Customs and Border Protection officers accepted counterfeit documents presented at nine U.S. border crossings by undercover
Government Accountability Office investigators, the audit-agency has said in a follow-up to earlier reports exposing weaknesses in the ability of CBP agents to weed out fake documents used to prove citizenship.
Agents successfully entered the country using fictitious driver’s licenses and other bogus documentation through nine land ports of entry on the nation’s northern and southern borders, according to GAO-06-976T.
It said that on three occasions – in California, Texas, and Arizona – agents crossed the border on foot, and that in Texas
and Arizona they weren’t even asked to show identification.
Following GAO’s initial investigation in June 2006, CBP agreed that its officers cannot identify all forms of counterfeit identification presented at land border crossings and it said
it supports a new initiative requiring all travelers to present a passport before entering the country.
The National Treasury Employees Union said the report was further support for its argument that combining “three jobs into one” through the Department of Homeland Security’s “one face at the border” initiative – legacy Customs, Immigration and Agriculture inspectors — led to the misplacement of institutional expertise.
“The processes, procedures and skills are very different at land, sea and air ports, as are the training and skill sets needed for passenger processing and cargo inspection,” said
NTEU’s president Colleen M. Kelly.