U.S. border security in the 2000s

A nation’s ability to control who and what crosses into its lands

Though illegal immigration has long been a priority of the US Customs and Border Protection, drug smuggling has been an ongoing concern as well. US border security drew intense public interest following the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001. Additional funds and legislation were directed at securing the nation’s borders against future attacks. Manpower, technology, and razor wire were employed to stop illegal crossings.

Border security encompasses land, sea, and air enforcement. The United States has many land and sea borders, all of which fall under the jurisdiction of US Customs and Border Protection (CBP). The US Border Patrol, US Coast Guard, and other agencies and departments work under CBP on the front lines of border security.

When the Border Patrol was first established in 1924, its agents primarily patrolled isolated areas on horseback. By the twenty-first century, agents worked on foot, bicycles, horseback, motor vehicles, watercraft, and aircraft to prevent people and contraband—including weapons and drugs—from illegally entering the United States and to apprehend lawbreakers who succeed in crossing the borders. A variety of technological devices—including motion detection equipment, night vision cameras, and unmanned drone aircraft—alerted agents to possible intrusion.

The role of the border patrol became significantly more important after the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks. The general public became more aware of and concerned about the large number of people in the United States illegally and the possibility that they were planning terrorist strikes. Even the security of the Canadian border, which had been patrolled but was largely disregarded by the public, became a concern. More resources were directed at securing ports of entry, including border crossings, marine ports, and airports.

Establishment of the US Department of Homeland Security

Following the 2001 terrorist attacks, twenty-two agencies or departments were combined under a new umbrella agency. The US Department of Homeland Security (DHS), established in 2002, was allotted a number of responsibilities, among them administering immigration laws, disaster response, national security, and securing cyberspace. Agencies including the CBP, Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS), the Transportation Security Agency (TSA), the Coast Guard, and the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) operate under DHS to secure the nation and its citizens.

Though the US Border Patrol generally takes the lead in patrolling the borders, the US Coast Guard is also an active participant in border security. The Homeland Security Act of 2002 established ports, waterways, and coastal security as the Coast Guard’s primary mission. The Coast Guard protects the US Marine Transportation System (MTS) and those within it through aircraft and watercraft patrols. The agency works to prevent the MTS from being used by terrorists targeting the country, infrastructure, people, resources, and vessels. The Coast Guard engages in both counterterrorism (offensive) and antiterrorism (defensive) activities. The Border Patrol and Coast Guard frequently work together in operations, particularly in securing the southwestern border of the United States. In addition, Coast Guard agents safeguard the commercial and recreational fisheries along the US coast in the Gulf of Mexico, thereby protecting the country’s economic interests in the region.

CBP agents maintain crossings. They inspect cargo traversing the borders and ensure individuals have the proper authorization to enter the United States. They frequently search vehicles for individuals being smuggled into the country. Human trafficking has been a significant issue, particularly along the southern US border shared by Mexico. In such cases, the work of the Border Patrol often includes rescuing individuals abandoned by human traffickers.

The Border Fence

In 2006, US lawmakers passed the Secure Fence Act. The legislation required the DHS to establish seven hundred miles of double fencing along the 1,951-mile border separating the United States from Mexico and to monitor the border with technology. The ambitious $1.2 billion undertaking progressed quickly at first, but by the 2008 deadline, much was incomplete. Plans that year were to secure about three hundred miles of the border against vehicular crossings, while 370 miles of barriers would prevent pedestrian traffic.

In Yuma, Arizona, and other populous areas, twenty-foot-high steel walls were erected with nearby secondary razor-wire barriers. Illegal immigrant apprehensions in Yuma dropped from 5,571 in March 2007 to 751 in March 2008. The border at San Luis, Arizona, was reinforced with three walls. Between them, a vast flat area was under continuous surveillance using lights, cameras, and other technology. Migrants who traversed one barrier were essentially stalled in an area where border agents could easily capture them. Elsewhere, little more than metal mesh—or even picket fencing—blocked the way between Mexico and the United States. Though officials touted the decrease in illegal crossings in well-fortified areas, elsewhere authorities reported increased border traffic.

