Morton, thank you.
Mr. MORTON. Let me start by saying we have a lot that is ongoing in the area of the identification and removal of criminal aliens.
And I would be happy to come and focus a little bit more on the
details with you and your staff.
Ms. JACKSON LEE. Thank you.
Mr. MORTON. The major initiative that we have, particularly in
your area, obviously we have secure communities which is the sort
of, from our perspective, the future of identifying all criminal
aliens, regardless of where they are arrested and booked. And with
time, I am happy to go into that in more detail.
We also have the border enforcement and security task forces
that as you noted bring together not only federal law enforcement
FBI, DEA, ATF with ICE, with CBP but also state and local law
enforcement and for the first time members of international law
enforcement along the southwest border. We have five officers from
Mexico now participating in our task forces.
And there are monies in this budget for both of those things. And
I just reiterate my personal commitment to improving our efforts
on identifying and removing criminal aliens. I just dont think
there can be a higher priority for us as an agency. And I am more
than happy to learn if there are frustrations or things that you
think we can improve on, I would love to know that.
Very briefly on the question of worksite enforcement, we have
new guidelines that were just issued. I think you will find that we
are going to engage in a sustained focus on employers, first and
foremost trying to deter people through criminal investigation and
prosecution. That is going to be the primary focus of our program.
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Obviously we are going to enforce the law across the board. But
we are going to try to do it with a much more targeted focus on
employers, first and foremost, rather than the employees as the
only focus.
Ms. JACKSON LEE. Mr. Ahern, Mr. Allen. Thank you. Thank you,
Mr. Chairman.
Mr. AHERN. Just very briefly to answer your question. As you
know border patrol is part of Customs and Border Protection and
certainly the growth that they have seen, the doubling of the border, if you look at 2001 they were able to get over 18,000 to approach 20,000 by the end of the year. They were grossly understaffed and were in need of those enhancements. So I think that
speaks for itself.
On our CBP officers at the ports of entry, if you look from 2004
to present we have actually had an increase on 20 almost 21 percent, 20.6 percent actually for ports of entry. Those are significant
numbers as well.
I think again one of the important things to note, too, is if you
look at the 2010 submission you will see very modest increases that
are requested as part of the southwest border initiatives. For officers at the ports of entry to sustain the efforts, we are looking at
65 and for border patrol agents to support that initiative, 44. And
those are appropriate numbers.
As I stated at the beginning of the hearing today, this year coming up really is the need for us to stabilize the organization with
the growth that we have had and the maturity of the organization
continuing to grow. Those are critical factors to go forward.
And my final note is one of the things that has not yet taken
shape, is Congress was very kind to us for the fiscal year 2009 appropriations, providing additional resources for us. But the downside and factual side is 734 additional positions for our officers at
the ports of entry were only funded from August 1st forward.
So we still have 734 that we will be bringing onboard as the
funding is available from August 1st going forward that will take
us into the beginning of fiscal year 2010.
Mr. PASCRELL. Thank you. We have to vote in a few minutes so
I want to make sure we recognize you. I want to thank the
gentlelady from Texas.
Mr. GREEN FROM TEXAS. The gentleman has 5 minutes.
Mr. GREEN. Thank you, Mr. Chairman, and I thank the witnesses for appearing as well. Friends, I hold in my hand, hands if
you will, a news article from todays Houston Chronicle.
And it addresses a White House report and the opening sentence
reads, Not only is Houston a major center for Mexican cartels
smuggling drugs and weapons, but banks and financial institutions
in the nations fourth largest city also are targets for the gangsters
trying to hide millions of dollars in profits, according to a White
House report released Wednesday.
Then it goes on to talk about 201 international drug and money
laundering organizations in a 16 county region that includes Texas
and Mexico. It goes on to indicate that there are truckloads of cash
heading south. That Houston remains the number one source in
the United States for guns traced from organized crime scenes in
Mexico.
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Another excerpt, Mexican drug trafficking organizations and
their associated enforcement groups rely on firearms trafficking
from Houston. Final thing, Crack cocaine is the primary drug of
abuse in Harris County, notwithstanding marijuana.
I am mentioning these excerpts and this article because, obviously, I am from Houston, and my constituents are concerned about
this. And I would like to know if we have properly budgeted such
that we can confront and eliminate this kind of activity in the nations fourth largest city. And I welcome comments from whomever
would like to respond.
Mr. MORTON. I would be happy to start. I think this is an area
where there is a lot of good work to be done. It is a major focus
for me and as I mentioned
Mr. GREEN. Because my time is limited
Mr. MORTON. Yes.
Mr. GREEN. please excuse me for interrupting. Could you go
straight to the point because I have one more question?
Mr. MORTON. Sure.
Mr. GREEN. Okay.
Mr. MORTON. We have, as I mentioned in my opening statement,
we have very broad authorities that touch on pretty much everything that you have just described. And just to give you an indication of what we are doing. We are trying to build up these task
forces along the border to address this.
The first international trip that I took was to Mexico to address,
