The United States Border Patrol (USBP), a Federal police force, is the mobile uniformed law enforcement arm of U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP), a bureau of the Department of Homeland Security.
Mounted watchmen of the U.S. Immigration Service patrolled the border in an effort to prevent illegal crossings as early as 1904, but their efforts were irregular and undertaken only when resources permitted. The inspectors, usually called Mounted Guards, operated out of El Paso, Texas. Though they never totaled more than seventy-five, they patrolled as far west as California trying to restrict the flow of illegal Chinese immigration.
In March 1915, Congress authorized a separate group of Mounted Guards, often referred to as Mounted Inspectors. Most rode on horseback, but a few operated automobiles and boats. Although these inspectors had broader arrest authority, they still largely pursued Chinese immigrants trying to avoid the Chinese exclusion laws. These patrolmen were Immigrant Inspectors, assigned to inspection stations, and could not watch the border at all times. Military troops along the southwest border performed intermittent border patrolling, but this was secondary to "the more serious work of military training." Aliens encountered illegally in the U.S. by the military were directed to the immigration inspection stations. Texas Rangers were also sporadically assigned to patrol duties by the state, and their efforts were noted as "singularly effective."
The Border Patrol was founded on May 28, 1924 as an agency of the United States Department of Labor. Prior to 2003, the Border Patrol was part of the Immigration and Naturalization Service (INS), an agency within the U.S. Department of Justice.
The priority mission of the Patrol, as a result of the 9/11 attacks and its merging into DHS, is to prevent terrorists and terrorist weapons from entering the United States of America. However, the Border Patrol's traditional mission remains as the deterrence, detection and apprehension of illegal immigrants and individuals involved in the illegal drug trade who generally enter the United States other than through designated ports of entry.
Currently, the U.S. Border Patrol employs over 11,000 agents, and is responsible for patrolling 19,000 miles of land and sea borders. The Border Patrol personnel are deployed primarily at the U.S.-Mexico border, where they are assigned to control drug trafficking and illegal immigration
On November 2, 2005, Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Secretary Chertoff announced the program Secure Border Initiative (SBI), a comprehensive multi-year plan to secure America’s borders and reduce illegal migration.
A critical component of the SBI strategy to control the border is the department’s plan to launch a comprehensive program to transform its border control technology and infrastructure. The goal of this program component of SBI is to field the most effective mix of current and next generation technology, infrastructure, staffing, and response platforms. This program, named SBInet, will integrate multiple state of the art systems and traditional security infrastructure into a single comprehensive border security suite for the department.
U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) will serve as executive agent for the department’s SBInet program -- leading, managing, and working with an industry integrator to implement this aggressive new DHS program.
In response to illegal immigration in 1994, the Border Patrol came up with a new strategy for addressing illegal aliens. In 1992, "over half of all southwest border apprehensions occurred along only 18 of the 1,600 border miles—13 miles along the border between San Diego and Tijuana, Mexico, and 5 miles along the border between El Paso and Ciudad Juarez, Mexico."[1] In 1991, Office of National Drug Control Policy (ONDCP) commissioned Sandia National Laboratory to study more effective ways of stopping the flow of aliens and drugs into the United States. The "Sandia Study" concluded that the Border Patrol's traditional method of apprhension was ineffective. The Sandia Study recommended deterrence and the use of technology (cameras) and infrastructure (fences and other barriers) to control illegal immigration and drug smuggling.[2]
Retired El Paso Sector Chief Patrol Agent Silvestre Reyes started a program called "Operation Hold the Line". In this program, Border Patrol Agents would no longer react to illegal alien entries resulting in apprehensions, but would instead be forward deployed to the border, immediately detecting any attempted entries or deterring illegal aliens to cross at a more remote location. The idea was that it would be easier to capture illegal aliens in the wide open deserts then through the urban alleyways. Chief Reyes deployed his agents along the Rio Grande River, within eyesight of other agents. The program significantly reduced illegal alien entries in the urban part of El Paso, however, the operation merely shifted the illegal aliens to other areas.
San Diego Sector tried Sylvestre Reyes' approach of forward deploying agents to deter illegal entries into the country. Congress authorized the hiring of thousands of new agents, and many were sent to San Diego Sector. In addition, Congressman Duncan Hunter obtained surplus military landing mats to use as a border fence. Stadium lighting, ground sensors and infra-red cameras were also placed in the area. Apprehensions decreased dramatically in that area as the aliens crossed in different regions.
California was no longer the hotbed of illegal alien activity and the traffic shifted to Arizona, primarily in Nogales and Douglas.[citation needed] The Border Patrol instituted the same deterrent strategy it used in San Diego to Arizona. Arizona's program was named "Operation Safeguard." Today, Tucson Sector remains the busiest Border Patrol Sector in the United States, accounting for about 1/3 of all Border Patrol apprehensions nationwide.
For more information visit the U.S. Customs and Border protection website
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