Border Corruption: Assessing Customs and Border Protection and the Department of Homeland Security Inspector General’s Office Collaboration in the Fight to Prevent Corruption

The hearing was a follow up to a March 2010 hearing where we heard from Federal officials regarding corruption issues within Customs and Border Protection (CBP) and other border agencies. Many of the cases appeared to be tied to deliberate efforts by drug trade organizations (DTOs) to corrupt law enforcement personnel and other relevant Federal and state employees in order to improve their ability to counter increasingly effective border control measures taken by the United States. There are several policy matters that CBP, other relevant agencies, and Congress should consider taking in order to diminish and eliminate the threat posed by DTOs. The hearing also revisited concerns over the corruption of border patrol personnel, and will require Administration officials to provide clarification as to whether CBP or the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Inspector General should play the lead investigative role in corruption cases.