again, pretty much every one of the issues that you just described.
They are serious issues. They are ones that we are working on. I
dont want to underestimate the challenge that we face in tackling
them. They are very serious.
But I can tell you there is a lot of focus on it. We work very
closely with CBP on the southbound smuggling of both weapons
and money. We are focused on it. We are going to you know really
up our efforts there. I can let Mr. Ahern add to that.
Mr. GREEN. And before he adds, permit me to ask an additional
question, we here in Congress, and I will use a personal pronoun,
I would like to be of help to you. Do we need some additional legislation to help you in this endeavor? While we may be winning, it
appears that the challenge is continually growing.
So if there is some additional legislation, I think you should address that as well. So before you pass the baton, if you would,
would you tell me if there is any additional legislation that you
think we need?
Mr. MORTON. Again, I would say I am on my 4th week on the
job. It is a little hard for me to know for sure.
Mr. GREEN. I accept that as a pass. Let me go to the next gentleman because I only have 1 minute and 3 seconds.
Mr. AHERN. Yes, sir, very briefly, you know, with money and
guns going southbound into Mexico, we need to have a layered
strategy, just as we do for drugs and other concerns coming at our
borders from the south.
So certainly our role at the borders is to try to go ahead and
intercept as much as we can going southbound which is why Secretary Napolitano announced in March the Southbound Initiative,
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and why you see $26 million in our budget for combination of some
technology but also personnel to sustain this effort.
And then the final point is continuing to work in Mexico
Mr. GREEN. Let me quickly ask you aboutthank you, and I appreciate all of you. Please forgive me for being rude, crude and
unrefined, but I have to ask these questions quickly. With reference to laws, you see, you are on the front line. You know what
is needed to help you get the job done.
I am in the position to some limited extent of helping you with
the laws that you need to get the job done, anything that you can
call to my attention that we need to do to help you.
Mr. AHERN. I would state that we annually look at all the legislative initiatives. I know that the department under new leadership
will be examining that as well, and I think it would be best for the
department to provide a collective package back at the appropriate
time in the very near future. We will pass that to the secretary.
Mr. GREEN. Thank you. May the Admiral respond please? Admiral, thank you for being here.
Admiral ALLEN. Yes, sir, just very quickly, if you look at the
threat from South America and cocaine flow up north, I said earlier
in my testimony we need to be concerned about the southern border with Mexico as well. The majority of cocaine that enters the
United States moves from non-commercial maritime means from
South America into Central America and Mexico.
So while we focus on the southwest border, we need to make sure
we have an even response in what we would call the transit zone,
where we work with Customs and Border Protection and the Defense Department under U.S. Southern Command to interdict cocaine before it even gets to Mexico and Latin America. And I can
give you a more detailed answer for the record.
Mr. GREEN. Thank you, sir. Any laws?
Admiral ALLEN. Well, let me congratulate the Congress because
last year you passed legislation that banned the operation of selfpropelled semi submersibles as a violation of federal law. This is
an emerging threat from South America.
These are low profile vessels, very difficult to detect, and the
Congress made the operation of those on the high seas illegal, and
we are up to our third prosecution on those this year. It was a tremendous help, and I thank the Congress.
Mr. GREEN. Thank you, sir.
Mr. PASCRELL. And I thank the gentleman from Texas. I want
to thank the Admiral for bringing up a very, very cogent point
there, and I didnt want that to go by. I want in all fairness to go
back to the gentlelady from Texas and allow the Admiral to respond to her very specific question because you didnt get a chance.
Ms. JACKSON LEE. Thank you, Mr. Chairman, and thank you Admiral again for the service of the Coast Guard and all others that
are present before us. Thank you.
Admiral ALLEN. Thank you for your sustained support, especially
from our people in Houston. Got a tremendous cap in the port
down there in Bob Diehl who will be retiring, and I know he has
really enjoyed working with all of you in the area.
First of all regarding Rescue 21, for the committees information,
this is the maritime mobile radio system for the country. It also is
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the Coast Guards command and control system. It allows borders
to call us, pass a mayday and allows us to respond.
This is being put in around the country and the Rescue 21 system around the HoustonGalveston area we conditionally accepted
in October of 2008. It added 857 miles of coverage along our coastline.
This allows us to hear somebody with a one watt transmission,
one meter high, 20 miles off shore, allows us to direction find and
hone rescue units in. It basically takes the search out of search and
rescue.
This is a very significant system for the country and this year
we have $117 million to continue to expand that. We will look for
the support of the Congress to continue that maam.
Ms. JACKSON LEE. Just one moment, would that be practical in
the tragedy in the present Air France situation if that was in
place? Some, because I kind of
Admiral ALLEN. No, this is short term line of sight
Ms. JACKSON LEE. Because when I saw the exhibition when I
went to the station, that was what they suggested, you could pinpoint someone, if they had a walkie-talkie, is that it?
Admiral ALLEN. Yes maam, and it allows direction finding on
the signal, but this particular radio frequency signal is line of sight
