[Congressional Record Volume 142, Number 39 (Wednesday, March 20, 1996)] [Extensions of Remarks] [Pages E390-E392] From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov] IMMIGRATION AND NATURALIZATION SERVICE COMPREHENSIVE SOUTHWEST BORDER ENFORCEMENT STRATEGY ______ HON. ED PASTOR of arizona in the house of representatives Tuesday, March 19, 1996 Mr. PASTOR. Mr. Speaker, as the House begins debate on an immigration reform bill, I would like to take this opportunity to highlight the Immigration and Naturalization Service's [INS] efforts to control illegal immigration along the United States' southern border. The administration has made the enforcement of our borders a high priority, and for the first time in recent memory the INS has the resources to seriously undertake this responsibility. Both Attorney General Janet Reno and INS Commissioner Doris Meissner have made personal visits to the border, with the Commissioner visiting Nogales, AZ, as recently as last month. Commissioner Meissner and Attorney General Reno are to be commended for their efforts at border enforcement, and I submit for the Record an outline of the INS's successful comprehensive Southwest border enforcement strategy. The Immigration and Naturalization Service: Building a Comprehensive Southwest Border Enforcement Strategy I. Overview The Clinton Administration has made control of illegal immigration a top priority and has worked to provide the Immigration and Naturalization Service (INS) with the resources necessary for an enforcement strategy that will make a difference quickly and sustain itself over time. The Administration focused immigration control efforts first on the 2,000-mile U.S.-Mexican border. Years of neglect had left the Southwest border an open invitation to illegal immigration. The INS did not have the personnel or the equipment to properly control this important frontier. For the first time, the Clinton Administration developed a coherent strategy to restore the rule of law to the Southwest border. This strategy is backed by adequate resources and broad community support. The Administration's goal is unambiguous: a border that deters illegal immigration, drug trafficking, and alien smuggling and facilitates legal immigration and commerce. II. A Comprehensive Border Control Strategy The international boundary between the United States and Mexico divides two countries with dramatically different economies, but many shared values, commercial interests and a shared history. It is a border that runs through communities. It is also a border that is used by migrants from Mexico and around the world to enter the United States illegally. It is a border that is today experiencing tremendous immigration pressures. INS developed a multi-year border enforcement strategy both to facilitate legal travel and commerce between the United States and Mexico, and to aggressively enforce the nation's immigration laws. The plan is comprehensive, recognizing that the various regions of the border are interconnected, and any action on one part of the border affects conditions along other parts of the border. The Administration's border control plan has several key objectives: To provide the Border Patrol and other INS enforcement divisions with the personnel, equipment and technology to deter, detect and apprehend illegal aliens; To regain control of major entry coordiors along the border that for too long have been controlled by illegal immigrants and smugglers; To close off the routes most frequently used by smugglers and illegal aliens and to shift traffic to areas that are more remote and difficult to cross illegally, where INS has the tactical advantage; To tighten security and control illegal crossings through ports of entry; and To make our ports of entry work for regular commuters, trade, tourists and other legitimate traffic across our borders. These objectives are essential to effectively deter illegal immigration into the United States. The over-arching goal of the strategy is to make it so difficult and so costly to enter this county illegally that fewer individuals even try. The Administration developed an ambitious plan to achieve these objectives. It involved the strategic deployment of resources, equipment and technologies in concentrated areas of illegal activity. In the past, INS resources were spread out along the length of the border. This deployment plan diminished the effectiveness of Border Patrol agents, vehicles and sensors. By contrast, INS first targeted deployment of new resources to the San Diego and El Paso sectors. These two sectors alone historically accounted for approximately 65 percent of all Border Patrol apprehensions. INS has also deployed significant new resources in Arizona. This concentrated approach has enabled INS to gain a greater degree of control in these two regions. As we regain control in these areas, we are working to expand control to other corridors of illegal entry. iii. putting effective strategies into place The 2,000-mile border contains many distinct areas with wide-ranging topography, histories and crossing patterns. INS designed strategies for each area consistent with the comprehensive approach and the over-arching goal of deterring illegal immigration. INS began by concentrating resources in areas that have long been major corridors for illegal immigration. The agency launched Operation Hold the Line in El Paso, Operation Gatekeeper in San Diego, and Operation Safeguard in Arizona. INS has continued to strengthen these operations with new agents, tightened enforcement at ports of entry, and a crackdown on alien smugglers. Operation Hold the Line INS launched Operation Hold the Line in El Paso, Texas to close the holes in what had become one of the most porous areas of the U.S.