Holding the Line
On an average day, U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) agents along the U.S.-Mexico border confiscate 5,400 pounds of illegal drugs, seize more than 210 fake documents, and arrest 3,256 people who try to enter the United States illegally.
The challenges of securing the border are perfectly illustrated in and around San Diego, where officials must deal with several nearby land ports of entry and a large seaport. The most popular port of entry in the world is San Ysidro, located between San Diego and Tijuana, Mexico, and more than 41 million people and 17 million vehicles were processed there by CBP officials in 2005.
CBP agents have been trained to find illegal aliens who use fraudulent documents or who hide in secret compartments inside vehicles. These agents have discovered illegal aliens inside the dashboard of minivans, inside engine compartments–even inside the gas tank of a truck that had been equipped with an alternative gas storage system.
The tools used to secure the U.S.-Mexico border include cutting-edge technology, risk management policies, and enforcement policies.
The Coast Guard, U.S. Navy, Harbor Police, and other law enforcement agencies must protect the Port of San Diego from threats like improvised explosive devices hidden on small ships. Shipping terminals and cruise ships at the port are protected from water-based attack by floating or submerged fences of steel cables that are capable of destroying the propellers of ships that draw too near.
Abstracted by the National Law Enforcement and Corrections Technology Center (NLECTC) from Security Management (09/06) , Vol. 50, No. 9, P. 64; Anderson, Teresa.