and very short duration.
Ms. JACKSON LEE. All right.
Admiral ALLEN. Yes maam.
Mr. PASCRELL. Thank you Admiral. Go ahead, Admiral.
Admiral ALLEN. Regarding Transportation Worker Identification
Program, just know that we had a conversion of two requirements,
one was for the Maritime Transportation Security Act, to have people vetted that were going to have access to secure portions of facilities and vessels.
We have been working with TSA on that for a couple of years.
Also, the requirement to issue new Merchant Mariner Documents
and go to a similar biometric system to capture those and do background checks for both systems.
They basically came on line on the 15th of April and are moving
forward. The next critical step in the Transportation Worker Identification card is the Phase Two rulemaking which will put card
readers in and establish the requirements for how they will make
sure the facilities are in compliance.
Now, we put out an advance notice of the proposed rulemaking
in March for 60 days, got a significant number of comments back.
We have also done some prototype beta testing of some mobile card
readers. We are analyzing all that now, and hope to go to a notice
of proposed rulemaking later this summer.
Ms. JACKSON LEE. This is the final word. You know I chair the
subcommittee on transportation and security, Admiral. I would appreciate it if we can have a meeting on this issue of the card readers which has been quite a?maybe we will have a group meeting,
but it has been quite a stick in the mud on this enforcement point.
Admiral ALLEN. Yes maam, and Chairwoman Sanchez has some
concerns, and I would be glad to meet.
Ms. JACKSON LEE. Thank you very much.
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Mr. PASCRELL. Thank you gentlelady. Thank the Admiral, and
we have a few more moments because we have just taken a recess,
and so votes will be delayed. We are going to have a second round,
and I will recognize the ranking member.
Mr. SOUDER. I thank my friend from New Jersey, and I want to
point out to the Commandant that they kind of ignored in some of
the first questions is a unique form of congressional flattery. We
appreciate all of you being here and doing that, and particularly
with reference to deep water.
This has been a critical part, because obviously if your vessels
are in port all the time, getting repaired, or cant get out far
enough into the east Pacific, or out fast enough everything else becomes more or less irrelevant in safety, terrorism and narcotics.
I have two basic and we need to support that including up in the
Arctic because as there is melting up there, and we see the energy
up there, as you have pointed out to me and you referred to it in
the testimony, that we could get blindsided from the north whether
it is terrorists or contraband, if we dont control some of the waters
up there.
And right now the Russians are going after it directly and we are
behind. We are only other people there, but that that is part of the
reason you have been pushing that request.
I have two basic questions. One relates to the Secure Freight Initiative in trying to reach the 100 percent goal. Secretary Napolitano says we are not likely to meet that. This is a multi-part, how
will the nine additional ports be selected? Are there other countries
requesting the SFI presence, and would you support a change in
the law that says what 100 percent mandate isnt achievable, how
are we going to address the question?
The other category, which you have done a little, but to illustrate
in the drug trafficking organizations in Mexico, what the role of the
Coast Guard has been. You have had some major cooperative efforts there.
They have been much more cooperative through President
Calderon than in the past, and how some of that might be, whether
it is the east Pacific transiting from Colombia, parts hitting Guatemala, in the time you have here.
Admiral ALLEN. Yes, sir. If I might, we have a role in the Secure
Freight Initiative, but it is largely in support of customs, and I
would defer to Commissioner Ahern to answer that question, and
then I will follow up with the drug question, sir.
Mr. SOUDER. Thanks.
Mr. AHERN. Thank you very much. As you know, we have been
working and studying that legislation since it was passed. Actually
I believe it was introduced by this committee or the full committee
as part of the 9/11 Act in August of 2007.
Secretary Napolitano did state in her confirmation hearing I believe it was, that the implementation of that for the 2012 timeframe is not going to be achievable at this point in time.
I have testified before about this in the full committee, as well
as our appropriations committee on numerous occasions in the
past, as well, speaking to the challenges and issues on that topic,
and believe there needs to be a continued thoughtful discussion
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about moving forward with 100 percent initiative which is the
foundational issue of concern.
As for the Secure Freight Initiative, which is a subset of our Container Security Initiative, looking at what do we need to add for additional security in very precise locations, SFI is something that
makes sense in locations of risk, as an additional layer of risk mitigation.
For instance, before even the Safe Port Act was passed and then
the 9/11 Act came along, we were actually looking and deployed
and have deployed now for over 2 years in Port Qasim Pakistan a
full technology sweep for radiation scanning as well as x-ray of
every container coming to the United States. In that location it
makes perfect sense.
So we need to continue to study all the different logistics, the financial impact, the sovereignty issues of all the different nations
throughout the world, the fact that over 700 ports ship to the
United Sates, and just the logistics and doability are extremely
challenging. So I know that the secretary has made her statement
on that and will continue to study the issue in great detail.
Admiral ALLEN. Sir, I would like to add a comment and then go
