New U.S. Border Security Act: The Facts

Cecilia Farfán Méndez
August 17, 2010

US agent surveys US-Mexico border. (AP Photo)

With ample bipartisan support, U.S. President Barack Obama signed the Southwest Border Security Bill on August 13 to allocate $600 million in supplemental funds for border protection. The goal of the new law is to allot resources to combat transnational organizations that traffic drugs, arms, money, and smuggle people across the Mexican border. The new legislation, explained Obama in a statement, “will also strengthen our partnership with Mexico in targeting the gangs and criminal organizations that operate on both sides of our shared border.” The FBI reports that  93 percent of the cocaine that enters the United States currently moves across the U.S-Mexican border.

Where Is the Money Going?

Two-thirds of the $600 million will be allocated to the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) while the remaining funds will be given to the Department of Justice (DOJ).

• Department of Homeland Security: Out of the $394 million assigned to the DHS, $244 million will be apportioned for hiring border patrol agents as well as customs officers. In addition, $80 million will employ new immigration agents. For equipment, $32 million is destined for the purchase two Predator unmanned aerial detection systems.
• Department of Justice: $196 million will allow this agency to hire 400 federal law enforcement agents as well as temporarily deploy up to 220 personnel to high-crime border areas. New staff includes seven Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives teams to target firearms trafficking, five FBI Hybrid Squads for intelligence collection, 26 posts to review wiretap and extradition requests, and over 30 immigration judges and prosecutors.
• Shared Responsibility with Mexico: In light of the fact that the Obama administration has termed Mexico’s struggle against organized crime a "shared responsibility", part of the funds allocated to the DOJ will also benefit Mexican law enforcement operations. Support will be provided for ballistic and DNA analysis, information sharing, and technical assistance. More than 20 U.S. marshals, who are part of the Mexican Investigative Liaison Program to address international fugitive matters at the border, will work at El Paso Intelligence Center to undertake cross-border investigations.

Where Is the Money Coming From?

Obama initially requested the $600 million in supplemental funds in June to continue with the administration’s border security efforts. $100 million, originally intended for the DHS high-tech SBInet program aimed at detecting illegal border crossings, will be transferred to support the program. The remainder of the funds will come from increased visa application fees, in particular the H-1B and L type used for skilled workers temporarily employed by U.S. companies. The measure applies to companies—mostly technology firms—with more than 50 workers and in which more than half of the employees hold these types of visas. India’s high-tech industry rejected the sixfold increase on the fees and pointed out that they violate international trade practices.

But even as some complain about visa fees rising, some U.S. officials say the supplement funds aren’t enough enough to tackle the $39 billion dollar industry that drug cartels control. For Arizona’s Republican Senators John McCain and Jon Kyl the approved bill “does not include nearly enough funding for the other border security priorities that we have been fighting for.” Secretary of Homeland Security Janet Napolitano countered in an interview that “the plain fact of the matter is, is that in the last 18 months, more resources have been deployed to the Southwest border than at any time in the United States history.”

Learn More:

• Southwest Border Security Bill.
• Fact Sheet on the President’s Strategic and Integrated Southwest Border Security Strategy.
• Governor of Texas Rick Perry August letter to President Barack Obama requesting federal resources to combat drug cartels and gangs in the southern border.
• FBI’s fact sheet on the Southwest border, including facts about crime and narcotics seizures.
• Secretary of Homeland Security, Janet Napolitano discusses the new border surveillance measure.
• DOJ press release on the new security bill.

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