Southwest Border Security: Additional Actions Needed to Better Assess Fencing's Contributions to Operations and Provide Guidance for Identifying Capability Gaps
Highlights
What GAO Found
Border fencing is intended to benefit border security operations in various ways, according to officials from the U.S. Border Patrol (Border Patrol), which is within the Department of Homeland Security's (DHS) U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP). For example, according to officials, border fencing supports Border Patrol agents' ability to execute essential tasks, such as identifying illicit-cross border activities. CBP collects data that could help provide insight into how border fencing contributes to border security operations, including the location of illegal entries. However, CBP has not developed metrics that systematically use these, among other data it collects, to assess the contributions of border fencing to its mission. For example, CBP could potentially use these data to determine the extent to which border fencing diverts illegal entrants into more rural and remote environments, and border fencing's impact, if any, on apprehension rates over time. Developing metrics to assess the contributions of fencing to border security operations could better position CBP to make resource allocation decisions with the best information available to inform competing mission priorities and investments.
Pedestrian Fencing in San Diego, California, April 2016
CBP is taking a number of steps to sustain tactical infrastructure (TI) along the southwest border; however, it continues to face certain challenges in maintaining this infrastructure, such as addressing maintenance of roads owned or operated by other public and private entities. In 2014, according to Border Patrol officials, Border Patrol began implementing the Requirements Management Process that is designed to facilitate planning for funding and deploying TI and other requirements. Border Patrol headquarters and sector officials told GAO that Border Patrol lacks adequate guidance for identifying, funding, and deploying TI needs as part of this process. In addition, officials reported experiencing some confusion about their roles and responsibilities in this process. Developing guidance on this process would be consistent with federal internal control standards and would provide more reasonable assurance that the process is consistently followed across Border Patrol. This is a public version of a For Official Use Only—Law Enforcement Sensitive report that GAO issued in December 2016. Information DHS deemed For Official Use Only—Law Enforcement Sensitive has been redacted.
Why GAO Did This Study
In fiscal years 2013 through 2015, Border Patrol recorded a total of 2.1 million estimated known illegal entries between ports of entry along the southwest border. In an effort to secure the border between ports of entry, CBP spent approximately $2.4 billion between fiscal years 2007 and 2015 to deploy TI — fencing, gates, roads, bridges, lighting, and drainage infrastructure—along the nearly 2,000 mile southwest border.
GAO was asked to review the use of border fencing along the southwest border. In this report, GAO examines (1) border fencing's intended contributions to border security operations and the extent to which CBP has assessed these contributions and (2) the extent that CBP has processes in place to ensure sustainment and deployment of TI along the southwest border and challenges in doing so. GAO reviewed CBP documentation and data and interviewed officials in headquarters and three southwest border locations. These locations were selected based on CBP's extensive investments in TI in such areas.
Recommendations
GAO recommends that Border Patrol develop metrics to assess the contributions of pedestrian and vehicle fencing to border security along the southwest border and develop guidance for its process for identifying, funding, and deploying TI assets for border security operations. DHS concurred with the recommendations.
Recommendations for Executive Action
| Agency Affected | Recommendation | Status |
|---|---|---|
| U.S. Border Patrol |
Priority Rec.
To ensure Border Patrol has the best available information to inform future investments in TI and resource allocation decisions among TI and other assets Border Patrol deploys in the furtherance of border security operations, and to ensure that key parties within Border Patrol's Requirements Management Process are aware of their roles and responsibilities within the process, the Chief of the Border Patrol should develop metrics to assess the contributions of pedestrian and vehicle fencing to border security along the southwest border using the data Border Patrol already collects and apply this information, as appropriate, when making investment and resource allocation decisions. |
DHS agreed with the recommendation and stated that it planned to develop metrics for southwest border security operations. As of October 2019, DHS stated that they had developed and were testing initial metrics. DHS stated that they would continue to gather data over the next two fiscal years (FY20-FY21) which would help to identify if these metrics were accurately representing realities in the field. In July 2020, DHS officials said that they continued to gather data and would provide the results after their analysis was completed. In January 2022, Border Patrol officials provided us with a demonstration of its model that uses quantitative analysis and qualitative field insight to depict the Border Patrol's Mission Essential Tasks (METs) across any area of operations. According to these officials, Border Patrol is using the model to depict the overall balance of constraints and enablers that affect a station's current potential to perform its METs within its area of responsibility. Officials added that this model is helping Border Patrol determine what resources, including fencing, would benefit Border Patrol's operations. As Border Patrol is demonstrating that it is using available data to assess the effectiveness of and inform its investment decisions for assets such as pedestrian and vehicle fencing, we closed this recommendation as implemented.
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| U.S. Border Patrol |
Priority Rec.
To ensure Border Patrol has the best available information to inform future investments in TI and resource allocation decisions among TI and other assets Border Patrol deploys in the furtherance of border security operations, and to ensure that key parties within Border Patrol's Requirements Management Process are aware of their roles and responsibilities within the process, the Chief of the Border Patrol should develop and implement written guidance to include roles and responsibilities for the steps within its requirements process for identifying, funding, and deploying tactical infrastructure assets for border security operations. |
In 2017, we reported that Border Patrol lacked written guidance on the requirements process it uses to identify capability gaps in border security operations and identify operational solutions, including tactical infrastructure. We found that officials varied in their understanding of the process documentation, including how to use the documentation to inform sector planning. In addition, Border Patrol officials responsible for making tactical infrastructure resource decisions were not aware of their roles and responsibilities in the process. As a result, we recommended that the Chief of the Border Patrol develop and implement written guidance to include roles and responsibilities for the steps within its process for identifying, funding, and deploying tactical infrastructure assets for border security operations. In response to our recommendation, in June 2018, Border Patrol developed and distributed guidance that outlines the roles and responsibilities for Border Patrol officials in the process and the governance structure within the process to review and approve operational requirements.
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