-Mexican border. Before Operation Hold the Line, 18 percent of all illegal crossers caught entering the United States were apprehended in this area. INS redirected 54 Border Patrol agents to the Sector in FY 1994, and added 50 new agents in FY 1995 to support Operation Hold the Line. With Operation Hold the Line, the Border Patrol developed a high visibility strategy to deter illegal alien traffic into El Paso. The strategy was based on the specific crossing patterns, the characteristics of the illegal crossers in El Paso, and the flat terrain of the region. The majority of aliens apprehended by the Border Patrol in El Paso have historically been commuters--traveling from Juarez, Mexico to El Paso on a regular basis to work, shop or visit with friends and relatives. Most tried to enter the United States directly through downtown El Paso. Accordingly, the Border Patrol focused on a strategy of deterring these crossers, placing Border Patrol agents directly on the line at regular intervals. The Operation has proven to be tremendously effective. Apprehensions in the sector dropped significantly. In addition, the crime rate in downtown El Paso is down, and it appears that many short-term illegal crossers have been deterred from entering the United States. Traffic at the El Paso ports of entry has risen, and INS has applied law enforcement and facilitation strategies there. At the same time, while many illegal crossers are deterred, a number of more determined crossers are shifting their routes of entry to the outskirts of El Paso. INS is responding to these shifts in traffic by adding additional agents to support outlying stations, building fences, and providing agents with sophisticated equipment and technologies to track and apprehend aliens who cross in remote regions. Operation Gatekeeper For years, before the Administration launched Operation Gatekeeper, the Border Patrol in San Diego fought a losing battle. The border was overridden with illegal alien traffic. Nearly 25 percent of all apprehensions along the U.S.-Mexican border took place along the 5-mile stretch between San Diego and Tijuana known as Imperial Beach. A 14-mile stretch in San Diego--which includes Imperial Beach--has historically accounted for as much as 40 percent of Southwest border apprehensions. Before Operation Gatekeeper, illegal aliens openly congregated on the U.S. side of the border while waiting for an opportunity to head north. Many areas of Imperial Beach belonged to smugglers, illegal aliens and criminals who preyed on aliens and U.S. residents alike. San Diego has historically been a main point of entry for illegal crossers coming to the United States from the interior of Mexico. Unlike El Paso, there are fewer ``commuters.'' The vast majority of illegal crossers are highly motivated and try repeatedly to enter. Many hire smugglers to help them evade the Border Patrol. The terrain-- a combination of rugged canyons, mountains, forest areas, and mud flats, along with heavily [[Page E391]] populated communities almost directly on the border--makes the work of the Border Patrol even more difficult. On October 1, 1994, the Attorney General announced Operation Gatekeeper, a coordinated effort by the INS, the Office of the U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of California and the Executive Office of Immigration Review. Operation Gatekeeper was designed to use a multitude of tools to increase INS' enforcement capacity in San Diego and to address the specific challenges of the region. The Clinton Administration deployed new agents, time-saving equipment, state-of-the-art technology and an effective strategy to begin to reclaim the border in San Diego. The Operation sought first to control the 5-mile area of Imperial Beach, and then to expand control eastward throughout the 66- mile Sector. This strategy has proven effective, and intensive enforcement efforts have shifted traffic east to areas that are more remote and where the Border Patrol has more of a tactical advantage. As traffic has shifted away from Imperial Beach, INS has continued to beef up the Border Patrol presence along the remaining 61 miles of the San Diego Sector. However, illegal immigrants have often resorted to hiring smugglers to help them evade the Border Patrol. Others attempt to enter illegally through a port of entry using a fraudulent document. In May of 1995, INS launched Operation Disruption to crack down on smugglers and close off smuggling routes. The agency has also taken steps to tighten enforcement at ports of entry in San Diego. INS continues to fortify the entire San Diego border and will strengthen the control achieved to date with substantial new resources this fiscal year. Operation Safeguard Over the course of the last 2 years, as INS enhanced border security in El Paso, Texas, and San Diego, California, INS anticipated that traffic would shift to Arizona. By the end of 1994, apprehensions in Arizona had climbed 59 percent above the levels at the end