McSally explores border infrastructure, staffing during subcommittee hearing

Border security staff levels and border ports of entry were the topics of a subcommittee hearing convened on Tuesday by U.S. Rep. Martha McSally (R-AZ).

McSally, the chairwoman of the House Homeland Security Subcommittee on Border and Maritime Security, questioned a top Custom and Border Patrol (CBP) official about the Douglas Port of Entry in Arizona and the CBP’s five-year infrastructure plan.

“As you know, the Douglas Port of Entry has needed modernization for many years,” McSally said. “From our perspective it has tremendous shortfalls and limitations to it. We have struggled to find the financing.”

Eugene Schied, acting executive assistant commissioner for the CBP’s Office of Enterprise Services, agreed that the station was “very inadequate” and said that it will be one of the agency’s higher priorities in its five-year infrastructure plan.

McSally also explored factors that led to CBP staffing shortages at ports of entry.

“At the current hiring rate, it takes almost 100-150 applicants to go through the process just to hire one agent or officer,” McSally said. “This means CBP needs to have hundreds of thousands of people apply just to meet our current needs.”

In October, President Barack Obama signed into law the Border Jobs for Veterans Act, H.R. 2835, introduced by McSally. Under the bill, veterans who apply for border security jobs are fast tracked in the hiring process to address staffing shortfalls.

“Through the Border Jobs for Veterans Act, we are partnering with the Department of Defense to expedite the on boarding of veterans and separating service members into frontline positions,” Linda Jacksta, the assistant commissioner for the Office of Human Resources Management, said. “This is groundbreaking work that has the potential to be a game changer for CBP.”