Much of the initial fence construction was completed on federal land. Local landowners often objected to the intrusion of the barriers and asked why local communities were not allowed to give input on the building projects. Many ranchers in Texas, who owned land on both sides of the US–Mexico border, refused to give the government access to their property. Some property owners—including some universities in Texas—were sued by the government when they objected to construction that would divide their properties.

Environmental activists argued that the substantial barriers designed to keep humans from passing also obstructed wildlife and interfered with migrating and endangered species. Many were angered that DHS was not bound by environmental laws, and several organizations, including the Sierra Club, filed lawsuits. In 2007, members of the Tohono O’odham Nation argued against a barrier being built on an ancient burial site on their lands, calling it desecration. The Cocopah and Kickapoo Nations also protested against the division of their lands by the border fence.

Officials in Texas formed the Texas Border Coalition, which filed a federal lawsuit in May 2008. They charged the head of DHS with not consulting with local authorities and owners of private property in establishing the fences in Texas and asked the courts to cease work on the barriers.

All of these objections set the project back, yet official figures indicated fewer people were crossing into the United States illegally. At about this time, however, the US economy entered a recession, and many experts noted that fewer Mexicans and South Americans attempted the trip when so few jobs were available in the United States.

The fence project yielded the best results when the barriers were supplemented by increased patrols and electronic surveillance. Heavier penalties for those apprehended—including detention for as long as two months—also were regarded as a deterrent. When faced with a difficult border crossing, however, many individuals simply moved to a less secure area to cross. Paradoxically, San Diego, California, where fences had defined the border since 1993, reported a 20 percent increase in apprehending illegal border crossers in 2007.

Though the federal government faced much opposition to the fence project, other Americans voiced objections to the slow progress being made on the border barriers. In Tucson, Arizona, the Techno Patriots began electronic surveillance of the border in 2007. Members of the group placed thermal imaging cameras in the border area and monitored them from their homes. Other groups, such as the Cochise County Militia of Naco, Arizona, vowed to patrol the border and apprehend illegal immigrants who bypassed the barriers.

Impact

In 2012, the US Border Patrol employed more than 21,000 agents—up from about 9,651 agents in 2001. DHS reported significantly fewer individuals were apprehended by the Border Patrol. DHS, which had committed large amounts of resources to the southwest borders, attributed the decrease to its success in deterring illegal border crossings with barriers and penalties. In 2009, CBP agents confiscated nearly 11,000 pounds of cocaine and more than 2.6 million pounds of marijuana; in 2012, the Border Patrol seized more than 5,900 pounds of cocaine and more than 2.2 million pounds of marijuana on the southwest border.

The border fence, initially funded with $1.2 billion, cost considerably more as the project developed. As of 2014, the federal government spent more than $2.3 billion on the fence, and only a portion of the barriers have been completed. In January 2009, the US Government Accountability Office estimated that the border fence’s per-mile costs to date had varied between $200,000 and $15.1 million, depending on the type of fence, materials, land purchase price, labor costs, topography, and other factors.

Bibliography

Archibold, Randal C., and Julia Preston. “Homeland Security Stands by Its Fence.” New York Times. New York Times, 21 May 2008. Web. 5 Dec. 2012.

Burnett, John. "In South Texas, Few on the Fence over Divisive Border Wall Issue." NPR. NPR, 18 Aug. 2014. Web. 11 Feb. 2015.

“Border Patrol Overview.” CBP. US Dept. of Homeland Security, 5 Jan. 2011. Web. 5 Dec. 2012.

Hataley, Todd, Christian Leuprecht, and Kim Richard Nossal, eds. “Evolving Transnational Threats and Border Security.” Centre for International and Defence Policy. Kingston: Queen’s U, 2012. PDF file.

Porier, Shar. “Cochise County Militia Ready to Patrol.” Douglas Dispatch. Douglas Dispatch, 3 Feb. 2009. Web. 5 Dec. 2012.

“Where Should I Look for ‘Suspicious Activity’?” America’s Waterway Watch. US Coast Guard, 19 June 2012. Web. 5 Dec. 2012.