of 1993. The Department of Justice launched Operation Safeguard to enhance the security of the Arizona border. INS detailed agents to Arizona to handle the increase flow of illegal alien traffic in the area until permanent agents could arrive. The goal of the operation was to redirect illegal crossings away from urban areas near the Nogales Port of Entry to open areas that the Border Patrol can more easily control. The Border Patrol used its enhanced force to deploy agents almost directly on the line along the four critical miles of the border. The agent deployment, combined with new fencing, has allowed the Border Patrol to enhance control in this critical area in Nogales. Bridging Enforcement Across California and Arizona On January 16, 1996, the Clinton Administration implemented a new initiative to strengthen and link Operations Gatekeeper and Operation Safeguard. INS accelerated the deployment of new personnel and resources--including 200 detailed Border Patrol agents, 40 detailed inspectors, and 60 special agent investigators--to further deter illegal crossings into California and Arizona. The new initiative has three critical components: First, with the addition of new equipment and personnel in San Diego, INS will expand the area of control in San Diego from Imperial Beach to Chula Vista to the east. Second, INS has linked Operation Gatekeeper in California with Operation Safeguard in Arizona. Through the use of checkpoints and airport monitoring, the agency is closing off routes used by illegal aliens and smugglers to evade the Border Patrol in areas of heightened enforcement. As part of this effort, the Department of Justice has strengthened it current coordination with the military as the work at the border on counter-drug enforcement activities in California and Arizona. Third, INS has been working closely with local law enforcement and plans to formally establish a federal-local partnership to enforce federal, state and local laws along the border. Local law enforcement agencies across California and Arizona will provide the Border Patrol and immigration agents with assistance by providing transportation, security and other support. The Justice Department will reimburse local law enforcement agencies for the extra assistance they provide INS in immigration enforcement. iv. providing the border region with resources to effectively control the border Three years ago, the Border Patrol was understaffed and gravely handicapped in its ability to patrol the front line. Agents spent too much time on administrative duties, filling out paperwork by hand or on manual typewriters. Agents were often stranded because of broken-down vehicles, or left idled with radios or other equipment in need of repair. A shortage of vehicles forced agents to leave the line open during shift changes--allowing illegal crossers to enter the United States unimpeded at regular intervals during day and night. Too few roads, inadequate lighting and too little fencing in key crossing areas further hampered the work of the Border Patrol. Over the last 3 years, the Clinton Administration has used every resource at its disposal to implement a plan that brings the highest crossed corridors in key urban areas under control. INS has deployed hundreds of new Border Patrol agents. It has provided agents with advanced technologies to catch illegal crossers and criminal aliens. Agents now have state-of-the-art equipment and vehicles. The Federal Government has built miles of roads and fences, and installed lighting to enhance effectiveness across the border. Over the course of this year, the INS will continue to strengthen the border with new agents, inspectors, vehicles and other equipment, fencing, lighting, and technology. New Border Patrol Agents In fiscal years 1994 and 1995, the Clinton Administration sought and received funding for a total of 1,150 new Border Patrol agents. Of these agents, more than 500 new agents have been deployed in San Diego, more than 140 in the El Paso Sector, with 510 agents going to Tucson, Del Rio, Laredo and McAllen. In FY 1996, 800 new Border Patrol agents are targeted for assignment to the Southwest border. These enhancements will increase the size and effectiveness of the Border Patrol. In addition, 200 Border Patrol positions will be redeployed from interior locations in the United States to further strengthen the Border Patrol presence along the front lines of the Southwest border. With the new agents to be added this fiscal year, the Border Patrol force will have increased by more than 40 percent in just over 3 years. New Land Border Inspectors INS hired 110 new land border inspectors with FY 1995 funding and will hire 536 new inspectors for ports of entry along the Southwest border with FY 1996 funding. The additional inspectors to be added this year will increase current staffing levels by 50 percent--the most significant port of entry staffing increase in the history of the agency. These inspectors are crucial to facilitate legal traffic and commerce and to tighten enforcement at our ports of entry along the border. INS has an ambitious plan in place to facilitate legal traffic through ports of entry along our Southern and Northern borders. With new personnel and technology, INS is taking steps and piloting programs to reduce waiting times for people legally entering the United States. These steps include