Senate Democrats released a minority staff report March 22, suggesting Customs and Border Patrol (CBP) agents prefer technological and other infrastructure solutions to President Donald Trump’s border wall.
Border Security: Analysis of Vulnerabilities Identified by Frontline Agents said CBP agents have “rarely recommended building a wall to address the most commonly identified vulnerabilities—or ‘capability gaps’—along the southwest border.”
The report, prepared by minority staff members of the Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs, is a summary of “nonpublic data contained in [the Capability Gap Analysis Process] CGAP in Fiscal Year (FY) 2017,” the report said.
“Through the FY 2017 CGAP process, frontline agents and Border Patrol sector chiefs identified 902 capability gaps along the southwest border,” the report said. “Less than one-half of 1 [percent] of the solutions Border Patrol agents and sector chiefs proposed for closing capability gaps along the southwest border in FY 2017 referenced a ‘wall,’”
The report also notes that references to fences as a solution were identified in 34 of the 902 gaps.
“Only 230 of the 902 capability gaps that frontline agents and sector chiefs identified along the southwest border in FY 2017 were classified as ‘Deterrence, Impedance, and Resolution’ – gaps that, according to [Department of Homeland Security (DHS)], would be filled ‘primarily through the use of man-made infrastructure, such as physical wall,’” the report continued. “The most commonly identified gaps Border Patrol agents and sector chiefs identified along the southwest border in FY 2017 were associated with Domain Awareness and Mission Readiness – indicating a need for technological and personnel approaches to securing the border.”
The report also referenced testimony from CBP and DHS officials, including comments from former DHS Secretary John Kelly stating that a wall alone will not work, and it also noted that current DHS Secretary Kristjen Nielsen agreed with him.
“Despite these statements and despite the capability gaps frontline Border Patrol agents themselves identified, the Trump administration has requested funding for a wall along the southwest border in amounts that far exceed requests for border security technology and personnel,” the report said.
It concluded that a “contiguous physical wall” is not the highest priority but did note that data collected by staffers is limited.
“[T]he word ‘wall’ was scarcely mentioned as a method for mitigating current vulnerabilities along the southwest border,” the report said. “To be sure, there were instances in which Border Patrol agents proposed ‘fencing’ or other tactical infrastructure, such as patrol roads, lighting, and storm drain grates, for addressing current capability gaps.”
In releasing the report, the committee’s ranking member Sen. Claire McCaskill reiterated the need for more technology and additional personnel. “We can’t let politics get in the way of our efforts to strengthen border security and protect our country,” she said.
Access the compete report here.
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