to the answer to your second question. If you look at the overall
issue of port security, and waterway security in this country and
around the world, while I agree the containers are important and
I know the acting commissioner does as well, there are a variety
of threats to our ports.
There are boat cargos that are being moved. We have liquefied
natural gas that is being moved. They are dangerous cargos. A sole
focus on containers to the exclusion of all other risk factors in a
port may in the long run not serve us well, and I believe a more
measured discussion that takes a look at all the spectrum of
threats into our ports is probably a better context for the discussion.
Mr. SOUDER. And Mexico, can you mention about that?
Admiral ALLEN. I would be happy to. A significant thing happened this year, sir. We celebrated the 20th anniversary of the passage of the National Defense Authorization Act in 1989 that allowed DOD to enter detection and monitoring support for the war
on drugs, if you will. That is embodied as you know in Joint Interagency Task Force South and Key West which works for U.S.
Southern Command.
There has been an extraordinary maturation of coordination and
inter-agency cooperation down there including international coalition partners that is resulting in record drug seizures in the transit
zone where we have a fusion of intelligence, inter-agency cooperation at a level that I have not seen in my career in the Coast
Guard.
It has contributed to 3 successful years of record seizures for the
Coast Guard, but we dont do it alone. It has to deal with P3 aircraft that are provided by Customs and Border Protection, Navy
gray hulls, our coalition partners from Europe and South America.
And I only bring this up in that as I said earlier, we need to be
concerned about the southern border of Mexico as well, and one
very key incident occurred last year, and I will use this as a vi-
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gnette and be happy to follow up with any other information you
might have.
We had a customs P3 aircraft flying off the coast of Mexico that
spotted a self-propelled semisubmersible, so we called a cold hit.
There were no surface assets in the area that could be employed
to stop that vessel.
In a full, open, transparent information sharing with Mexico, we
passed that to the Mexican authorities. They launched forces within 1 hour to respond to that event, and Mexican Marines vertically
inserted under that self-propelled semisubmersible and took it
down, and we participated in the exploitation of the intelligence associated with that earlier on.
This is emblematic of the level of cooperation we have, Coast
Guard with the Mexican Navy, but overall the change in attitude
and the international cooperation down there, sir.
Mr. SOUDER. Thank you, and I appreciate those comments because it tends to get lost in a lot of our debates how far Mexico has
come both in their capability and their willingness to cooperate.
That is it.
Mr. PASCRELL. Thank you, Admiral, for your response. Mr.
Ahern, I have two quick points. One, is not a question, first point
is I am glad that the president has recognized, this president, that
we have in the northern border, and that the budget has been increased to add patrol agents, border agents to the northern border.
I think the figure is $20 million, you can correct me. I would
hope that you can report to this committee our efforts in bolstering
our protection up on the northern border. You know the pitiful
amount of agents that were there in 9/11, around 9/11, and we
have attempted, the Congress, to increase but we dont hear much
about the northern border, and I would hope that you could put
something before us to tell us of your efforts.
My question has to do with the electronic system, what the travel
authorization. The 9/11 Recommendations Act, the committee
worked hard to strengthen the Visa Waiver program in that act.
We required travelers to transmit CVP vital passenger information
before boarding an aircraft to the United States.
The system known as the Electronic System for Travel Authorization is currently funded through annual appropriations. However, the Department of Homeland Security is also authorized to
collect a fee for the administration of the program.
How is the implementation of that program going, in your estimation, and what percentage of Visa Waiver program travelers are
complying with the present requirements, and third, what happens
to travelers at a port of entry if they do not have an ESTA?
Mr. Ahern?
Mr. AHERN. Thank you very much. And we will be happy to provide as much detail as you would like or individual briefing on the
northern border. With all the assets we have deployed beyond border patrol agents, SBInet
Mr. PASCRELL. Right.
Mr. AHERN. as well as aviation assets and certainly the Coast
Guard with their Shiprider and other programs they have throughout the northern tier. I think it is an impressive story and great
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steps for the northern border. I think that would be important to
hear.
For the ESTA program, on the first part of the fees, certainly it
is not currently funded through a fee structure. It is through the
appropriated monies. We actually do have a contract study going
on right now to actually make a determination and a recommendation. I will be forthcoming on whether we actually should establish
a fee structure or not.
I am not sure exactly where it stands at this point, but I know
that there is also a proposal that is circulating here on the Hill for
a travel promotion act, I believe is what the label is, to potentially
create a fee that would go to commerce department, if I am correct,
to generate travel. And I believe it is under the guise of ESTA, but
I am not sure how that would work. I have not seen that and have
not had an opportunity to comment on it formally, but I think we
should take a look at that.
But clearly, we need to find out what is an appropriate fee structure going forward, if there is one, because I am not sure if this
is certainly a fee-dependent proposal solely.
