TESTIMONY OF Mark A Morgan Acting Commissioner U S Customs and Border Protection BEFORE House Appropriations Committee Subcommittee on Homeland Security ON “FY 2021 Budget Hearing - U S Customs and Border Protection” February 27 2020 Washington DC Chairwoman Roybal-Allard Ranking Member Fleischmann and Members of the Subcommittee it is an honor to appear before you today U S Customs and Border Protection CBP bears an enormous responsibility to the American people who place a great deal of trust in us to keep them safe As America’s unified border agency CBP protects the United States from terrorist threats prevents the illegal entry of inadmissible people and contraband and facilitates lawful trade and travel At the same time CBP remains committed to ensuring that the people in our custody receive humane treatment appropriate care and necessary medical services and that they are transferred out of CBP custody as quickly as possible CBP’s success in achieving its complex vital mission of protecting the American people safeguarding our border and enhancing the Nation’s economic prosperity requires the right combination of trained and dedicated personnel intelligence-driven and risk-based strategies collaborative partnerships tactical infrastructure and advanced technology The President’s Fiscal Year FY 2021 Budget commits resources that will be used to attain this strategic combination and continues prior commitments to fund initiatives crucial to the success of our mission The FY 2021 Budget includes $15 6 billion in net discretionary funds including $2 6 billion in critical investments to advance CBP’s mission These critical investments support CBP’s four lines of business $2 3 billion for Border Security $34 million for Trade and Travel $72 million for Integrated Operations and $177 million for Mission Support The net discretionary budget is $801 million more than the FY 2020 Enacted The FY 2021 Budget also places greater reliance on user fees to support our port of entry POE operations These fees have generated higher revenue collections and prosperous growth in international trade and travel and it is appropriate to direct those fees to support eligible POE operations that directly contribute to and facilitate this growth The border environment is dynamic and evolving therefore CBP’s approach to securing our borders must also be dynamic and evolving We must be prepared to respond to any situation at any time and we must be able to meet new challenges as they emerge Our adversaries are relentless Transnational criminal organizations TCOs have proven time and time again that they will stop at nothing in pursuit of illegal profits from smuggling people narcotics counterfeit goods weapons and any other commodity with a sufficient profit margin TCOs are a common denominator in cross-border threats and CBP works daily to combat them while also facilitating legitimate trade and travel CBP not only serves on the frontlines of border security but we are also working to develop a well-informed agile and seamless global network working with government officials outside the United States as well as private industry and non-profit organizations to strengthen U S border security operations and to facilitate the legal movement of people and goods This network must constantly evolve to enhance the common interests among all aspects of our mission combating terrorism supporting and promoting economic growth defining prioritizing and disrupting TCOs and preventing the spread of agricultural pests and diseases 1 As part of a broader public-private collaboration that extends the “zone of security” beyond the Nation’s physical borders CBP is striving to ensure that the physical borders of the United States are the last line of defense rather than the first FY 2019 – 2020 Challenges and Accomplishments Border Security In FY 2019 the United States experienced an unprecedented increase in illegal migrants who were members of family units and unaccompanied children from Central American countries The large groups of migrants we encountered overwhelmed CBP and other government agencies drained government resources and created both a national border security crisis and a humanitarian crisis Migrants During the humanitarian crisis and national security crisis of FY 2019 CBP took more than 1 1 million total enforcement actions In addition there were 128 large groups of more than 100 migrants who illegally crossed the Southwest border SWB The largest single group we have ever encountered—more than 1 000 people—also crossed in FY 2019 Those families and children who made the long dangerous journeys lacked basic necessities such as food water and shelter The smugglers who accompanied them often made empty promises to the migrants about the lucrative possibilities for a better life in the United States but in reality they treat them like human cargo starve them abuse them and use them to distract CBP from our primary mission of border security TCOs and smugglers use these large groups of people to tie up CBP manpower and other resources in hopes of crossing the border undetected with illicit narcotics and firearms As the FY 2019 humanitarian and national security crisis developed it was a stark reminder that the CBP facilities which were never intended