Strength in numbers

When Congress passed the sweeping intelligence bill in December, it called for increasing the size of the Border Patrol by 2,000 agents. Right now the agency has close to 11,000 agents, 90 percent of whom are stationed along the 2,000-mile Mexican border. Clearly, that’s not enough. Although 2,000 more still seems inadequate, the goal was to double the number of agents in five years. The administration’s budget proposal, however, has included just a $36.9 million increase for 210 more agents. This amount is grossly insufficient.

Former Homeland Security Secretary Tom Ridge said that 210 agents would be “a good incremental increase” since border agents would be helped by new technology, according to USA Today. Challenging that claim is El Paso, Texas, border agent Jim Stack: “The technology is great, but it doesn’t actually go out and get the bodies.” It’s important to continue bringing better technology to the fight. Unmanned aerial vehicles, underground sensors and cameras do help border agents make better use of their resources; but they can’t make up for the deficit in manpower that is currently plaguing our border patrols.

In one New Mexico county, 109 agents guard a 53-mile-long border. That’s one agent for every half mile. It’s no wonder that in this one area alone as many as 200 illegals a day cross over. Rep. Steve Pearce, New Mexico Republican and a member on the Homeland Security Committee, is concerned that a growing number of illegal immigrants are from countries other than Mexico. He recently spoke with a Federal Law Enforcement Training Center in Artesia, N.M., arguing for more border agents to counter this emerging threat. In 2003, for instance, the Border Patrol arrested nearly 40,000 non-Mexican illegal entrants. In 2004, that number increased sharply to 65,000. “There are great indications that [illegal immigrants] are trying to get some pretty scary things across the border,” he said. Al Qaeda is well aware of this weakness, as Homeland Security Deputy Secretary James Loy told Congress recently. “Several al Qaeda leaders believe operatives can pay their way into the country through Mexico and also believe illegal entry is more advantageous than legal entry for operational security reasons,” Mr. Loy said.

The Bush administration is facing pressure to cut the budget deficit, but this is no excuse for budgeting such insufficient border resources. Providing for our national security is the first responsibility of government. Since September 11, it is obvious that securing our borders is a necessary part of that national security. The president’s oath of office obliges him to request sufficient funds from Congress for that end. Mr. Bush’s current budget proposal request manifestly fails to meet that national security requirement.