Pubdate: Sat, 25 Sept 1999 Source: Houston Chronicle (TX) Copyright: 1999 Houston Chronicle Contact: http://www.chron.com/ Forum: http://www.chron.com/content/hcitalk/index.html Page: 2A Author: Andrew Broman, Houston Chronicle Washington Bureau MORE DRUGS SEIZED ON SOUTHWEST BORDER But Rate Crossing Into U.S. Remains Steady WASHINGTON -- Infrared cameras, vapor tracers and other high-tech devices have enabled law enforcement officials to seize more illegal drugs along the Southwest border this year than last, federal officials say. Nevertheless, the rate of drugs flowing across the border has remained steady over the past three years, officials say, accounting for between 50 percent and 60 percent of the drugs smuggled into the United States each year. U.S. Border Patrol agents already have made 7,310 seizures this year, up 10 percent from last year, according to the Immigration and Naturalization Service. Statistics showed that during this fiscal year, which ends Sept. 30, agents seized 1.08 million pounds of marijuana, up 24 percent from last year. Agents also seized 26,104 pounds of cocaine, up 15 percent from last year. Barry McCaffrey, director of the National Control Policy Office, partly credited nearly $26 million in new equipment, ranging from audio devices to drug testing kits, that went to state and local governments along the border over the last two years. "When you look at the seizure rates, it's almost unbelievable," McCaffrey said. But poor management and coordination between federal and local officials has bogged down enforcement efforts, McCaffrey acknowledged. A congressional mandate to hire 1,000 border patrol agents each year until 2001 to improve security along the border has fallen short, critics say. The past decade, the number of border agents has doubled to 8,000, but the Border Patrol would need more than 16,000 agents to deter unauthorized crossings, according to a 1998 University of Texas study. So far this year 658 positions have gone unfilled, said Rep. Silvestre Reyes, D-El Paso, who represents a border community. "We still have areas along the border where you can drive a four-wheel vehicle through unnoticed," he said. But federal officials did cite some successes. Coordination between the Border Patrol and U.S. Customs Service has produced numerous seizures, said Samuel Banks, deputy commissioner of the Customs Service. Border Patrol agents borrowed a mobile truck X-ray from Customs Service to capture 772 pounds of marijuana from a commercial vehicle at a checkpoint in Sierra Blanca, Texas, on Sept. 17, he said. Nevertheless, the House, Senate and the Clinton administration have all crafted proposals to reorganize the INS, which oversees Border Patrol operations. Much of the frustration has stemmed from the agency's inability to slow drug smuggling. "I've spent several years working to get INS funding for more border patrol agents and better equipment. This reorganization proposal reflects congressional frustration with the agency's failure to use these additional resources to keep illegal drugs and illegal immigrants out of our country despite these additional resources," said Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison, R-Texas, on Wednesday. She was referring to a recent proposal introduced in the Senate to streamline INS's drug enforcement operations. Congress has increased the Border Patrol's budget from $362 million in 1993 to $727 million in 1997. While funding increases have enabled agents to exert more pressure on smugglers, McCaffrey said, smugglers have become more desperate and have devised new ways to elude law enforcement officials. "Clearly, the biggest threat to our defense of illegal narcotics comes from the Southwest border. We have not yet achieved our goals there." - --- MAP posted-by: Derek Rea