designated commuter lanes, an automatic entry system for pre-screened travelers, and other improvements in our processing systems. These steps will reduce the inconvenience of waiting to enter the United States at our ports of entry without sacrificing the security of our borders. Vehicles and Equipment Over the past 3 years, INS has expanded the fleet of Border Patrol vehicles with the purchase of more than 1,500 new vehicles and more than 900 replacement vehicles. INS will continue to purchase two new vehicles for every three agents hired. Now, with an adequate vehicle fleet, agents can change shifts without sacrificing enforcement on the line and without creating a window of opportunity for illegal crossers. Fencing the Roads Over the past several years, INS, with the support of military personnel and the National Guard, has built many miles of fencing along the border to control drug trafficking, alien smuggling, crime, and illegal immigration. In San Diego, the Federal Government completed 7 miles of fencing by 1993 and, with continued construction over the last 3 years, there are now 23 miles of fencing in the Sector. In Tucson, INS has started construction on a fence project and in the Yuma, Arizona Sector, the agency has built close to 6 miles of fencing. With continued support, INS plans to build the following new fences this year: 8 miles of fencing in the Campo Station section of the San Diego Sector; 3 miles of fencing in El Centro; 4.7 miles of fencing at the Nogales Station area in the Tucson Sector, completing a project started this past year; and 2.3 miles of fencing in El Paso--including a one- mile fence in the Anapra/Sunland Park, New Mexico area and 1.3 miles at the Roadside Park area. INS will build roads to access the fencing and along the entire length of the fences, just as it has done in previous fence construction. Lighting Over the past 2 years, lighting projects in areas of San Diego have proven tremendously effective and have established the need for additional border lighting. With brightly shining lights, smugglers and illegal crossers cannot evade detection by the Border Patrol or other law enforcement personnel and it is harder for criminals to prey on victims in the dark. In 1995, the San Diego Sector installed 5 miles of lighting in the Imperial Beach Station, and other parts of the Sector have utilized portable lights pending the arrival of permanent fixtures. This year, INS will install additional lighting in San Diego and El Paso. The key areas to be lit are those east of the San Ysidro Port of Entry stretching to the San Ysidro mountains in San Diego; the Anapra/Sunland Park, New Mexico area; and along the Franklin Canal in the El Paso Sector. High Technology Support for Enforcement Operations Over the past year, the Border Patrol has received state- of-the-art technologies to support the detection and apprehension of illegal crossers. Twenty-five infra-red scopes were deployed in San Diego and El Paso and 105 sensors were placed along crossing routes [[Page E392]] in San Diego, Tucson and Yuma, Arizona. The Border Patrol has also been equipped with computer equipment to speed up the time it takes to process illegal aliens--freeing up more agents for work on the line. In addition, INS deployed a valuable new tool on the border: the IDENT system. This new technology is an automated fingerprint identification system that allows INS, for the first time, to readily identify criminal aliens, track illegal crossing patterns, and collect recidivism data. Over the past year, this system has been deployed in parts of California, Arizona and Texas. This year, we will make our agents even more effective with the following new equipment: Additional sensors for every sector along the Southwest border to detect illegal traffic; Portable radios for all new agents and new vehicles. In addition, INS will install a new radio network in San Diego to handle encrypted voice communication; Infra-red scopes across the border, including 16 to the San Diego Sector, 5 to the San Diego repair facility, 6 to El Centro, 7 to Yuma, 10 to Tucson, 6 to El Paso, 5 to the El Paso repair facility, 6 to Marfa, 15 to Del Rio, 4 to Laredo, and 8 to McAllen; New equipment and software for the Border Patrol's computer-assisted dispatch system in San Diego; and The complete deployment of IDENT to each of the sectors along the Southwest border and the installation of IDENT enhancements. v. summary: a record of progress The Clinton Administration has made clear progress to date. Today, the border is harder to cross than at any time in history. INS is advancing each of the key objectives of the border control strategy. It has secured areas of the border where just 2 years ago aliens freely crossed with impunity. As it has closed off traditional traffic routes, forcing illegal crossers to remote regions and to use longer and more arduous routes. In short, INS is successfully raising the cost and difficulty of entering the United States illegally. Communities across the Southwest border are encouraged by the measures we have taken to date. The work that the Clinton Administration is doing on the Southwest border is essential to restore the rule of law to the region and to begin to control the problem of immigration into the United States. However, to effectively control illegal immigration, the Federal Government must remove