to process or hold large groups of families and children were ill-equipped to process this unanticipated and overwhelming demographic CBP facilities were originally built for short-term detention of single adult males Families and children require a different level of care and holding capacity than do single adult males which is the demographic CBP has historically encountered along the SWB Still CBP’s agents and officers did their very best to ensure that all of those in our custody—especially the families and children—receive humane treatment and the necessary and appropriate care Due to the FY 2019 humanitarian and national border security crisis members of this Subcommittee and Congress provided $1 1 billion to CBP through the Emergency Supplemental Appropriations for Humanitarian Assistance and Security at the Southern Border Act 2019 These resources enhanced our humanitarian support efforts to provide not only essential supplies and commodities such as food water sanitary items blankets medical support and other consumables but additional shower stalls portable toilets laundry trailers and commercial 2 washer-dryer sets refrigerators and freezers climate control systems and transportation assets such as buses vans and Emergency Medical Technician vehicles CBP also continued and refined efforts initiated in FY 2018 to ensure that children and other migrants are medically screened and provided with appropriate medical care while in CBP custody along the SWB Currently CBP has over 700 medical personnel on contract with over 300 medical personnel providing 24 7 onsite medical support along the SWB on any given day at over 45 facilities This is a dramatic increase from the about 20 medical personnel a year ago The CBP Enhanced Medical Directive signed in December 2019 stipulates foundational levels of medical support which CBP is exceeding in some cases CBP will continue to use a layered approach to identify potential health or medical issues in persons in custody starting in the field where agents conduct initial triage to identify urgent or emergency medical issues to on-site medical teams who conduct additional medical assessments on juveniles or persons with health issues Migrants with complex urgent or emergent health issues will be referred or transported to the local health system This model has been observed and validated by medical experts including top pediatricians within the Department of Health and Human Services Drugs As America’s unified border agency CBP has a critical role to play in the efforts to keep dangerous narcotics out of the hands of the American public In FY 2019 CBP seized or contributed to the seizure of over 1 1 million pounds of drugs including cocaine heroin fentanyl marijuana and methamphetamines nationwide Despite the strain on manpower and resources caused by the humanitarian crisis of FY 2019— the amount of heroin fentanyl and methamphetamine seizures along the SWB in FY 2019 increased over FY 2018 by 57 percent and it continues to increase today In FY 2019 CBP successfully pushed drug trafficking to the POEs where we are better equipped to detect smuggled narcotics CBP agents and officers took more than 1 1 million pounds nationwide seizing nearly 101 000 pounds of cocaine more than 2 700 pounds of fentanyl and nearly 142 000 pounds of methamphetamine Just four months into FY 2020 drug seizures at the SWB are up 23 percent over the same time period in FY 2019 As a breakout in FY 2019 the Office of Field Operations seized 89 217 pounds of cocaine 2 560 pounds of fentanyl and 127 526 pounds of methamphetamines In the same time period U S Border Patrol intercepted 11 682 pounds of cocaine 226 pounds of fentanyl and 14 434 pounds of methamphetamines Air and Marine Operations AMO assisted in enforcement efforts that seized over 227 000 pounds of cocaine 387 pounds of fentanyl and nearly 49 000 pounds of methamphetamines seized by agencies other than CBP While many of the migrants attempting to illegally enter this country are doing so for economic reasons not all of them are innocent or simply looking for a better life Data indicates that TCOs 3 were using the influx of large groups of families and children as a smokescreen for other criminal activities Combating TCOs and drug trafficking organizations DTOs is a key component of our multi-layered risk-based approach to enhance the security of our borders The President’s Budget request will provide continued support not only for combatting TCOs and DTOs but for the interdiction of drugs at and between POEs as well Trade and Travel Global Entry served 6 7 million travelers in FY 2019—a 17 percent increase over the previous year CBP inspected more than 410 million international travelers or more than a million travelers each and every day We expanded biometric air exit operations to eight additional locations for a total of 24 and implemented a simplified arrival process at 16 locations as well as four pedestrian POEs CBP’s law enforcement officers at 328 POEs stopped more than 288 500 inadmissible aliens from entering the United States and arrested more than 12 700 criminal aliens CBP collected a total of $84 billion in duties taxes and fees during FY 2019 In accordance with the trade remedy measures ordered by the President CBP assessed