Building Smart and Secure Borders

Robert C. Bonner, Commissioner of the United States Customs and Border Protection, discussed border security at a Wednesday, May 5 Director's Forum at the Woodrow Wilson Center. Bonner explained border policies before the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks and outlined the subsequent and ongoing reforms to those policies.

The single greatest change in border policy following 9/11 was the reorganization of the various customs and border agencies that oversaw security at ports of entry. Prior to 9/11, four agencies—the Immigration and Naturalization Service (INS), U.S. Border Patrol, U.S. Customs Service, and Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (part of the Dept. of Agriculture)—shared various responsibilities related to border security. Now, however, those four agencies have been collapsed into one agency, the U.S. Customs and Border Protection Agency, which falls under the Department of Homeland Security. As part of this merger, 18,000 inspectors from the four agencies have joined together to secure the ports of entry into the U.S.

Bonner said he and his agency have two top priorities. "The two top priorities we have are keeping terrorists out of the country and keeping their weapons out, especially weapons of mass destruction. The best way to prevent another large-scale attack is to prevent them from getting inside in the first place." Bonner said security regarding both people and goods crossing United States borders is dramatically improved since September 11th.

Bonner said the merger of the various agencies has made providing security at ports of entry far more efficient and effective. "This merger eliminated rivalries and stovepipes that made inter-agency relationships difficult and, at times, dysfunctional. Now everything is streamlined within the same agency in the same department."

Bonner also noted that his agency's security goals have the twin purpose of "providing security in a way that does not choke off legitimate goods and travelers. That is vital both to our economy and to our sense of openness as a society."

As an example of how important border security is, Bonner reminded the audience of Customs Inspector Dianna Dean, who intercepted a terrorist carrying explosives at a port of entry in Washington state in late 1999. That terrorist was planning to blow up Los Angeles International Airport during millennium celebrations. Bonner noted that Agent Dean, as a border security agent, did not need probable cause or a warrant of any kind to search the person or vehicle in which he was travelling. Bonner argued that this legal authority, along with the legal authority to deny entry to the United States to any non-citizen, is vital to smart, effective border security policy.