the magnet of illegal employment that draws illegal aliens to the United States and must also protect our citizens from criminal aliens. This Administration is committed to fighting the problem of illegal immigration on each of these fronts. INS is working with unsurpassed commitment not just to control the border, but also to back up border enforcement efforts with the aggressive enforcement of immigration laws at the worksite, tough penalties on criminal aliens who return to the United States, and an aggressive program to remove criminal and other illegal aliens from the United States. The agency is now armed with new resources to eliminate the job magnet and restore integrity to our immigration system. The measures being taken, and the enforcement plan at work, will bring greater security to the region and to the country for years to come. A Chronology of Progress on the Border: 1993-1996 March 1993--14-mile Fence Completed in the San Diego Sector The San Diego fence, built with support of the military's Joint Task Force 6, has rerouted illegal traffic, deterred illegal entry and forced alien and drug smugglers to use routes where the risk of apprehension is substantially higher. October 1993--Operation Hold the Line Launched in El Paso, Texas Operation Hold the Line employs an enhanced Border Patrol unit to engage in linewatch operations in the metropolitan El Paso area to effectively stop illegal immigration between El Paso and Ciudad Juarez, Mexico. October 1994--Operation Gatekeeper Launched in San Diego, California The Department of Justice deployed new agents, added support staff to free additional agents to work on the line, and provided the San Diego Sector with new technology, including the prototype IDENT system, and equipment. INS uses these and other new resources in an aggressive new strategy to control illegal immigration into San Diego and to shift traffic to areas where crossing is more difficult and the risk of apprehension is greater. October 1994--Operation Safeguard Launched in Arizona Operation Safeguard utilizes a line-watching strategy, in the Nogales and Douglas areas of Arizona. As part of the Operation, and in order to channel illegal traffic to areas of enhanced Border Patrol control, INS built part of a 4.7- mile metal fence in the Nogales Station area in 1995. January 1995--New Resources Deployed Across the Southwest Border With new resources in FY 1995, INS announced that it would add 700 Border Patrol agents to the Southwest border to bring the on duty force to 4,400. These new agents are supported with new vehicles, equipment and technologies, and well as new roads, fences and lighting. May 1995--Operation Disruption Launched in San Diego With the INS border crackdown in San Diego, INS launched Operation Disruption to disrupt established alien smuggling routes and to prevent smugglers from developing new avenues for illegal entry into the United States. June 1995--Phase II of Gatekeeper Launched in San Diego Building on the success of Operation Gatekeeper, a second phase was launched to respond to changes in traffic patterns and to address smuggling. INS placed additional agents in East County and tightened security at ports of entry. In addition, the agency announced that it would maintain and improve checkpoints north of San Diego and a new temporary checkpoint in East County. October 1995--Further Enhancements to Gatekeeper Attorney General announced the detailing of agents to San Diego to beef up enforcement in East County and to reinforce Imperial Beach and other areas of San Diego. She also announced that INS penalties for fraudulent document users, new detention space to support the border crackdown, and the appointment of Alan Bersin, the U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of California, to be her Special Representative for the southwest border to coordinate the work of all Justice Department agencies, harness resources from throughout the Federal Government, and work with state and local law enforcement. December 1995--IDENT Installed in Tucson, El Paso, McAllen, Yuma The IDENT prototype system deployment continued, expanding in areas east of San Diego and bringing the useful apprehension and analytic tool to more Border Patrol sectors along the Southwest border. By March, all nine Southwest sectors will have the IDENT prototype installed. January 1996--Border Enhancements in California and Arizona INS detailed 200 agents from Western, Central and Eastern regions of the United States to sectors in California and Arizona and 100 investigators/special agents as an advance deployment of FY 1996 resources. These new agents, along with improved coordination with the military and the support of local law enforcement, will increase control and further deter illegal immigration into the United States during a period when immigration pressures from Mexico are high. February 1996--FY 1996 resources are deployed to California, Arizona and Texas Department of Justice announced the deployment of new resources to be directed to the Southwest border. These include the addition of 1,000 Border Patrol agents to the front line and the extension of the border strategy to gain control of additional sections of the border where there is a high level of illegal traffic--providing significant support for San Diego, Tucson, and El Paso and McAllen, Texas. ____________________