nearly $716 million in Section 201 duties $1 1 billion in Section 232 aluminum duties $3 9 billion in Section 232 steel duties and $29 8 billion in Section 301 duties on goods from China 1 CBP met all regulatory deadlines for the Enforce and Protect Act antidumping and countervailing duty investigations and completed 100 percent of the final determinations within the statutory deadline maintaining full compliance with the statute CBP also issued six Withhold Release orders and detained goods worth $1 2 million 2 While enforcing U S trade laws CBP processed more than 35 million international trade transactions worth more than $2 6 trillion—including $1 6 trillion in U S exports CBP processed more than 28 7 million cargo containers through the POEs and conducted nearly 27 600 seizures of goods valued at more than $1 5 billion that violated intellectual property rights Agriculture Specialists seized more than 1 7 million prohibited items including plant materials meats and animal byproducts and intercepted more than 118 000 agricultural pests at the POEs CBP cleared nearly 463 million international mail shipments through nine international mail facilities and an additional 143 million express shipments at 27 express facilities Integrated Operations A top priority for CBP was strengthening our facilities to support our people and investing in aircraft Sec 201 and Sec 301 of the Trade Act of 1974 and Sec 232 of the Trade Expansion Act of 1962 2 In accordance with Sec 307 of the Tariff Act of 1930 19 U S C §1307 which prohibits the importation of merchandise mined produced or manufactured wholly or in part in any foreign country by forced labor 1 4 Office of International Affairs In FY 2019 the CBP Office of International Affairs INA deployed 31 attachés in 23 countries in addition to the 80 Customs Mutual Assistance Agreements in place with other customs administrations around the world INA efforts have resulted improved trade efficiencies national security and international cooperation—an example of CBP’s efforts to combat international threats before they reach our borders Air and Marine Operations In FY 2019 AMO assisted in CBP and other enforcement efforts that netted over 227 000 pounds of cocaine 387 pounds of fentanyl and nearly 49 000 pounds of methamphetamines seized by agencies other than CBP AMO agents spent total of 92 846 hours in flight and an additional 33 315 maritime hours including 435 flight hours for relief efforts in the Bahamas after Hurricane Dorian and more than 3 600 flight hours addressing the migrant caravan surges AMO also successfully resolved 99 percent of 226 detected conventional aircraft incursions along all U S borders AMO support enhances CBP’s situation awareness and provides the critical capability of protecting the homeland from the skies and the coastlines AMO has significantly improved the hiring and retention of law enforcement agents due to a number of recent initiatives targeting hard-to-fill positions and locations FY 2019 was the first year since FY 2010 that AMO successfully achieved a year-over-year increase in on-board Air Interdiction agents AMO has accelerated hiring and identified increased numbers of eligible applicants via direct hiring authority and recruiting activity In FY 2021 AMO plans to further increase agent hiring for Air Interdiction Air Enforcement and Marine Interdiction by 50 percent over FY 2019 Laboratories and Scientific Services Our Laboratories and Scientific Services LSS operate eight nationally accredited laboratories and four forward-deployed satellite laboratories LSS processes more than 55 000 samples of evidence annually from the forensic and trade areas LSS also manages our Non-Intrusive Inspection NII Testing and Evaluation program which is critical to combat the flow of opioids and other synthetic drugs It provides analysis of radiological or nuclear threats detected in the field This capability provides actionable intelligence to our law enforcement officers at the border and is integral to our border protection mission Mission Support CBP hiring during FY 2019 surpassed FY 2018 hiring by 46 percent CBP hired a total of 3 448 law enforcement personnel outpacing attrition FY 2019 was the second consecutive year Border Patrol agent BPA hiring outpaced attrition CBP on-boarded 1 294 BPAs and 2 075 Customs and Border Protection officers CBPOs for a net gain of 112 BPAs and 1 074 CBPOs 5 FY 2020 Nearly halfway through FY 2020 we continue to face many of the same challenges as in FY 2019 For example CBP is presently experiencing historically high levels of apprehensions on the SWB ongoing and severe threats from TCOs and growing and evolving demands related to worldwide travel and trade We are thoughtfully executing remaining FY 2019 supplemental humanitarian funds which will expire at the end of FY 2020 to support ongoing medical screening migrant care and feeding and temporary facilities Based on the high cost of temporary facilities and the importance of balancing operational need with fiscal responsibility CBP has closed or will close by March 30th four of the six major soft-sided facilities that were absolutely essential to care for those in our custody during the FY 2019 crisis We plan to keep the other two major soft-sided facilities open