Hearing of the Commerce, Justice, Science and Related Agencies Subcommittee of the House Appropriations Committee Subject: Federal Bureau of Investigation of Fiscal Year 2009 Budget Request
Interview
Hearing of the Commerce, Justice, Science and Related Agencies Subcommittee of the House Appropriations Committee Subject: Federal Bureau of Investigation of Fiscal Year 2009 Budget Request
BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT
REP. KEN CALVERT (R-CA): Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
Director Mueller, I just want to tell you what a huge fan I am of you and the FBI. It's a great comfort to know that you're there. The superb job that you do is deeply appreciated by I know everybody on this committee and in the country. I want to ask you about two areas in particular.
First of all, could you comment on CIS? It has actually adopted a new policy that I wanted to ask you to comment on that they're going to issue green cards before the FBI completes a background check, which seems to me to be a bad idea. And I just wanted you to comment on it if you thought that was prudent, particularly since once the green card is issued, then it's the responsibility of the government to prove that the aliens should not be in the country. We've sort of flip the burden of proof and allowed this person in before you have been able to do your part.
MR. MUELLER: I must say that I am not familiar with the details and the rationale. I understand that that has been the case, so I really don't feel prepared to talk about that decision.
REP. CALVERT: Okay. Let me, If I could also, ask you to -- this is a specific request that I think you and the FBI could make a significant difference right away. I had a chance to go to Tucson. I've been working up and down the border with my friends Congressman Ciro Rodriguez, Congressman Henry Cuellar. We've successfully been able to get a policy called Operation Streamline Expanded from Del Rio to Laredo where the Border Patrol is enforcing existing law and arresting everyone that comes across the border illegally. It's essentially a zero-tolerance program that is very successful. The local community loves it, because the crime rate has dropped about 76 percent in the Del Rio sector. It's got broad-based support among local officials. The local community is delighted with it. Illegal crossings in the Del Rio sector are the lowest they've been since 1973 when they began keeping statistics.
And in the process of working with my colleagues in Texas to get that program rolled out along the Texas border -- we're working on Brownsville next -- I visited Tucson. Because I had heard Tucson has about half of the arrests in the country of illegal border crossers that are made in the Tucson sector. I know you're aware of that. And I was mortified to discover in talking to the sector chief there, Robert Gilbert, a good, good man with the Border Patrol. He gave me these statistics, and I went to the booking station, talked to the officers. It turns out that of the people arrested, if you are arrested in Tucson carrying up to 500 pounds of dope, you have a 99.6 percent chance of never going to jail and in fact being home in time for dinner. Quite literally, they're turning them all loose. I had no idea. I just was thunderstruck.
The U.S. attorney in Tucson sector will not do anything to attempt to try to reverse that. They're turning loose literally 99.6 percent of everybody arrested in the Tucson sector, even if they're carrying up to 500 pounds. The evidence room is stuffed with loads of dope that are 500 pounds or less. It's unbelievable.
So my good friend from Maryland is exactly right about the narcotics problem. We know you have testified we've seen evidence that the terrorists are attempting to use these smuggling routes to enter the United States. What I was going to suggest specifically -- and I know you may not be familiar with this. I just wanted to ask, I think it would be very productive for the FBI -- I notice in your request to this committee you're asking for 568 new positions, a number of special agents, intelligence analysts, 228 professional support, to enable the FBI to work more closely with federal, state and local partners. I'd suggest, if you could, to think about assigning an FBI agent just to sit in the booking room of the Tucson sector.
They had a State Department employee there part time. Because the Border Patrol was so desperate to get some help, they had a State Department official there to look for visa violations. So they can hold these guys on anything. But the U.S. attorney's turning them all loose. This is something I'm going to explore with this subcommittee with the attorney general.
And I'm working something up, Mr. Chairman and Mr. Frelinghuysen, for you and the other committee members so we can look at sector by sector. It never occurred to me. I was assuming when an arrest was made -- I know you do -- when an arrest is made by an FBI agent, it's assumed it's a good arrest, the person is going to be at least presented to a grand jury, and there's going to be some effort at prosecution. From what I understand, the U.S. attorney in Tucson's even turning loose over 90 percent of your arrests. They're turning -- when your folks make an arrest, they're cutting them loose.
Are you aware of this problem, number one? And number two, is there something you can do? Can the FBI assign some additional people there to help the Border Patrol in identifying people that, a, might be a terrorist threat or a dangerous criminal that the U.S. attorney's just letting walk out the door?
MR. MUELLER: As I, I think, indicated before, I am not familiar with that issue. But I'll look into that.
REP. CALVERT: Okay. It's apparently going on. And in the San Diego sector -- director -- I understand that they're turning loose literally almost everybody. This is dumbfounding to me. I've been meeting with the Department of Justice and attempting to try to find some resolution. They tell us that the budget request they've submitted to this committee will help resolve that. But in the meantime, there's been no effort to change the .39 percent prosecution rate, which is deeply disturbing.
In the brief time that I've got left, I wanted to ask you, if you could, to talk to us a little bit about the threat that the Homeland Security secretary has talked to us about that al Qaeda is recruiting Caucasians, people from Western Europe that will maybe be more difficult for us to spot. Can you talk to us about the changing nature of the type of people that al Qaeda's trying to sneak into the country?
MR. MUELLER: I can speak generally. Because it is no concession to the fact that al Qaeda is utilizing portions of Afghanistan, the Federally Administered Tribal Areas, FATA, with the smaller training camps. And the information we do have is that amongst those that they are recruiting are Westerners, because they believe that persons with a valid passport with either a European country or North American passport will more easily pass scrutiny and be able to enter the United States. And that is a current threat that we, the CIA, NSA, ODNI are all concerned about.
REP. CALVERT: Have you seen any additional evidence of -- last time we visited last year and the year before last year -- about the FBI had seen indications of individuals from countries with known al Qaeda connections changing their Islamic surnames either to Hispanic or other surnames? Could you talk to us a little bit more about that and how many examples of that type of identity change you've seen?
MR. MUELLER: I have no further information on that, sir.
REP. CALVERT: Okay.
I would like to work with someone, in your office -- in conclusion, Mr. Chairman; you've been generous with the time -- to work with you on the Tucson problem. And I think the FBI could do a world of good assigning an agent -- maybe rotating him out in those booking rooms -- in the Tucson sector, in the San Diego sector, I think in Lordsburg, also, which is the EL Paso area.
It is frankly appalling that the U.S. attorney is not prosecuting arrests that your agents are making. It's ATF, it's FBI, it's DEA and then above all, the Border Patrol. It's just astounding to me and I know that would be a real concern to you and your agents as well. I would like to work with you to help try to resolve that.
MR. MUELLER: I must say I had not heard that that was a problem for us. I would have thought I would have heard, but we will look into that and get back to you, sir.
REP. CALVERT: Thank you very much.
Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT
Source