At a time when U.S. concerns are growing over Canada’s plan to quickly embrace 75,000 Syrians, a top U.S. Border Control official told Congress Wednesday that only 300 agents guard the 4,000-mile border at any one time, an average of one every 13.5 miles.
In fact, added Dean Mandel, there are more Border Patrol agents in El Paso, Texas, alone, and more U.S. Capitol Police on duty protecting the Capitol complex.
“On the Southern border, if you ask an agent, they will probably tell you we are at best 40 percent effective in apprehending illegal aliens and drug smugglers. On the Northern border, I would estimate the effectiveness rate is fraction of this figure,” said Mandel, testifying before the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee.
He was speaking on behalf of the National Border Patrol Council.
In a recently released and far-reaching report, the committee’s Chairman, Sen. Ron Johnson warned that the northern border is far too open to illegal immigration. And in his testimony Mandel backed that up with numbers.
He said that only 10 percent of the agency’s 21,000 agents are assigned to the U.S.-Canada border. But, he added:
“When you take into account supervisors who are not in the field, annual leave, sick leave, days off, training days, and the fact we work a three shift rotation, we only have about 300 agents guarding the entire Northern border at any one time. I would assess that there are approximately as many Capitol Police on duty right now protecting the Capitol complex as we have on the entire 4,000 mile Northern Border.”
He also said that there is little infrastructure in the north, compared to the U.S.-Mexico border.
“On the Southern border, we have one agent for every linear mile. Each of these agents is made more effective by the entire infrastructure of fencing, cameras, air support, and sensors. On the Northern border, we have one agent for every 13.5 miles and we have much less of this infrastructure,” he said.
Mandel said that another 1,500 agents are needed on the Canadian border.
Johnson, from Wisconsin, said that the border issues are critical because Canada’s new prime minister is has pledged to quickly bring 25,000 Syrians in. During the hearing he raised concerns that vetting the new immigrants might become secondary to getting them into Canada, from where they can travel easily to the United States.
Noting that it takes the U.S. some two years to clear an immigrant, Canada’s plan is a worry.
Paul Bedard, the Washington Examiner’s “Washington Secrets” columnist, can be contacted at [email protected].
