CBPFeds tight-lipped on weeding out corrupt border agents
In a video message intended for the tens of thousands of men and women working to keep drugs and people from illegally entering the United States, then-Deputy Border Patrol Chief Ron Colburn wanted to leave little doubt about the consequences for those who betrayed their mission. But whether most — or even a significant fraction of — corrupt federal border agents really are caught and punished is an open question.
In a video message intended for the tens of thousands of men and women working to keep drugs and people from illegally entering the United States, then-Deputy Border Patrol Chief Ron Colburn wanted to leave little doubt about the consequences for those who betrayed their mission.
“The light of justice will ultimately drive you from the shadows,” Colburn said in the 2009 message, one of many produced by the agency to combat corruption in its ranks. “You will find no safe haven among fellow criminals. You will be identified. You will be arrested. You will be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law.”
The video ended with the sound of a prison door creaking and slamming shut.
But whether most — or even a significant fraction of — corrupt federal border agents really are caught and punished is an open question. In recent years, Customs and Border Protection — the $12 billion law enforcement agency within the Department of Homeland Security in charge of guarding the nation’s borders — has turned to polygraph tests and behavioral research to weed out criminals in its ranks. Background checks are now repeated every five years to make sure agents still pass muster.
But the behemoth agency will reveal little about what those efforts have accomplished. And there is almost no public data to show that its efforts have stemmed the flow of drugs, undocumented immigrants and illegal goods facilitated by the very people whose job it is to keep them out.
Just a few months ago, a report from an outside committee created to advise homeland security officials concluded the current state of affairs at the agency “leaves CBP vulnerable to a corruption scandal that could potentially threaten the security of our nation.”
“CBP must be proactive in its approach if it is to prevent corruption from taking root,” the Homeland Security Advisory Council wrote in the report, released in March.
The agency declined The Texas Tribune’s request to interview officials about its anti-corruption efforts. In statements, CBP has said it takes corruption allegations seriously and that those engaging in misconduct make up a tiny fraction of its workforce.
Data compiled by CBP show that close to 180 of the agency’s employees were arrested, charged or convicted on corruption charges between October 2004 and October 2015 — less than one-half of a percent of its 44,000 law enforcement officers.