as the traditional peak migration season approaches and while we use funds Congress has previously appropriated to renovate or stand-up centralized processing centers in El Paso and McAllen Texas and Nogales and Yuma Arizona We appreciate this Committee’s support for many of our most critical needs in the FY 2020 Consolidated Appropriations Act and are working now to execute those funds In addition to funds for long-standing baseline programs across all CBP mission sets we appreciate your support for our new Border Patrol processing coordinators and other technology solutions such as Revenue Modernization which will help maximize the use of our frontline personnel CBP faces some challenges as we work to source the FY 2020 pay raise and other emerging operational requirements We look forward to continued dialog with this Committee as we execute funds throughout the year and address emergent needs FY 2021 Budget The President’s FY 2021 Budget advances CBP’s vision to enhance our national security through innovation intelligence collaboration and trust as established in the U S Customs and Border Protection Strategy 2020-2025 3 The strategy identifies 12 strategic initiatives to advance CBP’s ability to accomplish our mission The $15 6 billion in net discretionary funding includes $2 6 million for critical investments that will advance all of CBP’s mission critical priorities including securing the U S borders facilitating trade and travel integrating mission critical operations and providing support for the men and women of the CBP Facilities Investments The Budget contains $100 million for the design and construction of three USBP facilities and $27 4 million for an AMO facility Specifically this budget funds $30 million each for the Niagara Falls and Champlain New York Border Patrol stations and $40 million for a Humanitarian Care Center HCC in the USBP’s Rio Grande Valley Sector The HCC will provide permanent long term sustainable infrastructure positioning CBP to shift from a reactive 3 U S Customs and Border Protection U S Customs and Border Protection Strategy 2020-2025 April 17 2019 https www cbp gov document publications u-s-customs-and-border-protection-strategy-2020-2025 6 to a proactive stance when dealing with immigration crises Also included is $27 4 million for the construction of an AMO air facility in Laredo Texas Border Security The FY 2021 Border Security Operations budget of $7 2 billion includes $100 million in border security construction funding This amount is $745 6 million above the FY 2020 Enacted level Migrant Care at the Southwest Border The FY 2021 Budget includes $32 2 million for continued medical support and transportation services to care for migrants at the SWB CBP now has more than 700 contracted medical personnel with more than 300 medical professionals providing daily medical support in every sector along the SWB The contract medical personnel provide daily assessments and basic medical care coordinate referrals to local health systems and address public health issues Border Patrol Processing Coordinators The FY 2021 Budget includes $21 million to fund 300 Border Patrol processing coordinators Processing coordinators are non-law enforcement personnel with specialized training on handling migrant families and children who will assist with humanitarian care processing and transportation—allowing BPAs to focus on border security duties Specifically processing coordinators will receive and in-process detainees at USBP facilities conduct and document personal property inventories perform welfare checks transport detainees coordinate logistical and other travel requirements and perform administrative duties such as processing notes and completing paper or electronic file transfers Southwest Border Wall System The FY 2021 Budget includes $2 billion for the construction of additional wall system in high priority high-threat areas This physical barrier creates an enduring capability that helps stop slow down and or contain attempted illegal entries of not only people but illicit narcotics as well Since USBP began constructing border barriers nearly 30 years ago these barriers have proven to be a critical component in gaining operational control of the border and has drastically reduced the amount of drugs that cross the border between the POEs Today CBP is constructing a border wall system that combines various types of infrastructure such as internally hardened steel-bollard barrier all-weather roads lighting enforcement cameras and related technology These construction projects prioritized the funding to focus on areas with the highest threat level CBP working with the U S Army Corp of Engineers has constructed approximately 126 miles of new border wall system By the end of 2020 we expect to have 450 miles of wall system completed or under construction along the SWB Border Security Technology The budget includes $95 6 million for critical investments in new border technology including $28 million for Autonomous Surveillance Towers formerly known as Innovative Towers Autonomous Surveillance Towers are helping to protect our borders today in Texas and 7 California This investment will buy 30 new towers which along with accelerating expansion of the program in FY 2020 will bring the Autonomous