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The 9/11 attacks precipitated the largest reorganization of federal agencies since the establishment of the Department of Defense in 1947. The Homeland Security Act of 2002 established a Department of Homeland Security, transferring 22 organizations into the new department. The U.S. Border Patrol was one of those organizations.

The act also created the worlds first unified border-security agency: U.S. Customs and Border Protection, of which the Border Patrol became an integral part. Much has changed for the Border Patrol since then, but its fundamental mission, to detect and prevent illegal entry and all threats into the United States, has not changed.

In 2001, the Border Patrol was under-resourced and had only 6,000 agents to protect 6,000 miles of land borders and 2,000 miles of coasts. In comparison, during the Cold War, the U.S. maintained a force of approximately 250,000 troops in West Germany to help protect 670 miles of land border.

The Border Patrol also lacked modern surveillance systems, the physical infrastructure to prevent border crossings in critical (e.g., urban) areas, and a national command structure. Despite these limitations, this thin green line apprehended more than one million people for illegal entry into the U.S. each year in the 10 years prior to the agency reorganization.

Today, the Border Patrol is a much more capable and professional organization. Approximately 18,000 agents protect our borders between ports of entry. Some 700 miles of sturdy anti-vehicle and pedestrian barriers and walls have been erected in highly trafficked areas of the U.S.-Mexico border.

Situational awareness and response capabilities along our land borders have increased significantly as a result of continued investment in multiple surveillance systems. And cooperation with Canadian and Mexican immigration and law enforcement agencies has significantly reduced the threat of persons-of-interest or potential terrorists from infiltrating across our land borders.

However, the Border Patrol and other federal agencies with immigration-control responsibilities still face significant challenges. Following construction of 650 miles of barriers along the U.S.-Mexico border during the Bush administration, the number of illegal border crossings dropped significantly, and Border Patrol apprehended fewer than 500,000 people per year.

As a result of significantly increased immigration-control measures at air, land, and seaports of entry, the U.S.-Mexico border is the principal vector for illegal entry into the United States. In July 2021, the Border Patrol apprehended 200,000 people, reflecting a fundamental shift in the drivers of migration flows and levels not seen in 20 years.

Conditions in countries that incentivize emigration, such as violence, poor governance and limited economic opportunities, cannot be changed unilaterally by the United States. However, factors that attract immigration to the United States, such as low risks of apprehension when entering the U.S., lack of consequences when apprehended, lax enforcement of immigration laws within the United States, family anchors, ineffective asylum policies and the ability to work without the requisite permit, can be controlled by the U.S. government.

As a nation, we need to decide if we want secure borders or if the status quo near-record rates of undocumented immigration across the U.S.Mexico border is acceptable. When Border Patrol agents are diverted from their border-security mission to provide humanitarian support (which can be provided by other agencies) to migrants, our borders become less secure and the threats to the nation increase. The risks of porous borders, which include trafficking of drugs (70,000 Americans died from opioid overdoses in 2020) and the potential entry of terrorists, are well known.

If our nation does not address the factors that push and pull migrants to the United States, our borders will be less secure. The requirement to deal with massive numbers of illegal entries will detract from the Border Patrols ability to protect our borders against drug smugglers and potential terrorists, and the introduction of dangerous weapons.

Looking at border security retrospectively over the past 20 years, I think it is clear we have more secure land borders. But we have not done what is required and possible namely establish policies that dissuade illegal immigration and invest in the federal agencies that ensure our borders are secure. Comprehensive investment in border security and consistent enforcement of all laws to address immigration drivers is a must.

David Aguilar is a principal with GSIS and a former commissioner of Customs and Border Protection and former national chief of the U.S. Border Patrol. This column was first published in HS Today.

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Failing to address immigration undermines the Border Patrols ability to address real threats - The Dallas Morning News