By Calvin Biesecker
The Department of Homeland Security said it will redeploy manpower and technology resources to the nation’s Southwest border to help prevent drug-related violence in Mexico from spilling over into the United States.
The redeployments involve more than 360 Customs and Border Protection (CBP) officers, Border Patrol and Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents as well as different types of X-Ray equipment and upgraded license plate readers at a cost of $184 million, which DHS said would be revenue neutral. The department said that the funding for the new border security initiatives will come from deferring lower priority projects, taking advantage of unobligated fund balances in some areas, and reprogrammings.
Bolstering manpower and technological resources on the Southwest border is being done in part to staunch the flow of money and weapons into Mexico and the drug cartels from the United States.
The ramped up border security will include using X-Ray imaging systems on all southbound rail cars. CBP already does some inspecting of southbound rail shipments but it’s unclear what that amount is. There are eight rail crossings between Mexico and the United States.
Last week the U.S. government filed lawsuits against the Union Pacific Railroad company accusing the company of failing to prevent drugs to be smuggled into the United States on its rail cars bound from Mexico.
CBP will also move more of its Z Backscatter Vans, which are mobile X-Ray imaging systems supplied by American Science and Technology [ASEI], to ports of entry to help screen passenger vehicles headed to Mexico. CBP will also deploy additional canine teams that can be used to detect both weapons and currency.
CBP will also install upgraded license plate readers on 52 of 110 outbound lanes for use in identifying suspected smugglers’ vehicles at a cost of $13 million. Early last year CBP awarded Unisys [UIS] a potential $62 million contract over five years to install improved license plate readers and related technology to the nation’s 39 busiest land ports.
DHS also said it would bolster the Secure Communities initiative, which better allows ICE agents to identify criminal aliens in local jails through the use of biometric identification technology.
The added manpower to the Southwest border will in part be used to operate the redeployed technology resources. DHS also said it will triple the number of intelligence analysts working at the border and double assignments to ICE’s Border Enforcement Security Task Forces as well as double ICE agents assigned to Criminal Alien Program Violent Criminal Alien Sections.
Additional ICE personnel working in troubled areas of Mexico will also be increased from 24 to 36 agents. DHS said it is holding bi-monthly classified conference calls with local authorities to share intelligence.
Part of the increased attention on the Southwest border will also be stepped up outreach to state and local lawn enforcement authorities, which Homeland Secretary Janet Napolitano has already begun. DHS also is rewriting grant guidance so that state, local and tribal law enforcement authorities can enhance their operations and assets along the border using $59 million in funding still available from FY ’06-’08 through Operation Stonegarden.