Border Security Agency Structure: A Hindrance to Demonstrating Border Security Success

99 Pages·2014·0.51 MB·English

NAVAL
POSTGRADUATE

SCHOOL

MONTEREY, CALIFORNIA

THESIS

BORDER SECURITY AGENCY STRUCTURE:
A HINDRANCE TO DEMONSTRATING BORDER
SECURITY SUCCESS

by

Cynthia Atwood

December 2013

Thesis Advisor: Robert Bach
Co-Advisor: Kathleen Kiernan
Approved for public release; distribution is unlimited
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December 2013 Master’s Thesis
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BORDER SECURITY AGENCY STRUCTURE: A HINDRANCE TO
DEMONSTRATING BORDER SECURITY SUCCESS
6. AUTHOR(S) Cynthia Atwood
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Monterey, CA 93943-5000
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13. ABSTRACT (maximum 200 words)

Long-awaited immigration reform may become a reality in 2013, as Congress debates the merits of a comprehensive
overhaul. The primary criteria for triggering reforms in the Border Security, Economic Opportunity, and Immigration
Modernization Act (S.744), involves demonstrated control of the Southwest border. The debate has been
complicated, however, because only a few analysts and not the Department of Homeland Security itself have been
able to produce acceptable metrics that illustrate success at enforcing border operations, at or between, the ports of
entry.

14. SUBJECT TERMS DHS, Department of Homeland Security, Border Security, Border Patrol, 15. NUMBER OF
CBP, Customs and Border Protection, Coast Guard, INS, Immigration, ICE, Immigration and Customs PAGES
Enforcement, Hart-Rudman, HSA, Homeland Security Act, USCS, BTS, Border and Transportation 99
Security Directorate, Appreciative Inquiry, VSP, Visa Security Program, Inspection
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Approved for public release; distribution is unlimited

BORDER SECURITY AGENCY STRUCTURE: A HINDRANCE TO
DEMONSTRATING BORDER SECURITY SUCCESS

Cynthia Atwood
Department of Homeland Security, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services
B.L.S., Loyola University, New Orleans, 1986

Submitted in partial fulfillment of the
requirements for the degree of

MASTER OF ARTS IN SECURITY STUDIES
(HOMELAND SECURITY AND DEFENSE)

from the

NAVAL POSTGRADUATE SCHOOL
December 2013

Author: Cynthia Atwood

Approved by: Robert Bach
Thesis Advisor

Kathleen Kiernan
Co-Advisor

Mohammed Hafez, PhD
Chair, Department of National Security Affairs
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ABSTRACT
Long-awaited immigration reform may become a reality in 2013, as Congress debates the
merits of a comprehensive overhaul. The primary criteria for triggering reforms in the
Border Security, Economic Opportunity, and Immigration Modernization Act (S.744),
involves demonstrated control of the Southwest border. The debate has been complicated,
however, because only a few analysts and not the Department of Homeland Security
itself have been able to produce acceptable metrics that illustrate success at enforcing
border operations, at or between, the ports of entry.
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TABLE OF CONTENTS
I.  INTRODUCTION........................................................................................................1 
A.  PROBLEM STATEMENT .............................................................................2 
B.  RESEARCH QUESTIONS .............................................................................3 
C.  PRACTICAL SIGNIFICANCE OF THE RESEARCH ..............................3 
D.  APPROACH .....................................................................................................4 
E.  LITERATURE REVIEW ...............................................................................5 
1.  The Homeland Security Act of 2002, as Amended through 2008 ....5 
a.  Immediate Restructuring of the Department ...........................6 
2.  Principals in Government ...................................................................8 
3.  The GAO and the DHS OIG .............................................................10 
4.  Further Actions by Congress, the White House, and DHS ............11 
5.  Conclusions on the Literature Reviewed .........................................12 
II.  THE U.S. APPROACH TO BORDER SECURITY PRIOR TO HART-
RUDMAN AND PASSAGE OF THE HOMELAND SECURITY ACT
(HSA), A BRIEF HISTORY .....................................................................................15 
A.  BORDER SECURITY PRIOR TO 9/11 AND THE PASSAGE OF
THE HSA ........................................................................................................15 
B.  AGENCIES THAT PROVIDED BORDER AND
TRANSPORTATION SECURITY PRIOR TO PASSAGE OF THE
HSA .................................................................................................................16 
1.  Department and Agency Border Security Efforts Prior to 9/11 ....16 
2.  The U.S. Customs Service .................................................................16 
3.  The Department of Justice ................................................................17 
4.  The U.S. Coast Guard ........................................................................18 
C.  PRE-9/11 ANTI-TERRORISM POLICIES AND DIRECTIVES ............19 
D.  THE HART-RUDMAN COMMISSION .....................................................21 
E.  EARLY EFFORTS TOWARD A HOMELAND SECURITY
AGENCY ........................................................................................................23 
III.  THE CURRENT CONFIGURATION OF THE BORDER SECURITY
AGENCIES, HOW THEY COMPARE TO THE HOMELAND SECURITY
ACT-MANDATED STRUCTURE, AND REPORTS ON THEIR
PERFORMANCE ......................................................................................................27 
A.  SIGNIFICANCE OF BORDER AND TRANSPORTATION
SECURITY IN THE ACT.............................................................................32 
B.  WHAT BECAME OF THE BORDER AND TRANSPORTATION
SECURITY DIRECTORATE MANDATE? ..............................................36 
1.  Today’s Border Security Agencies ...................................................36 
a.  U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) ..........................36 
b.  U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) .............37 
c.  The Laws—Designations and Duties .....................................37 
2.  Department of Defense ......................................................................38 
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a.  The U.S. Coast Guard .............................................................38 
b.  The U.S. Military and National Guard Forces ......................39 
C.  BORDER SECURITY AGENCY PROBLEMS DUE TO THE
CURRENT STRUCTURE ............................................................................40 
D.  INDIVIDUAL BORDER SECURITY AGENCIES AND
PROGRAMS ..................................................................................................46 
1.  The U.S. Coast Guard ........................................................................46 
2.  The Visa Security Program ...............................................................47 
3.  The U.S. Border Patrol ......................................................................50 
E.  CONCLUSIONS REGARDING THE BORDER SECURITY
AGENCY STRUCTURE AND SECURITY PROGRAMS .......................52 
IV.  THE BORDER SECURITY AGENCIES ARE CONTINUING TO FACE
CHALLENGES CREATED BY THEIR STRUCTURE .......................................53 
A.  BORDER SECURITY STRUCTURE STRIVING TO MEET TWO
GOALS............................................................................................................53 
B.  CONTINUED CO-MINGLING OF IMMIGRATION AND
CUSTOMS INSPECTIONS ..........................................................................54 
C.  ATTEMPTS AT UNIFYING THE BORDER SECURITY
APPARATUS .................................................................................................55 
1.  The One Face at the Border (OFAB) Initiative—2003 ...................55 
2.  Training of CBP Officers ..................................................................58 
3.  The Second Stage Review—2005 ......................................................61 
D.  BORDER SECURITY EFFORTS THAT COULD SHOW
MEASUREABLE SUCCESS ........................................................................64 
E.  THE FUTURE OF BORDER SECURITY UNDER CURRENT
DISCUSSION .................................................................................................66 
1.  The Secure Border Act of 2011 .........................................................66 
2.  Border Security Metrics Related to Comprehensive
Immigration Reform ..........................................................................67 
3.  Conclusions .........................................................................................68 
V.  CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS ...................................................69 
LIST OF REFERENCES ......................................................................................................75 
INITIAL DISTRIBUTION LIST .........................................................................................81 

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