Surveillance Towers program to 200 total towers Additionally CBP plans to invest in other technologies including $20 million for the Unified Immigration Portal $15 million for Mobile Video Surveillance Systems $7 6 million for Remote Video Surveillance Systems and $10 million for Small Unmanned Aircraft Systems sUAS with an additional $500 000 to increase the operation and maintenance on five additional fixed-wing and 18 Vertical Take-Off and Landing systems procured with prior year funds This budget request also includes $15 million for the Border Enforcement Coordination Network BECN which is composed of information technology IT systems equipment and services that support the detection classification and analysis of illegal border activity Border Patrol Agents The FY 2021 Budget includes a request for $161 2 million to hire an additional 750 Border Patrol Agents This staffing increase will enable USBP to respond to the evolving border threat environment and increase enforcement actions to address tactical adjustments made by TCOs as they attempt to counter CBP’s efforts Also included in the request are 126 new mission-support staff positions in support of important BPA operations and to support hiring and training of new agents The support positions will enable BPAs to focus on law enforcement aspects rather than support functions Trade and Travel Budget The FY 2021 Trade and Travel Budget is $4 9 billion and includes $31 4 million in construction funding for trade and travel operations The FY 2021 Trade and Travel Budget is $12 1 million below the FY 2020 Enacted level Non-Intrusive Inspection Systems As we continue to spend prior year NII funding through 2021 the FY 2021 Budget includes $25 million for NII which will fund operations and maintenance for both large- and small-scale NII technology procured with prior year funding This will also procure 45 small-scale and hand-held NII systems to counter trade-based threats and will allow CBP to maintain an operational availability equal to or greater than 95 percent across all NII systems It will also provide specialized training to improve CBP users’ image-analysis skills National Vetting Center The FY 2021 Budget includes an increase of $35 4 million for National Vetting Center programs that will be used for systems engineering enhancements analytical tool development and expansion of programs The National Vetting Center uses technology to more effectively utilize law enforcement and classified information to quickly and efficiently identify potential threats to the Homeland 8 Advanced Trade Analytics Platform ATAP The FY 2021 Budget includes $12 5 million to advance CBP’s trade analytic capabilities and further the agency’s intelligent enforcement initiatives The funding provides for deployment of analytic models communications training and three program management positions Automated Commercial Environment The $10 million for Automated Commercial Environment will fund the ongoing modernization of the collection system This effort includes developing a cloud-based platform that will not only reduce costs to the agency but is required to migrate from the current antiquated platform Integrated Operations Budget The FY 2021 Integrated Operations budget of $1 3 billion which includes construction funding is $123 9 million below the FY 2020 Enacted level Air and Marine Operations Center The FY 2021 Budget includes a $4 8 million increase for the Air and Marine Operations Center AMOC Intelligence Surveillance Reconnaissance system which transmits data to and from more than 30 manned and unmanned Kurtz under band Ku -equipped aircraft and to support the growth and security accreditation requirement to maintain round-the-clock capability The increased Ku spectrum will allow multiple aircraft to simultaneously transmit data to the AMOC and increased funding will increase hours of Ku transmission at the AMOC UH-60 Medium Lift Helicopter Procurement The FY 2021 Budget includes $15 5 million to pay for the conversion of one Army HH-60L to a UH-60 Medium Lift Helicopter MLH and will purchase associated initial spare parts training air worthiness support and testing and funding for Minotaur integration UH-60 Medium Lift Helicopter Operations and Maintenance The FY 2021 Budget includes $5 6 million for training and the operation and maintenance of the UH-60 MLH turbo-shaft twin-engine helicopter fleet according to established standards including fuel maintenance and materials These aircraft are the only helicopters with medium lift capability that are rugged enough to support interdiction and life-saving operation in very hostile environments They can operate at high altitudes in the desert over open water and in extreme cold Multi-Role Enforcement Aircraft Operation and Maintenance The FY 2021 Budget includes $3 3 million for Multi-Role Enforcement Aircraft MEA to increase flight hours and make progress toward fully funding the fleet based on standardized requirements including fuel maintenance services and materials technology refresh and training 9 DHC-8 Maritime Patrol Aircraft The FY 2021 Budget includes $14 3 million to modify and upgrade one DHC-8 The DHC-8 is a strategically important air asset that serves as a force multiplier capable of providing persistent surveillance