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GAO-03-1084R 1 (2003-08-18)

handle is hein.gao/gaobaamhb0001 and id is 1 raw text is: I Accountability * Integrity * Reliability United States General Accounting Office Washington, DC 20548 August 18, 2003 The Honorable Robert C. Bonner Commissioner, Bureau of Customs and Border Protection Department of Homeland Security Subject: Land Border Ports of Entry: Vulnerabilities and Inefficiencies in the Inspections Process Dear Mr. Bonner: The Illegal Immigration Reform and Immigrant Responsibility Act of 1996 mandates that we track, monitor, and evaluate the Attorney General's strategy to deter illegal entry and report our findings to Congress.' In response, we have evaluated immigration-related inspections at land border POEs and made recommendations regarding (1) the integrity of the inspections process; (2) the efficiency and effectiveness of inspections-related port operations; and (3) the collection, analysis, and use of intelligence information. Due to your Bureau's concern that the public release of our detailed findings could compromise law enforcement operations, our report is restricted to Limited Official Use. This letter is intended to summarize our overall findings and confirm your agreement to take action to address vulnerabilities and inefficiencies in the inspections process. Most of our work was conducted before the Department of Justice's Immigration and Naturalization Service (INS) and the Department of the Treasury's Customs Service were merged into the newly created Bureau of Customs and Border Protection (CBP) in the Department of Homeland Security (DHS). However, the issues we address remain relevant as DHS merges the functions previously performed by the two agencies and implements major changes to its border inspections process. In performing our review, we visited 15 land border POEs-6 along the southern border and 9 along the northern border. At these ports we met with INS and Customs Port Directors, INS intelligence officers, and INS training officers. We interviewed INS inspectors in groups, involving a total of 82 inspectors. We also observed more than 100 INS and Customs inspectors conduct inspections. In addition, we met with INS District Office and Customs Management Center officials. At headquarters, we met with INS officials responsible for the inspections program, field operations, and intelligence; Customs officials responsible for passenger programs; and DHS officials when making contacts after March 1, 2003. We also spoke with officials from CBP, the Immigration Officer Academy, and the Forensic Document Laboratory about issues related to immigration inspector training. We reviewed INS and Customs 'P. L. 104-208, div. C, § 110, 8 U.S.C. 1103 note. GAO-03-1084R Land Border Ports of Entry

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