New recruits to units battling illegal immigration at the U.S. southern border will be surprised to discover that some officials and agents charged with ensuring our safety are corrupt.
There have already been several criminal cases investigated this summer. Three former National Guardsmen – Sergeant Cesar Pacheco, Sergeant Clarence Hodge, and Pfc. Jose Rodrigo Torres – are suspected of collaborating to smuggle illegal immigrants across the border. In another case, William Ferrone, a former border patrol agent, was sentenced to 16 months in prison for helping smuggle people without documents into the United States. Separately, officials from the border county of Zapata were sentenced to prison for blackmailing drug mules.
These cases are far from exceptions to the rule, but rather a lamentable confirmation of the appalling reaches of corruption in the southern border regions. According to the Department of Homeland Security, 288 employees of Customs and Border Protection have been investigated since 2004 on charges of corruption. While there were 60 such cases in all of 2006, there have already been 58 this year.
Customs and Border Protection officials predict that this problem will only get worse. President Bush is emphatic about increasing the number of border protection agents from 13,000 to 18,000 by the end of next year. As a result, selection standards and the level of training will decline. Experienced border protection officials believe that any large law enforcement agency forced into ambitious plans to increase its numbers sharply will inevitably face a dramatic increase in corruption and incompetence.
The situation on the southern border has become more and more strained in recent years. Mexican drug cartels have gradually taken over operations to smuggle illegal immigrants into the United States. Until recently, these operations were handled by smaller groups. For cartels, which have large amounts of money at their disposal, greasing the palms of officials is just a part of overhead expenses. Since the United States has tightened border control, the temptation to open the border by bribing officials has become stronger than ever.
Law enforcement officers in southern border regions have many reasons for seeking illicit gains. The salaries of National Guardsmen and sheriff’s deputies in poor border regions are extremely low. Also, the moral qualities of border protection agents leave much to be desired. This means that many officers are ready to accept a bribe and turn a blind eye to lawlessness. One of the more egregious examples of corruption involved a highly-placed official accused of receiving large bribes from Mexican drug cartels, who taught an ethics and morality class for border protection agents.
It cannot be said that all border protection agents are on the take. Many of them are honest and decent people who are doing everything in their power to stabilize the situation on the southern border. And their efforts have led to results: from October 2006 to May 2007, the number off illegal immigrants dropped by 26 percent from the number for the same period in the previous year. This is partially the result of the reinforcement of border protection units through programs like Jump Start, which called for 6,000 National Guardsmen to help agents in fighting illegal immigration.
The reasons why customs and border agents are inclined to commit unlawful acts are manifold. Some see the chance to improve their financial situation. Others are expecting a baby and need extra money. Still others need money to pay for their parents’ medication. But in many cases, these agents have simply lost all sense of decency and have decided to get rich quick. After all, allowing one truck packed with illegal immigrants through a checkpoint brings in from $1,000 to $3,500.
The situation along the southern border has become alarmingly complicated. It is hard to say what the root cause of the flourishing bribery and corruption is. But the problem is multi-faceted, and an integrated and informed solution is needed. Only then can the country be sure that the border is locked and that the key is in reliable hands.
