Border checks limited to speed traffic

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U.S. Customs and Border Protection officers in Texas have been ordered to abbreviate national security checks at one of the nation"s busiest ports of entry to speed up travel between the United States and Mexico, according to official documents and multiple interviews with agents.

An Aug. 16 memorandum from CBP El Paso field office Director Luis Garcia directs agents to limit inspections of vehicle and pedestrian border crossers as wait times escalate. The document, obtained by The Washington Times, sets new guidelines that border inspectors say undermine efforts to prevent terrorists and other criminals from entering the United States.

The memo says:

• If wait time is 45 minutes or less, officers are required to query all drivers and passengersolder than 18 and ensure that the license plate is correct.

• If wait time is 45 to 60 minutes, customs officers are to query only the driver and 50 percent of the passengers. Also, the officers are not to conduct compartment checks and density-meter readings used to find contraband.

• If wait time is 60 to 120 minutes or more — the average wait at the numerous crossings — they are to query only the driver and ensure that the license plate is correct.

"At 30 to 40 minutes of 'wait time,' we were querying the driver only at the request of our supervisors," said an El Paso customs agent, who spoke with The Washington Times this month on the condition of anonymity for fear of reprisal.

"Basically, we were only running the documents of the driver every fifth vehicle, so everyone else was coming in without being checked to the same standards. Even if you stick with the letter of this memo, it still falls short for national security purposes."

Officers, who speculated the guidelines were created to counter complaints from businesses in the region that are angry over delays at the border, said pedestrian crossings are even more vulnerable.

According to the memo, if the pedestrian crossing wait is more than one hour, "query at a rate of 30 percent of pedestrian traffic."