You know, this is part of our mission set, something that is critical for us to do to make sure that we vet these individuals before
they actually begin their travel to the United States because we
look at it as a continuum that begins when somebody actually buys
a ticket, applies for an ESTA before they actually board an aircraft
in a foreign location.
As for the specific compliance rates, I dont have that today, and
I can certainly provide that in detail for the record.
Mr. PASCRELL. I will mention to Chairman Thompson about getting that report about the northern border, see what is convenient
for you and the committee itself. I want to personally thank the
witnesses on behalf of the members new and old, and that is tenure I am speaking of.
Mr. Morton, wish you the best of luck. It is a tough task you are
taking on, and you are joining some very professional people here,
Mr. Ahern and Admiral
Ms. JACKSON LEE. Mr. Chairman, one question?
Mr. PASCRELL. Make it a quick one please?
Ms. JACKSON LEE. Thank you very much, Mr. Chairman. I am
interestedthis is, I think, to Mr. Morton on the 287(g) program,
which has likewise had its birth and its health in the inability for
comprehensive immigration reform.
My question is you are part of this whole idea of comprehensive
immigration reform. Do you believe immigration enforcement, immigration reform is a federal issue? Is that the priority of the department?
Mr. MORTON. Well, there is no question that immigration enforcement is a basic responsibility of the federal government. And
the Immigration and Nationality Act has been Congress direction
on that score for, you know, well over 50 years. So I do think that
that is the principal responsibility.
Ms. JACKSON LEE. What I would encourage and I understand
your comment on that, but as we move toward the possibility of
comprehensive immigration reform, we have found the 287(g) program from my perspective drains federal funds. It takes away the
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prioritization of local crime which may include arresting someone
who is, in fact, happens to be undocumented, but that is in the normal course of business.
I would like to get a sense if we have comprehensive immigration
reform, the right kind of funding, the right kind of directions for
ICE for example and the funding needs that they have. I would
like a reconsideration of the value of the 287(g) program that really
takes money away from federal enforcement and clouds the responsibilities of local enforcement.
And your assessment of that or the ability to reconsider whether
that program is valuable as we move forward?
Mr. MORTON. I would be happy to do that as we go forward. Obviously as you know the 287(g) is now presently part of the law
Ms. JACKSON LEE. I understand.
Mr. MORTON. and part of the Immigration and Nationality Act,
and I will say that cooperation with state and local law enforcement is a critical thing, and that is much of what 287(g) was designed to do. And in many contexts it works quite well, particularly
in the jail setting. It does address many of the concerns that you
outlined earlier about identifying and removing criminal aliens.
Just one very quick point just to respond to something earlier,
you said. And I just want to let you know that we have, as part
of the secretarys initiative on the southwest border, brought additional detention and removal officers to bear.
I believe some of those are actually in the Houston area, and I
would be more than happy to find out if they are there and let you
know if they are in place and what they are doing.
Ms. JACKSON LEE. I would be delighted, and I would like to sit
down with you. And my last point is on the 287(g) for you to consider, is that news reporters and others and the various groups
that may be opposed to immigration reform will call cities sanctuary cities.
And when they do that they put in a bad light very hard-working
police departments and other law enforcement. That was what happened to Houston. We have not been a 287(g) city. We denounced
doing that. We felt it was important to have a good relationship
with the immigrant community so that we could solve crimes.
We got labeled a sanctuary city, and before you know it we have
a 287(g) application in place. Many of us oppose that, and so to utilize the 287(g) process to clear your name, and I believe you will
find that happening across America and you should look at that.
That is why I think that program has a lot of faults to it, and
frankly we need to move the enforcement of immigration issues
back where it deserves, and that is the federal government.
Mr. PASCRELL. Thank you, gentlelady.
Ms. JACKSON LEE. Thank you.
Mr. PASCRELL. The members of the subcommittee may have additional questions for the witnesses and if they do we will ask you
to respond expeditiously in writing. Hearing no further business
the subcommittee stands adjourned.
[Whereupon, at 11:37 a.m., the subcommittee was adjourned.]
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Appendix IFiscal Year 2010 Budget Request
The Coast Guards fiscal year 2010 budget request maintains DoD Parity for its
workforce and continues critical recapitalization efforts while focusing on: enhancing
maritime safety and security and modernizing business practice. Highlights include:
Recapitalizing Aging Assets
DeepwaterSurface Assets $59
(50 FullTime Equivalents (FTE))
The Presidents Budget requests $591.4Mfor the following surface asset recapitalization or enhancement initiatives: completion of National Security Cutter 4; continued analysis and design for the Offshore Patrol Cutter (OPC); production of Fast
Response Cutters #5#8; production of Deepwater Cutter Small Boats; and crucial
operational enhancement of five Medium Endurance Cutters and three 110-foot Patrol Boats at the Coast Guard Yard through the Mission Effectiveness Program.
DeepwaterAir Assets FTE)
$305.5M (0 FTE)
The Presidents Budget requests $305.5M for the following air asset recapitalization or enhancement initiatives: delivery of HC144A Maritime Patrol Aircraft #13
