US Rep Ron Barber Tells DHS to Stop Delays: Have Border Security Metrics in Place Within Six Months

Press Release

U.S. Rep. Ron Barber today expressed frustration that the Department of Homeland Security still has not established a way to measure the effectiveness of Border Patrol operations -- nearly 1½ years after a federal study said such measurements are necessary.

To address that, Barber today persuaded his colleagues on the House Committee on Homeland Security to unanimously adopt an amendment that requires the commissioner of U.S. Customs and Border Protection to develop and implement comprehensive border security metrics within six months.

"We must make sure that our border with Mexico is secure and that people who live and work along the border feel safe on their land," Barber told the committee today. "To ensure that security, we need to continue to support our agents on the ground and make sure they have the resources they need to protect the border. But we also need a way to determine whether or not our border security strategy is working."

DHS previously said it would have border security metrics in place by November 2013.

"Unfortunately, November 2013 has come and gone and the department has not fully developed or finalized metrics for measuring security at our border," Barber said today.

Barber's amendment adopted today not only requires those metrics to be in place within six months, but also requires that local stakeholders -- such as ranchers and residents who live near the border -- must be consulted. Barber represents 83 miles of the international border in Cochise County.

In January 2013, Barber released a comprehensive study of Border Patrol strategies and resources conducted by the Government Accountability Office. The study was requested by Barber and U.S. Rep. Bennie Thompson of Mississippi, the ranking member of the Committee on Homeland Security.

GAO analyzed data from the 2006 to 2011 fiscal years and Border Patrol's 2012-2016 strategic plan for border security. Evaluators visited each of the Border Patrol stations across the Southwestern border, interviewed Border Patrol personnel, toured the border line and observed resources and infrastructure.

GAO also interviewed ranchers in Barber's Southern Arizona district and across the Tucson sector of the Border Patrol.

In evaluating how the Border Patrol deploys its agents and other resources, the GAO determined that the Border Patrol lacks measures for assessing risk and need and does not have in place goals or a timeline to improve security along the Southwestern border. GAO recommended the agency resolve these issues.

Barber took action on the report by cosponsoring The Border Security Results Act, which requires the secretary of Homeland Security to develop a strategy for gaining "operational control" of the international border and specific metrics for defining border security that are informed by those who live and work along the border.

The bill defined "operational control" as a condition in high traffic areas in which there is a 90 percent effectiveness rate -- calculated by dividing the number of people apprehended by the total of number apprehended, turned back, and number of people who get away. Operational control also means a significant reduction in the movement of illicit drugs.

Barber strengthened that legislation by requiring public meetings as one way of receiving input from border residents and other community members who experience the realities of life on the border every day.

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