Border Security: Continued Weaknesses in Screening Entrants into the United States
Released: 2006-08-02T00:00:00

Letter

Southern Border Crossings

The following information provides details about our agents’ experiences and observations entering the United States from Mexico at border crossings in California and Texas and at two crossings in Arizona.

California: On February 9, 2006, two agents entered California from Mexico on foot. One of the agents presented as identification a counterfeit West Virginia driver’s license and the other presented a counterfeit Virginia driver’s license. The CBP officers on duty asked both agents if they were U.S. citizens and both responded that they were. The officers also asked the agents if they were bringing anything into the United States from Mexico and both answered that they were not. The CBP officers did not request any other documents to prove citizenship, and allowed both agents to enter the United States.

Texas: On February 23, 2006, two agents crossed the border from Mexico into Texas on foot. When the first agent arrived at the checkpoint, a CBP officer asked him for his citizenship information; the agent responded that he was from the United States. The officer also asked if the agent had brought back anything from Mexico. The agent responded that he had not, and the officer told him that he could enter the Unites States. At this point, the agent asked the CBP officer if he wished to see any identification. The officer replied “OK, that would be good.” The agent began to remove his counterfeit Virginia driver’s license from his wallet and the inspector said “That’s fine, you can go.” The CBP officer never looked at the driver’s license.

When the second agent reached the checkpoint, another CBP officer asked him for his citizenship information and he responded that he was from the United States. The CBP officer asked the agent if he had purchased anything in Mexico and the agent replied that he had not. He was then asked to show some form of identification and he produced a counterfeit West Virginia driver’s license. The CBP inspector briefly looked at the driver’s license and then told the agent he could enter the United States.

Arizona, first crossing: On March 14, 2006, two agents arrived at the border crossing between Mexico and Arizona in a rental vehicle. Upon request, the agents gave the CBP officer a counterfeit West Virginia driver’s license and counterfeit Virginia driver’s license as identification. As the CBP officer reviewed the licenses, he asked the agents if they were U.S. citizens and they responded that they were. The officer also asked if the agents had purchased anything in Mexico and they said they had not. The CBP officer then requested that agents open the trunk of their vehicle. The agents heard the inspector tap on several parts of the side of the vehicle first with his hand and again with what appeared to be a wand. The officer closed the trunk of the vehicle, returned the agents’ driver’s licenses, and allowed them to enter the United States.

Arizona, second crossing: On March 15, 2006, two agents again entered Arizona from Mexico on foot at a different location than the previous day. One of the agents carried a counterfeit West Virginia driver’s license and a counterfeit West Virginia birth certificate. The other carried a counterfeit Virginia driver’s license and a counterfeit New York birth certificate. As the agents were about to cross the border, another agent who had crossed the border earlier using his genuine identification phoned to inform them that the CBP officer on duty had swiped his Virginia driver’s license through a scanner. Because the counterfeit driver’s licenses the agents were carrying had fake magnetic strips, the agents decided that in the event they were questioned about their licenses, they would tell the CBP officers that the strips had become demagnetized.

When the agents entered the checkpoint area, they saw that they were the only people crossing the border at that time. The agents observed three CBP officers on duty; one was manning the checkpoint and the other two were standing a short distance away. The officer manning the checkpoint was sitting at a cubicle with a computer and what appeared to be a card scanner. The agents engaged this officer in conversation to distract him from scanning their driver’s licenses. After a few moments, the CBP officer asked the agents if they were both U.S. citizens and they said that they were. He then asked if they had purchased anything in Mexico and they said no. He then told them to have a nice day and allowed them to enter the United States. He never asked for any form of identification.

Northern Border Crossings

The following information provides details about our agents’ experiences and observations entering the United States from Canada at Michigan, New York, Idaho, and Washington border crossings.

Michigan: On May 1, 2006, two agents drove in a rental vehicle to a border crossing in Michigan. When asked for identification by the CBP officer on duty, the agents presented a counterfeit West Virginia driver’s license and a counterfeit Virginia driver’s license. As the CBP officer examined the licenses, he asked the agents if they were U.S. citizens and they responded that they were. The CBP officer then asked if the agents had birth certificates. One agent presented a counterfeit New York birth certificate and the other presented a counterfeit West Virginia birth certificate. The agents observed that the CBP officer checked the birth certificates against the driver’s licenses to see if the dates and names matched. The CBP officer then asked the agents if they had purchased anything in Canada and they responded that they had not. The officer also asked what the agents were doing in Canada and they responded that they had been visiting a casino in Canada. The CBP officer then returned the agents’ documentation and allowed them to enter the United States.

New York, first crossing: On May 3, 2006, two agents entered New York in a rental vehicle from Canada. The agents handed the CBP officer on duty counterfeit driver’s licenses from West Virginia and Virginia. The CBP officer asked for the agents’ country of citizenship and the agents responded that they were from the United States. The CBP officer also asked the agents why they had visited Canada. The agents responded that they had been gambling in the casinos. The CBP officer told the agents to have a nice day and allowed them to enter the United States.