patrols across a broad range of operational spectrums including coastal maritime boundaries in the U S the Caribbean and Latin America Airframes and Sensors End Items The FY 2021 Budget provides $22 9 million for airframes and sensors end items including $13 million to upgrade obsolete and expensive-to-operate aircraft sensor integrated mission systems Systems targeted for replacement or refresh include non-high definition electro optic infrared sensors outdated mapping systems and non-high definition video displays recorders and data links Funding also includes $9 9 million to purchase a Minotaur Training System and $2 4 million to begin studying future P-3 recapitalization Laboratory Personnel The FY 2021 Budget requests $1 1 million for laboratory personnel including five additional physical scientists five chemists and two digital forensic analysts to support operational requirements with rapid scientific and technical forensics support to CBP’s frontline officers and agents AMO Training The FY 2021 Budget requests $500 000 for AMO training This will increase from 96 to 120 the number of students who go through the Air and Marine Basic Training Academy located at the Federal Law Enforcement Training Center Mission Support Budget The FY 2021 Mission Support Budget is $1 9 billion which is $19 4 million more than the FY 2020 Enacted level Mission Support Systems and Programs CBP plans to make critical investments in several mission support systems and programs This includes $23 4 million for cloud migration $17 6 million for recruitment and applicant processing $10 million for Human Resource IT modernization $10 million for migration to the DHS enterprise timekeeping solution webTA and $1 6 million for family care programs for CBP employees Revenue Modernization The FY 2021 Budget requests $13 2 million to continue the revenue modernization initiative that will further CBP’s goal to eliminate cash collected at our POEs This investment will provide 10 increased electronic payment capabilities Mobile Collections Receipts capabilities expansion to cash register ports and other integration Legislative Updates CBP’s legislative proposals will increase user fee revenue and will directly—and positively— impact Trade and Travel operations If approved the fee adjustments could generate as much as $845 million in new fee revenues—$707 million of which is for CBP—in FY 2021 The $2 increase in the Immigration Inspection User fee which has not been adjusted since 2001 is expected to generate $311 million for CBP in FY 2021 and removes the exemption for certain travelers If Congress passes this legislation these funds could offset the cost of an estimated 1 700 CBPOs The $2 COBRA fee increase for air and sea passengers has not been adjusted since 2007 If this legislation is approved the fee is expected to generate $358 million for CBP in FY 2021 and could offset the cost of an estimated 1 400 CBPOs CBP is resubmitting a legislative proposal submitted in April 2019 to establish a $10 Electronic Visa Update System EVUS fee If approved this increase is expected to generate more than $38 million in FY 2021 Conclusion While the number of illegal immigrant apprehensions may have decreased from the peak in May 2019 the humanitarian and national border security crisis is far from over We are now approaching the peak season for illegal migration TCOs will not stop looking for the next method or technique that will give them a strategic advantage to increase their success in smuggling illegal contraband and people into the United States We know that just over 400 people get past us every day and there are certainly more that we do not know about What concerns CBP even more—and should concern everyone—is that even though we have seized more TCOs are working every day to get more narcotics into the U S Narcotics have permeated every town and every city in every state and U S Territory not just the communities along the Southwest border CBP cannot must not let down its guard We must be ever-vigilant in border security and enforcement counterterrorism and in targeting and countering TCOs and any other group or individual who may seek to harm or threaten the United States CBP must always be mindful of our responsibility to all those we encounter to ensure the people in our custody are treated with the utmost respect and humanity and provided due process under the law The only way to accomplish this is to ensure CBP has sufficient resources technology and manpower Ours is a complex mission that spans national border security threats as well as the humanitarian crisis that requires specialized care for families and children That is why the investments outlined in the FY 2021 Budget are so very important CBP’s success depends on Congress’ continued support to provide adequate resources that will enable us to have the right personnel the right intelligence the right strategies and partnerships and the right tactical infrastructure and technology This budget reflects CBP’s requirements so we can pursue our 11 enduring priorities of countering terrorism combating TCOs securing the border and facilitating lawful trade and travel I thank the Members of this Subcommittee for the opportunity to appear before you today and I look forward to your questions 12