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July 31, 2017

Report: No Shown Need for Immigration & Border Hiring Surge

(WASHINGTON) – Today, Rep. Bennie Thompson (D-MS), Ranking Member on the Committee on Homeland Security, released the below statement on a Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Office of Inspector General (OIG) special report on challenges that DHS is facing hiring law enforcement officers mandated by President Trump’s Executive Orders.

In the report, Challenges Facing DHS in Its Attempt to Hire 15,000 Border Patrol Agents and Immigration Officers, the IG found:

  • U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) and U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) could not provide complete data to support the operational need or deployment strategies for the additional officers – especially given the drop in apprehensions.
  • Without proper workforce planning and deployment strategies, CBP and ICE could be hiring the wrong types of personnel to meet operational needs.
  • Hiring 15,000 additional agents and officers would require approximately 1.25 million applicants and also require hiring an additional 9,600 support staff.
  • Workforce staffing plans, recruitment, or hiring strategies put in place may be undermined due to understaffed human resources.
  • Both workforce recruitment and retention goals would have to change to meet hiring mandates.

“It’s not surprising that President Trump’s decree to drastically expand the Border Patrol and increase his deportation force was put in place without a clear need for the 15,000 new agents and officers or a plan for hiring and deploying them,” said Ranking Member Thompson. “CBP and ICE already face numerous challenges with recruiting and hiring qualified applicants and forcing this massive hiring surge will only exacerbate underlying problems at both agencies.  Instead of rushing to fulfill campaign promises, this Administration should understand that skimping on workforce planning is an irresponsible waste of limited resources.  I hope DHS goes back to the drawing board and shows us the need for new personnel along with a clear plan on how to better manage them once deployed.”

Link to Report

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Media contact: Adam Comis at (202) 225-9978