Lawmakers urge DHS not to transfer CBP officers from Northern to Southern border

A group of lawmakers recently urged the U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) to maintain strong staffing levels at airports and ports of entry between the United States and Canada.

The request, made by members of the Congressional Northern Border Caucus, comes after the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) announced plans to transfer CBP officers stationed along the northern border and U.S. airports to the southern border.

“CBP’s consistent inability to attain its statutorily established minimum staffing levels and the reduction of service hours at several land ports of entry along the northern border, coupled with further reduction of staffing due to this deployment will cause excessive delays at crossings, expose the nation to security risks, and highlight key vulnerabilities,” members of the caucus wrote in a letter to DHS Acting Secretary Kevin McAleenan.

They urged McAleenan to “immediately rescind the transfer of the Customs and Border Protection officers to the southern border.”

The letter was signed by Reps. Brian Higgins (D-NY-26) and Elise Stefanik (R-NY-21), who serve as co-chairs of the Congressional Northern Border Caucus. Caucus members Reps. Kelly Armstrong (R-ND), Chris Collins (R-NY), Debbie Dingell (D-MI), Dan Kildee (D-MI), Derek Kilmer (D-WA), Ann McLane Kuster (D-NH), John Moolenaar (R-MI), Joseph Morelle (D-NY), Chris Pappas (D-NH), Collin Peterson (D-MN), and Elissa Slotkin (D-MI) also signed the letter.

They said the timing of the CBP transfers is particularly bad as border crossing increases sharply over the summer months.

“We are approaching the heaviest travel months of the year and ports of entry will be facing increased volume. The decision to deploy northern border CBP officers to the southern border makes it increasingly more difficult for the agency to meet their core mission requirements at the border which include effectively securing U.S. points of entry and safeguarding and streamlining lawful trade and travel,” they write.

At 5,525 miles, the Northern Border is the longest land boundary between two countries in the world. Approximately 400,000 people and over $1.6 billion in goods cross the border daily through more than 120 ports of entry.