CBP orders lax border checks under heavy traffic in El Paso

From this:

U.S. Customs and Border Protection officers in Texas have been ordered to abbreviate national security checks at one of the nation"s busiest ports of entry to speed up travel between the United States and Mexico, according to official documents and multiple interviews with agents.

...If wait time is 60 to 120 minutes or more - the average wait at the numerous crossings - they are to query only the driver and ensure that the license plate is correct...

...Officers, who speculated the guidelines were created to counter complaints from businesses in the region that are angry over delays at the border, said pedestrian crossings are even more vulnerable...

...Rosemary Jenks, immigration lawyer and government relations director for Numbers U.S.A., said the directives in the El Paso memo violate federal law...

...Other documents obtained by the paper also show that customs officers in the El Paso sector have been told to "not deny permits" of entry to any person entering the United States, regardless of indicators that they've overstayed their visa in the past...

The first policy was in an August 16 "memorandum from CBP El Paso field office Director Luis Garcia". The second was apparently unwritten policy for years, and agents were surprised that "CBP Chief George Carpenter, shift commander" had written it down.

Immigration2007b · Fri, 09/07/2007 - 10:01 · · Importance: 1