Border and customs officials cite low morale, security gaps

A majority of border and customs officials surveyed earlier this month by the American Federation of Government Employees said they are demoralized and not getting the full support they need to protect the country, according to a new report released Monday.

Sixty percent of officials surveyed said they have very low or somewhat low morale, while 64 percent said they are not satisfied or are only somewhat satisfied with the tools, training and support they have been given by the Homeland Security Department to fight terrorism. The survey, sponsored by AFGE, the National Border Patrol Council and the National Homeland Security Council, questioned 250 Border Patrol agents and 250 Customs and Border Protection officers.

"We are here today to give our nation's policymakers, lawmakers and all Americans a message: The war on terror is in danger of being lost at the borders, the airports and the seaports," Charles Showalter, president of AFGE's National Homeland Security Council, said in releasing the survey.

Showalter said the Border Patrol needs at least 500 more inspectors at all ports of entry to begin addressing identified shortfalls. The Border Patrol became part of CBP -- which now has more than 41,000 employees -- when the Homeland Security Department was created in 2003.

CBP spokeswoman Christiana Halsey called the survey misinformed and biased.

"It is not representative of the CBP front-line workforce," she said. "It's not a representative sample of the overall workforce."

She said the formation of CBP created one unified agency that provides agents and inspectors with the necessary training, resources and information. She added that CBP has initiated foreign programs so border officials are not the first line of defense.

"We're not just confronting this from one angle. We have increased the tools and training that they need," she added.

T.J. Bonner, president of AFGE's National Border Patrol Council, said he believes that as many potential terrorists are slipping over the nation's borders today as before the Sept. 11 attacks.

He said the government could reduce illegal immigration by 98 percent if Congress revamped immigration laws and enforced sanctions against employers who hire illegal workers.

A slim majority of survey respondents believe the country has made some progress in the area of homeland security since the Sept. 11 attacks, but 44 percent said the nation is not safer today.

A majority of those surveyed also spoke against key DHS policies. For example, 53 percent said the department's "One Face at the Border" initiative has had a negative impact. That initiative trains CBP inspectors to perform duties previously done by immigration, customs and agriculture inspectors. Additionally, 63 percent of those surveyed said they expect a hiring freeze within DHS to have a negative effect on their work.