#14; HH60 engine sustainment and avionics, wiring, and sensor upgrades for eight
aircraft; HH65 conversion to modernized components, cockpit, and enhanced interoperability for 22 aircraft; and HC130H avionics and sensor upgrades for eight aircraft, as well as four center wing box replacements.
DeepwaterOther (0 FTE)
$154.6M (0 FTE)
The Presidents Budget requests $154.6M for the following equipment and services: Government Program Management funds for critical oversight and contract
management; Systems Engineering and Integration funds for continued integration
of complex and diverse technical configurations for all projects; continued development of logistics capability and facility upgrades at shore sites where new assets
will be homeported; upgrades to command, control, communications, computer, intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance (C4isr) items; and prevention of asset obsolescence by replacing aging technology.
Response Boat Medium (RBM)
$103mm (0 FTE)
The Presidents Budget requests $103M to order 30 boats to replace the aging 41foot utility boat and other non-standard boats with an asset more capable of meeting the Coast Guards multi-mission requirements.
Rescue
$117M (0 FTE)
The Presidents Budget requests $117M for California and New England Sectors
to receive Rescue 21 capability, and continued development of Great Lakes, Hawaii,
Guam, and Puerto Rico Sectors.
Shore Facilities and ATON ecap Projects FTE)
The Presidents Budget requests $10M to support shore facility and ATON recapitalization. The Coast Guard received $88M from Recovery Act funding for shore
projects. The Coast Guard occupies more than 22,000 shore facilities with a replacement value of approximately $7.4B. FY 2010 funding supports $6M for Survey and
Design (planning and engineering of outyear shore projects) and $4M for ATON infrastructure (improvements to short-range aids and infrastructure).
Enhancing Maritime Safety and Security
Marine Safety Program (37 FTE)
$7.5M (37 FTE)
(51)
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The Presidents Budget requests $7.5M to support 74 additional personnel including marine inspectors and investigating officers at field units, marine inspector
training officers at feeder ports, staffing for the Steam and Vintage Vessels Center
of Expertise, engineers for standards development and review, and expanded training curricula at the Marine Safety School in Yorktown, VA.
Armed Helicopters Enhancement
$0.845M (7 FTE)
The Presidents Budget requests $845K for 14 gunners to support an additional
450 armed deployed days away from home station (DDAS), increasing the total
DDAS to 1,450. This additional capability will significantly improve the Coast
Guards ability to deter drug trafficking and maritime threats, and will play a vital
role in establishing an integrated, interoperable border security system.
Biometrics at Sea System
$1.183M (1 FTE)
The Presidents Budget requests $1,183M to purchase equipment and provide
maintenance on 18 cutters currently operating the Biometrics at Sea system
(BASS), as well as engineering development and program management. BASS enables Coast Guard personnel to identify dangerous individuals documented in the
U.S. Visitor and Immigration Status Indicator Technology (USVISIT) database including known felons, those under deportation orders, and those on a terrorist
watchlist. With a nearly 75 percent reduction in undocumented migrant flow from
the Dominican Republic, the BASS pilot program demonstrated its effectiveness in
deterring attempts by undocumented migrants to enter the United States illegally.
SeaHawk Charleston IOC Sustainment
1.088M (1 FTE)
The Presidents Budget requests $1,088M to fund SeaHawk Charleston. SeaHawk
is a multi-agency collaborative, unified command-based work environment with the
cooperative and complementary capabilities of an intelligence cell. Members include
the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Joint Terrorism Task Force, Coast Guard, Customs and Border Protection, Immigration and Customs Enforcement, and other Federal, state, and local agencies.
Modernizing Business Practices
Financial Management Oversight
$20M (44 FTE)
The Presidents Budget requests $20M to support critical modernization of the
Coast Guards financial management structure, which includes processes, internal
controls, IT systems, and human resources. The goals of this transformation are to
improve the Services ability to link mission performance to budget and ensure compliance with the DHS Financial Accountability Act. Financial management modernization will create an environment for a sustainable clean audit opinion on annual financial statements.
Reinvestments
(88.4M) (399 Full-Time Positions (FTP))
FY 2010 savings include:
Termination of FY 2009 one-time costs ( $32.7M)
decommissioning of four aging aircraft ($11.2M)
Annualization of FY 2009 management of technology efficiencies ($4.9M)
LORAN-C termination ($36M)
OSC Martinsburg earmark reduction ($3.6M)
LORANC Termination
As a result of technological advancements over the last 20 years and the emergence of the
U.S. Global Positioning System (GPS), LORANC is no longer required by the
Armed Forces, the transportation sector, or the Nations security interests. The
LORANC system was not established as or intended to be a viable backup for GPS.
Consistent with the Administrations pledge to eliminate unnecessary Federal programs and systems, Federal broadcast of the LORANC signal will be terminated
in fiscal year 2010 after satisfying domestic and international notification obligations. The Coast Guard will systematically close, harden, and de-staff its 24
LORANC stations and associated support units.
Termination of LORANC will result in a savings of $36M in FY 2010 and $190M
over five years. In total, 293 FTP associated with LORANC will be eliminated during the fiscal year and military personnel will be reassigned to other missions.
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Appendix IIQuestions and Responses
QUESTIONS
FROM THE HONORABLE LORETTA SANCHEZ, CHAIRWOMAN, SUBCOMMITTEE

