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Should Federal Agents Protecting Our Borders Be Required to Live in the US?

By Ralph Smith

Wednesday, July 19, 2006

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Should employees of the Customs and Border Protection have their primary residence in the United States? With the hundreds of thousands of people trying to get into this country to take advantage of the opportunities here, most readers would probably think it was always a requirement--or that most people in federal jobs would automatically take up residence here instead of living in a country where so many people want to leave.

In reality,  living in the United States has not been a requirement and some agents have preferred to live in Mexico or Canada. That, presumably, could cause concerns about the primary loyalty of some of the employees who are paid to protect America's borders.

Perhaps it is because of increasing concern in the agency about corruption along the Mexican border where the amount of money available to federal agents in a position to help illegals into the United States continues to grow--and the number of cases of agents taking the money to help smugglers instead of performing the jobs they were paid to do also continues to grow. Perhaps it is because of general security concerns regarding terrorism.

But, whatever the underlying reason, the agency decided in August 2005 that requiring employees to have their primary residence in the United States would be a good idea. So what about those that are living in Mexico (or Canada) and then reporting to their Federal job in the United States every day? Will the employee be given a choice of resigning or paying their own relocation expenses to move back to America?

When the new policy decision was issued by the Customs Commissioner, employees were told that those assigned to duty stations in the United States must also live in this country. (U.S. Customs and Border Protection Directive No. 51332-016 (Aug. 22, 2005) ). They were also told that employees who did not comply would be subject to disciplinary action, including separation from employment..

The agency was apparently sure of how to handle the issue of relocation expenses. It went to the GAO for a decision on whether it could spend the money.

The decision (B-306748, Customs and Border Protection--Relocation Expenses, July 6, 2006):

Customs’ Salaries and Expenses appropriations are available to pay relocation expenses that its employees incur to comply with a new agency requirement that Customs’ employees assigned to duty stations in the United States must maintain their primary residence in the United States. Customs has determined that U.S. residency enables its border workforce to better secure the borders. Accordingly, we do not object to Customs using its appropriations to pay relocation costs.

Now, presumably, the agency will begin negotiations with the union in order to implement its decision.

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Readers' Comments

  • Absolutely they should be required to live in the US....
    Posted: August 18, 2006 8:16 AM
  • Border Patrol Agents living outside the USA are subject to pressures not present inside the USA. It isn't just bribery that is an issue along the Mexican border - drug smugglers and coyotes use intimidation and force to meet their objectives. Border Patrol agents need to keep themselves and their ...
    Posted: July 20, 2006 1:54 PM
  • Do we actually know how many Canadians sneak across? It’s very strange that we are locking-down one border and not the other, especially since Canada has a much bigger border. This is a little off topic but, the real travesty are US Companies that hire illegal’s. Folks are sneaking over here bec...
    Posted: July 20, 2006 10:31 AM

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