Improving border security

Tuesday, Aug. 11, 2009 | 2:05 a.m.

Members of U.S. Customs and Border Protection and other law enforcement officers who work for state and local agencies along the Mexican border have among the most dangerous jobs in America. They toil in extremely hot summer weather while patrolling vast stretches of land, often with little or no backup.

The Mexican drug war that has turned that nation into a massive shooting gallery has spilled over the border, taxing U.S. authorities to the limit.

Still, there is an expectation that U.S. border officers are going about their jobs honestly as a vital part of America’s homeland security effort.

The Associated Press reported Monday, though, that those officers are being charged with criminal corruption in numbers not seen before. Since 2007 more than 80 officers have been convicted of offenses ranging from drug trafficking and immigrant smuggling to simply allowing entry to someone with inadequate paperwork.

Federal prosecutors deserve credit for increased vigilance in sniffing out corruption on this side of the border. But the fact that so many U.S. officers are getting convicted is troubling and warrants the immediate attention of the Border Patrol, sheriffs’ offices and other law enforcement agencies.

A good place to start would be for them to step up their screening process for job applicants. The AP reported that although some individuals have been denied federal Border Patrol jobs when it was discovered that they had ties to drug traffickers, in-depth checks are performed on only about 10 percent of the job applicants.

James Tomsheck, the customs agency’s assistant commissioner for internal affairs, said in-depth screening will eventually be standard practice, but it should be instituted as soon as possible.

The U.S. is in a weakened position to complain about law enforcement corruption in Mexico as long as the same thing is happening on this side of the border. Homeland security can be effectively pursued only with front-line border officers who uphold the law.