HSA@20 Episode Companion: Border Enforcement
INSIGHTi
HSA@20 Episode Companion: Border
Enforcement
August 7, 2023
This Insight accompanies the “Border Enforcement” episode of The Homeland Security Act at 20 podcast
series and includes background information on the issues discussed during the podcast.
Click this link to ask questions, provide feedback, or offer suggestions for future topics. You can also
email the podcast team at HSA20@loc.gov. Thank you for your engagement.
Drug Control at the Border
Selected Drug Control Milestones
Federal drug control began in the early 20th century, as the federal government initially aimed to stem
drug use and abuse through taxation. The Federal Bureau of Narcotics was initially established within the
Department of the Treasury (Treasury).
After World War II, more drug control legislation was enacted, and law enforcement approaches were
complemented by medical treatment of drug addiction:
1968: Reorganization Plan No. 1 created the Bureau of Narcotics and Dangerous Drugs (within the
Department of Justice [DOJ]) from the Bureau of Narcotics (within Treasury) and the Bureau of Drug
Abuse Control (within Department of Health, Education, and Welfare).
1970: Congress passed the Controlled Substances Act (P.L 91-513), which established federal control of
certain plants, drugs, and chemical substances.
1971: President Nixon declared a war on drugs.
1973: Reorganization Plan No. 2 created the Drug Enforcement Administration (within DOJ).
1982: The Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force (OCDETF) program was established within
DOJ to identify and target major drug trafficking and money laundering organizations.
1988: The Office of National Drug Control Policy (ONDCP) was established by the Anti-Drug Abuse Act
of 1988 to coordinate national drug policy.
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• ONDCP develops and implements the National Drug Control Strategy and budget.
• These include demand reduction (prevention and treatment) and supply reduction
(domestic law enforcement, interdiction, and international) efforts, including border
enforcement.
Note: While the DEA and other federal law enforcement agencies investigate and make arrests for drug-
related offenses, most drug crime (as other crime) is investigated at the state level.
Mitigating Drug Flow into the U.S.
According to the DEA, Mexican drug trafficking organizations remain a dominant influence in the U.S.
illicit drug market.
• There are no comprehensive data on the total quantity of illicit drugs smuggled into the
United States.
• More illicit drugs are seized by officials at official ports of entry (POEs) than between
them.
• Drugs are commonly smuggled in concealed compartments in privately owned passenger
vehicles or comingled with legitimate goods on tractor trailers.
• Non-intrusive inspection (NII) equipment helps scan vehicles, and is rising in capacity,
but many passenger vehicles and commercial trucks remain unscreened.
Countering Transnational Criminal Organizations
• 2011 National Strategy on Transnational Organized Crime
• U.S. Council on Transnational Organized Crime
• Quadrennial Homeland Security Review
Border Barriers
“Prevention through deterrence” initially used heavy agent deployments in crossing areas:
• Operation Hold-the-Line
• Operation Gatekeeper
The Border Patrol 1994 Strategic Plan outlined the initial plans for border barriers as part of an integrated
strategy.
The Illegal Immigration Reform and Immigrant Responsibility Act of 1996 first authorized integrated
border barriers.
This authority was amended by:
• REAL ID Act, 2005;
• Secure Fence Act, 2006; and
• Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2008.
For more history, see CRS Report R45888, DHS Border Barrier Funding, by William L. Painter and
Audrey Singer.
The consequence delivery system focused on tougher penalties for those apprehended in order to
discourage migration, reduce recidivism, and disrupt smuggling networks.
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Current Border Barrier Status
At the end of FY2015, approximately 653 miles—roughly one-third of the international boundary—had a
primary layer of barriers.
Roughly 450 miles of border barriers were built under the Trump Administration (roughly 50 miles in
areas without previous barriers).
• The Government Accountability Office (GAO) found that construction of barriers was
prioritized over the completion of the integrated system.
• Only about 15% of the barriers constructed were the complete integrated border wall
system.
Biden Administration Border Plans
After an initial pause in work, the Department of Defense (DOD) cancelled contracts funded through
redirected appropriations. DOD-constructed border barriers were transferred to the Department of
Homeland Security (DHS) for remediation, completion, and operation.
• June 2021 Border Plan
• July 2022 Plan Amendment
• GAO on Border Wall System Program progress (pp. 61-64)
Current Border Enforcement Challenges
1. Volume of migrants. Record levels of encounters have occurred in recent years.
2. Rise in the number of vulnerable populations. Unaccompanied minors and families
require different treatment than single adult migrants.
3. Shift in countries of origin. This complicates removal efforts, as origin countries may
not allow migrant repatriation.
Recent trends: U.S. Border Patrol Encounters at the Southwest Border: Fact Sheet (crs.gov).
Historical perspective: Immigration: Apprehensions and Expulsions at the Southwest Border
(crs.gov).
Control of the Border, Key Terms and Measurement
Operational Control Defined
2004 National Border Patrol Strategy (pp. 2-3)
To carry out its missions, the Border Patrol has a clear strategic goal: to establish and maintain
operational control of the border of the United States.… National guidance for planning and
implementation will ensure that resources are focused in the highest risk areas and that the
foundation for operational control over our Nation’s border is established and maintained.
Operational control is defined as the ability to detect, respond, and interdict border penetrations in
areas deemed as high priority for threat potential or other national security objectives. Operational
control may be limited to specific smuggling corridors or other geographically defined locations.
Secure Fence Act of 2006 (Sec. 2(b))
Operational Control Defined.—In this section, the term “operational control”’ means the prevention
of all unlawful entries into the United States, including entries by terrorists, other unlawful aliens,
instruments of terrorism, narcotics, and other contraband.
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Matching Metrics to Policy Effectiveness
The challenge of measuring the effectiveness of border security policy is in part a question of how the
border enforcement policy outputs contribute to drug control or immigration policy outcomes.
• DHS Border Security Metrics Reports.
• GAO: Border Security Metrics: Progress Made, but DHS Should Take Additional Steps
to Improve Information Quality.
Key policy challenge: balancing facilitating lawful travel and trade with preventing unauthorized entries
of goods and people.
Next Episode
Evolution of Emergency Management: August 25, 2023.
Music: “Icas,” by Audiorezout, as carried on freemusicarchive.org, under the terms of its Creative
Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International license.
Author Information
William L. Painter, Coordinator
Audrey Singer
Specialist in Homeland Security and Appropriations
Specialist in Immigration Policy
Kristin Finklea
Specialist in Domestic Security
Disclaimer
This document was prepared by the Congressional Research Service (CRS). CRS serves as nonpartisan shared staff
to congressional committees and Members of Congress. It operates solely at the behest of and under the direction of
Congress. Information in a CRS Report should not be relied upon for purposes other than public understanding of
information that has been provided by CRS to Members of Congress in connection with CRS’s institutional role.
CRS Reports, as a work of the United States Government, are not subject to copyright protection in the United
States. Any CRS Report may be reproduced and distributed in its entirety without permission from CRS. However,
as a CRS Report may include copyrighted images or material from a third party, you may need to obtain the
permission of the copyright holder if you wish to copy or otherwise use copyrighted material.
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