Agents crippled by tech deployment delays along Southwest border

Border Patrol agents along the U.S.-Mexico border are forced to rely on outdated and unreliable equipment because of extensive delays in the deployment of new technology, an official from the Government Accountability Office said during a hearing on Thursday.

The technology portion of the multiyear Secure Border Initiative was scheduled for an initial deployment along the entire Southwest border in early fiscal 2009, with full capability along the southern and northern U.S. borders planned for later this year, according to a September 2006 contract signed with the prime contractor for SBInet. The initiative is aimed at reducing illegal immigration and protecting U.S. borders. But after numerous schedule delays occurred because of flaws found during testing, the first phase of SBInet was not launched until May, with the most recent estimates for full deployment extending as late as 2016, said Richard Stana, director of homeland security and justice issues at GAO.

Stana testified during a hearing before the House Homeland Security Subcommittee on Border, Maritime and Global Counterterrorism, and submitted a GAO report on SBInet's progress with his testimony.

"A key aspect of managing large programs like SBInet is having a schedule that defines the sequence and timing of key activities," he said. An ongoing GAO review of SBInet will determine whether Homeland Security has established a comprehensive, accurate and realistic schedule for the program that reflects the scope, timing and sequence of the work necessary to fulfill goals.

Until SBInet capabilities are deployed across the Southwest border, Border Patrol agents are using existing resources, including legacy technology and equipment installed during a prototype test of the SBInet system called Project 28 -- factors that are very limiting, Stana said. In a March visit by GAO to an area of the Southwest border near Tucson, Ariz., "agents [said] they must continue to work around ongoing problems, such as finding good signal strength for the wireless network, remotely controlling cameras and modifying radar sensitivity." In both the Tucson and San Diego sectors, Border Patrol agents rely on cameras that have been in place since before 2000.

"As a prototype, we did not intend Project 28 to be the actual system we would put in production," said David Aguilar, Border Patrol chief, and Mark Borkowski, executive director of SBI for Customs and Border Protection in joint testimony submitted to the committee. "We did, however, anticipate that, even as a prototype, Project 28 would provide us with improved capability. Unfortunately, it did not work as well as we anticipated and took longer than it should have to complete. But we learned from the experience, and we are in the process of making significant improvements."

Borkowski cited the Boeing Co. as partially responsible for technological issues, saying SBI "has not been fully satisfied with Boeing's performance to date," but noting the contractor absorbed tens of millions of dollars in losses to correct initial deficiencies in Project 28.

As of July 8, CBP had awarded 13 task orders to Boeing for approximately $1.1 billion, GAO reported.

"As a member of Congress who is very concerned about fiscal responsibility, it is hard for me to believe that DHS would award a contract of $1.1 billion over three years and continue to award task orders without viable results," said subcommittee chairwoman Rep. Loretta Sanchez, D-Calif.

DHS is in the process of doing the first deployment, which will replace Project 28 and cover 23 miles of border, in part of Tucson. Initial deployments will contribute to decisions about future launches, Borkowski said, and also will determine how to move forward.

Border Patrol agents have been involved directly in the development and testing of SBInet, but a full assessment of the technology's effect cannot be made until it's in use.

"Until technology is in place, CBP is limited in its ability to fully identify and implement operational changes in methods, tactics and approaches, and resources needed to address objectives of the Border Patrol strategy, and will not be able to realize the potential of this technology in its efforts to secure the border," Stana said.