New York, second crossing: On the same date, the same two agents crossed back into Canada and re-entered New York at a different location. The agents handed the CBP officer at the checkpoint the same two counterfeit driver’s licenses from West Virginia and Virginia. The officer asked the agents what they were doing in Canada and they replied that they been gambling at a casino. The officer then asked the agents how much money they were bringing back into the country and they told him they had approximately $325, combined. The officer next asked the agent driving the car to step out of the vehicle and open the trunk. As the agent complied, he noticed that the officer placed the two driver’s licenses on the counter in his booth. The officer asked the agent whose car they were driving and the agent told him that it was a rental. A second officer then asked the agent to stand away from the vehicle and take his hands out of his pockets. The first officer inspected the trunk of the vehicle, which was empty. At this point, the officer handed back the two driver’s licenses and told the agents to proceed into the United States.

Idaho: On May 23, 2006, two agents drove in a rental vehicle to a border crossing in Idaho. The agents handed the CBP officer on duty a counterfeit West Virginia driver’s license and a counterfeit Virginia driver’s license. As the CBP officer examined the licenses, he asked the agents if they were U.S. citizens and they responded that they were. The CBP officer then asked if the agents had birth certificates. One agent presented a counterfeit New York birth certificate and the other presented a counterfeit West Virginia birth certificate. The agents observed that the CBP officer checked the birth certificates against the driver’s licenses to see if the dates and names matched. The officer also asked what the agents were doing in Canada and they responded that they had been sightseeing. The CBP officer then returned the agents’ documentation and allowed them to enter the United States.

Washington: On May 24, 2006, two agents drove in a rental vehicle to a border crossing checkpoint in Washington. When the agents arrived at the border, they noticed that no one was at the checkpoint booth at the side of the road. Shortly thereafter, a CBP officer emerged from a building near the checkpoint booth and asked the agents to state their nationality. The agents responded that they were Americans. The CBP officer next asked the agents where they were born, and they responded New York and West Virginia. The agents then handed the CBP officers their counterfeit West Virginia and Virginia driver’s licenses. The officer looked at the licenses briefly and asked the agents why they had visited Canada. The agents responded that they had a day off from a conference that they were attending in Washington and decided to do some sightseeing. The CBP officer returned the agents’ identification and allowed them to enter the United States.

We conducted a corrective action briefing with officials from CBP on June 9, 2006, about the results of our investigation. CBP agreed its officers are not able to identify all forms of counterfeit identification presented at land border crossings. CBP officials also stated that they fully support the newly promulgated Western Hemisphere Travel Initiative, which will require all travelers, including U.S. citizens, within the Western Hemisphere to have a passport or other secure identification deemed sufficient by the Secretary of Homeland Security to enter or reenter the United States. The current timeline proposes that the new requirements will apply to all land border crossings beginning on December 31, 2007. The proposed timeline was developed pursuant to the Intelligence Reform and Terrorism Prevention Act of 2004. The act requires the Secretary of Homeland Security, in consultation with the Secretary of State, to implement a plan no later than January 1, 2008, to strengthen the border screening process through the use of passports and other secure documentation in recognition of the fact that additional safeguards are needed to ensure that terrorists cannot enter the United States. However, the Senate recently passed a bill to extend the implementation deadline from January 1, 2008, to June 1, 2009. Additionally, the Senate bill would also authorize the Secretary of State, in consultation with the Secretary of Homeland Security, to develop a travel document known as a Passport Card to facilitate travel of U.S. citizens to Canada, Mexico, the countries located in the Caribbean, and Bermuda. We did not assess whether this initiative would be fully implemented by either the January 2008 or June 2009 deadline or whether it would be effective in preventing terrorists from entering the United States.

Conclusion

The results of our current work indicate that (1) CBP officers at the nine land border crossings tested did not detect the counterfeit identification we used and (2) people who enter the United States via land crossings are not always asked to present identification. Furthermore, our periodic tests since 2002 clearly show that CBP officers are unable to effectively identify counterfeit driver’s licenses, birth certificates, and other documents. This vulnerability potentially allows terrorists or others involved in criminal activity to pass freely into the United States from Canada or Mexico with little or no chance of being detected. It will be critical that the new initiative requiring travelers within the Western Hemisphere to present passports or other accepted documents to enter the United States address the vulnerabilities shown by our work.

Mr. Chairman and Members of the Committee, this concludes my statement. I would be pleased to answer any questions that you may have at this time.

Contact

For further information about this testimony, please contact Gregory D. Kutz at (202) 512-7455 or kutzg@gao.gov. Contact points for our Offices of Congressional Relations and Public Affairs may be found on the last page of this testimony.

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