Schumer: TB Traveler Who Slipped Past Upstate NY Border Guard Exposed Glaring Problems With Nation's First Line Of Defense - Border Patrol Is Understa

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Schumer: TB Traveler Who Slipped Past Upstate NY Border Guard Exposed Glaring Problems With Nation's First Line Of Defense - Border Patrol Is Understaffed And Overworked

In light of yesterday's news that an individual with a highly dangerous strain of tuberculosis, whose passport was flagged and was identified as someone to be detained, was able to cross the upstate New York border, today, U.S. Senator Charles E. Schumer called for an investigation into the current staffing situation at border crossings across upstate New York and along the Northern Border. Schumer is concerned that the U.S. Customs and Border Patrol Service is overworked and understaffed, and that unless changes are made to boost recruitment, improve training and increase retention rates, the agency will be increasingly overwhelmed when it comes to keeping terrorists and weapons of mass destruction from crossing the upstate border.

"The fact that this individual was able to cross the upstate New York border despite having his passport tagged, and setting off a warning at the border, exposes a disturbing lapse in our border security," said Senator Schumer. "But, perhaps even more frightening, is that if we don't give Customs and Border Patrol the manpower and resources it needs, it they will be increasingly overwhelmed when it comes to ensuring that terrorists are kept out of our country. Today, I'm calling for the Government Accountability Office to conduct an investigation in the staffing situation at border crossings along the Northern Border, so in locations across Upstate New York we can make sure agents are getting the help and training they need."

Yesterday, it was discovered that individual carrying tuberculosis who was placed on a no-fly list, which was then turned over to border guards, was still able to cross the Plattsburgh, New York border and travel to Albany and New York City before being detained and quarantined. A single border guard was responsible for mistakenly allowing the patient to enter the country. While the failure to detain the individual so he could be quarantined exposed a gaping hole in the country's system to protect the public from disease, it also underscored the nation's vulnerability to stopping terrorists from slipping past border guards and gaining entrance.

"Today it was one very sick and very irresponsible person who slipped through, but tomorrow could bring much worse," said Schumer. "There is just no excuse for this. God forbid this was someone bent on doing us harm - we simply must have more border guards, with better safety protocols, doing a better job."

Senator Schumer today warned that this incident showed that potential staffing shortages at the nation's border crossings and a lack of adequate training has left agents overworked, under-trained and lacking back-up support to deal with a deluge of travelers seeking to enter the nation through the Northern Border. The U.S. Customers and Border Patrol unions have long complained that long hours and forced overtime have placed significant strain on their ability to deal with the growing number of threats and potential terrorists attempting to enter the border.

As of September 11, 2006, the Northern Border was still 1,428 officers short of the 4,845 agents required by the USA PATRIOT act. According to a May, 2005 House Committee report on Homeland Security, despite the number of agents on the Northern Border tripling as a result of an authorization made in the USA PATRIOT Act in 2001, there is concern that those numbers may drop if retiring and promoted agents are not quickly replaced.

According to U.S. Customers and Border Protection, there are 17 border crossings along the 500 miles of northern border in New York State, spanning from Buffalo to Champlain. They are manned by approximately 980 uniformed officers, including 30 who are agriculture specialists and unarmed. In Fiscal Year 2006, CBP officers cleared 19 million passengers which included 9,790,680 passenger vehicles and 1,890,000 commercial trucks

Today, Senator Schumer called for a new GAO (Government Accountability Office) investigation into the current staffing situation at border crossings along the Northern border, including Upstate New York. He specifically called for examining ways to improve the retention rates of border guards as well as improve their training. The investigation would examine attrition rates, recruitment practices, and whether or not candidates are properly surveyed throughout the hiring and training process.

"Even though the agent was warned that the man should be detained at all costs - the individual was still allowed to drive into this country no questions asked. It's high time we have a top to bottom investigation of our border control practices. These agents are our nation's first line of defense and we need to make sure they get the support and training they deserve," Schumer added.

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