ON BORDER, MARITIME, AND GLOBAL COUNTERTERRORISM
RESPONSES
FROM
ADMIRAL THAD W. ALLEN, COMMANDANT, U.S. COAST GUARD,

DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY
Question 1.: The Presidents budget includes funding for additional contracting officers for the Coast Guard. How does the Coast Guard plan to
build its own acquisition workforce?
Response: Following participation in a DHS-wide pilot, the Coast Guard awarded
a contract with Dayton Aerospace, Inc. to provide a Sustainment Acquisition Composite Model (S/ACOM) for project acquisition workforce staffing requirements. The
model will project current and future year (5 year) requirements in accordance with
the DHS Future Years Homeland Security Program (FYHSP), as well as provide
a functional breakout for all major system acquisition projects. The first model results are expected to be available in the summer of 2009. The model results will
help to establish the optimum size of the Coast Guard acquisition workforce. Guided
by this model, the approved Coast Guard Human Capital Plan will be used to build
the appropriate acquisition workforce.
Under what circumstances will private contractors continue to be used?
Response: Coast Guard acquisition is accomplished by Coast Guard personnel
(civilian and military), Other Government Agency (OGA) personnel, and support
contractors. The acquisition support contractors (private contractors) will provide assistance only with non-inherently governmental work in the areas of project management, logistics, engineering, administration, and business analysis and only
when the nature of the task is best accomplished by support contractors, e.g., best
value to the government, short duration needs, etc. The Coast Guard anticipates the
number of acquisition support contractors to increase some over the next year or
two as ICGS work decreases and then start to decline based on the increased number of Coast Guard and OGA personnel.
How will the Coast Guard decide what roles contractors may fulfill and
what jobs only government employees can perform?
Response: The Coast Guard is executing Version 3.0 of its Blueprint for Acquisition Reform, the comprehensive plan for improving acquisition capability within the
service. In accordance with The Blueprint, the Coast Guard Acquisition Directorate published Standard Operating Procedure #18, Guidance on Inherently Governmental Functions and Commercial Activities on 16 June 2009. A copy is attached
which provides additional information for the work that support contractors can accomplish related to Coast Guard acquisitions.
Question 2.: The Presidents budget requests $1.05 billion for the Integrated Deepwater Program. A significant portion of this request is for the
construction of National Security Cutters #2 and #3. Can you please provide us with information about the status of these ships? When will they
be completed and fully operational?
Response: The Presidents Budget for FY 2010 does not request funds for National Security Cutter (NSC) #2 or NSC #3, but does request funds to award NSC
#4 Production.
NSC #2 is approximately ninety percent complete. Builders and Acceptance Trials
are planned for the fourth quarter of FY 2009 and delivery is scheduled for the first
quarter FY 2010. NSC #2 will be fully operational within two years of delivery.
NSC #3 is approximately twenty percent complete. The keel laying is planned for
July 2009 and the cutter is scheduled for delivery in the fourth quarter of FY 2011.
NSC #3 will be fully operational approximately two years later.
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Question 3.: The multinational patrol force Combined Task Force 151 (CTF151),
currently under the command of the U.S. Navy, was established in early 2009 specifically to target piracy. It is my understanding that the Coast Guard has deployed
a law enforcement detachment to Navy ships participating in Combined Task Force
(CTF)151.
In general, how effective have this coalitions efforts been to deter or
interdict piratical attacks?
What other Coast Guard assets, if any, are currently allocated to counterpiracy efforts in the Horn of Africa region?
Response: CTF 151 is a multinational task force that conducts counter-piracy operations in and around the Gulf of Aden, Arabian Sea, Indian Ocean and the Red
Sea and was established to create a lawful maritime order and develop security in
the maritime environment. The coalitions efforts provide an effective maritime
interdiction and response force, but to deter piratical attacks also requires a shoreside solution.
The Coast Guard supports the combatant commanders by deploying Coast
Guard assets (LEDETs, MSSTs, Patrol Boats and High Endurance Cutters) to
support CTF 151 efforts to deter and disrupt acts of piracy. Coast Guard personnel are seen as the subject matter experts in the conduct of boardings and
preparation of case packages in support of follow-on prosecution.
CG LEDETs have embarked in US combatants serving within CTF 151.
They augment US Navy and coalition VBSS teams, and provide training on:
Maritime Laws
Boarding policies and procedures
Evidence Collection and preparation
Tactical procedures
As of June 1, 2009 USCG Maritime Safety and Security Teams (MSST) replaced
CG Law Enforcement Detachments (LEDETS) as the deployed force supporting CTF
151.
The Coast Guard has also been working with industry, international, and interagency partners to reduce the risk profile offered by vessels transiting the high risk
