Border patrolClamping down on corrupt border patrol agents
With millions of dollars in drugs and money being funneled across the border, temptation lurks at every corner and government officials are not immune; 134 former or current border patrol agents have been arrested or indicted on corruption charges in the last seven years
Border agent corruption is often mission-compromising // Source: peavyblack.com
With millions of dollars in drugs and money being funneled across the border, temptation lurks at every corner and government officials are not immune.
According to an in-depth investigation by ABC15, a local Arizona news station, 134 former or current border patrol agents have been arrested or indicted on corruption charges in the last seven years.
The majority of the crimes were considered “mission compromising” including one case where an agent was found to be using his own patrol car to smuggle drugs, while in another a border agent pled guilty to providing drug smugglers with the exact locations of 100 underground sensors near Tucson, Arizona. Testifying before Congress last June, Alan Bersin, the head of U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP), apologized for corrupt border agents and vowed to clamp down on it.
“This breach of trust is something we do not stand for,” Bersin said.
He added that the corruption cases have “disgraced” the agency and “betrayed public trust.”
“It is our job to minimize those and prevent corruption, detect it, prosecute it,” said Bersin. “We recognize there’s work to be done.”
Special Agent Jay Brown, the head of the FBI Border Corruption Taskforce in Tucson, said, “It’s a pretty big threat. The possibilities [are] a big threat.”
For instance one border patrol agent pled guilty to selling national security documents.
“It happens. I don’t know any agents personally. I don’t associate with known criminals,” said border patrol agent Brent Cagen. “They’ll face the consequences of the justice system.”
With more than 60,000 employees, the 134 CBP agents arrested for corruption account for less than 1 percent of its total workforce. On the other hand, in the last five years nearly 20,000 complaints and violations were filed against border protection agents. More than half resulted in suspensions, demotions, or reprimands, about 700 were fired, and more than 900 resigned.
To help clamp down on corruption and poor behavior, Congress passed the Anti-Border Corruption Act, which requires all border agents to undergo a lie-detector test as well as a background check every five years by 2013.