area. In terms of effectiveness, the following case specifics are offered.
FACTS
February 2009CG LEDET operating with USN VBSS teams from the USS Vella
Gulf apprehend 16 suspected pirates.
The team conducted a boarding of a suspected pirate skiff and found several
weapons. The seven suspected pirates were brought aboard Vella Gulf, where
they were processed and then transferred to a temporary holding facility on
board the supply ship USNS Lewis and Clark.
Nine additional suspected pirates were apprehended after VBSS teams from
Vella Gulf and Mahan boarded a vessel that contained assorted weapons and
one rocket propelled grenade launcher. Those suspected pirates were also transferred to a temporary holding facility on board Lewis and Clark.
In both events, the VBSS teams were comprised of Coast Guardsmen and
Sailors and marks the first time CTF 151 has apprehended suspected pirates.
March 2009CG LEDET operating with USN VBSS teams from the USS Gettysburg apprehended 6 suspected pirates.
At approximately 4:30 a.m., the Philippines-flagged Motor Vessel Bison Express sent a distress call to all ships in the area reporting they were being pursued by a small skiff containing six heavily-armed suspected pirates.
The six suspected pirates were apprehended and transferred onto the amphibious assault ship USS Boxer.
April 17, 2009CG LEDET operating with a USN VBSS team apprehended 8
suspected pirates.
Danish-flagged dry cargo carrier M/V PUMA sent a distress call indicating an
ongoing attack by a pirate speedboat while transiting the Gulf of Aden.
PUMAs crew of three Danes and four Filipinos zig-zagged the vessel and
used flares to avoid the speedboat carrying five armed pirates. The speedboat
returned to the Mother Ship.
A Maritime Patrol Aircraft located the Mother Ship and speedboat, and directed a USN asset with embarked LEDET to intercept. Upon boarding, the
LEDET discovered 80 people: 8 Somali Pirates and 72 people being smuggled
into Yemen.
The LEDET detained the Pirates, and confiscated automatic weapons, Rocket
Propelled Grenades, and ammunition.
Disposition for detained people, evidence, and pirate vessels are pending at
this time. PUMAs crew was uninjured.
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May 13, 2009: CG LEDET operating with USN VBSS team from the USS Gettysburg apprehended 17 suspected pirates.
USS Gettysburg received a distress call fm the Egyptian flagged M/V AMIRA
claiming they were under attack from a skiff containing 7 pirates. AMIRA
claimed that they were struck 3 times with anti-tank rockets and small arms
fire. They also indicated that the pirates had attempted to board their vessel.
A South Korean helicopter arrived on scene and thwarted the attack. The
skiff was then taken in tow by the Yemenese flagged M/V ISHAK.
A joint USN/USCG VBSS team conducted a boarding of M/V SIAHK and discovered assault rifles, small arms, ammunition, and an anti-tank rocket launcher with rocket. In addition, the team discovered boarding ladders and grappling
hooks.
17 suspected pirates were taken into custody and were awaiting disposition
to Kenya.
May 23, 2009: A helicopter from the USS Gettysburg discovers a suspicious skiff
loitering in the internationally recommended transit corridor (IRTC).
While on patrol, a helicopter from the USS Gettysburg sighted a skiff with
8 POB and 2 boarding ladders. As the ship closed to investigate the skiff made
an attempt to flee towards Somalia waters.
USS Gettysburg successfully intercepted and stopped the fleeing skiff.
A joint USN/USCG VBSS team conducted a boarding of the skiff and discovered assault rifles, small arms, and ammunition.
8 suspected pirates were taken into custody. On May 24, 2009 the decision
was made to release the suspected pirates in their skiff.
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The Fiscal Year 2010 Budget For Immigration and Customs Enforcement, Customs and Border Protection, and The U.S. Coast Guard

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The Fiscal Year 2010 Budget For Immigration and Customs Enforcement, Customs and Border Protection, and The U.S. Coast Guard

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THE FISCAL YEAR 2010 BUDGET FOR IMMIGRATION

AND CUSTOMS ENFORCEMENT, CUSTOMS AND

COMMITTEE ON HOMELAND SECURITY

Serial No. 11124

Available via the World Wide Web: http://www.gpoaccess.gov/congress/index.html

U.S. GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE

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For sale by the Superintendent of Documents, U.S. Government Printing Office

COMMITTEE ON HOMELAND SECURITY

STEVE AUSTRIA, Ohio

SUBCOMMITTEE ON BORDER, MARTIME, AND GLOBAL

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The Honorable Bennie G. Thompson, Chairman, Committee on Homeland

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U.S. HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES,

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PREPARED OPENING STATEMENT OF THE HONORABLE BENNIE G. THOMPSON,

Ms. SANCHEZ. So I will welcome our panel of witnesses.

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Mr. MORTON. Chairwoman Sanchez, ranking member Souder,

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Ms. SANCHEZ. Thank you, Mr. Secretary.

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