S. Hrg.

107-261

REVIEW OF INS POLICY ON RELEASING ILLEGAL

ALIENS PENDING DEPORTATION

HEARING
BEFORE THE
PERMANENT SUBCOMMITTEE ON
INVESTIGATIONS
OF THE

COMMITTEE ON
GOVERNMENTAL AFFAIRS
UNITED STATES SENATE
ONE HUNDRED SEVENTH CONGRESS
FIRST SESSION

NOVEMBER 13, 2001

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 QUESTIONS FOR ROBERT C. BONNER
Dec. 18, 2003
National Commission on September 11

Background at Customs.
• how did you come by your job at Customs ?
• what were you told your job would entail ?
• Who did Commissioner answer to on a day to day basis?
• When began, what was the priority assigned CT at Customs? Did you get a sense of its priority at
Treasury? At the White House? Was there a CT strategy in place when you came on board?
• I note that you were not sworn in as Commissioner until September 24, 2003. However, for the
record, did you receive any briefings pre-9/11 indicating that UBL was threatening the US, and
much chatter was in the air?

Background at CBP. (40,000 employees)

• how did you come by your job at CBP ?
• what were you told your job would entail ?
• what were the high priorities at the time you became CBP Commissioner?
• Who did Commissioner answer to on a day to day basis?
• When began, what was the priority assigned CT at Customs? Did you get a sense of its priority at
DHS? At the White House? Was there a CT strategy in place when you came on board?

September 11. (In preview for testimony on Tuesday, Jan. 27)

• You were not yet confirmed. Who was the decision-maker for Customs on that day?
• Tell us about the day. Where were you? What did you do? who did you call? Who did you work
with?
• What decisions were made at Customs that day? Were you able to influence any of those
decisions?
• Tell us about the Threat Level initiated. How did that play out at the POEs?
• What were the high priorities you had set for the Customs Service prior to September 11 and prior
to taking the helm as Commissioner? How did Sept. 11 change those priorities?
• Tell us the top five key actions you took to better secure the borders and cargo post Sept. 20, 2001,
including interagency actions?

Restructuring the border pre DHS announcement.

• Who did you work with on an interagency basis to try to better secure the borders? How did those
contacts come about?
• Please describe the relationship between yourself and Mr. Ziglar.
• Please describe the relationship between yourself and Mr. Loy.
• On or about December 10, 2001, Jim Ziglar, jointly with Mr. Loy (then Coast Guard), approached
you about how to integrate INS, Coast Guard and Customs operations much more effectively and
make that presentation up the chain of command. At this time, Ridge wanted a new border
security agency. Your counterparts were concerned about the pace of the idea and weren't sure it
was realistic.
o What was your view, at this time, about the creation of a new border security agency?
o What was your view of the need for better interagency cooperation and integration of
operations?
o What contribution did you make to the interagency cooperation document? When did
you sign it? (months later)
o Why did you wait so long?
o Do you think that the agreement, if implemented, may have held off the creation of DHS?
Command and Control at the border in case of national emergency.
Is there a command and control strategy is in place for a fully integrated and seamless border and
transportation agency response in the event of another national emergency?

Intelligence.
• Currently, from whom do you receive intel? How often? On what topics?
• Do you receive general threat information as well as information specific to the CBP mission?
For example, is your intelligence unit set up to acquire information that, for example, (this is your
example) terrorists using a sea container to conceal a weapon of mass destruction and detonated it
on arrival at a port?
• What type of work is your current intel shop under Roy Surrett doing? (warnings to POEs,
analysis, producing raw intel)
• Are 40 people enough to support 15,000 folks?
• How do you intend to help the Border Patrol receive Real Time Intelligence?

Technology Support. Has a determination been made as to where the support resources for the inspectors
and Border Patrol will live?

Northern border.
• What remain your biggest challenges on the N border?
• Status of using unmanned aircraft to monitor the border, (understand that technology is at the top
of the list for patrolling the northern border)
• I understand that the Border Patrol recently put out an officer safety manual warning that Al Qaida
and other terrorists may be trying to enter the US from Canada and Mexico. At the same time, at
least in the Elaine Sector, the strategy is "prevention through determent". Please explain how the
US can assure that those attempting entry aren't terrorists if all we are doing is chasing them off,
with the likelihood for these people to probe the border until they find a soft spot? Why not a
tough arrest stance? Isnt' that the mission of a law enforcement agency? Is this a cost issue
(Congressional staffers state that the cost of returning an EWI is about $1 OK? But if most of these
attempts at illegal entry are not from Canadians but from third country nationals, won't they just
continue to probe the border until they find a soft spot
• 1,000 agents by end of this year. Will you reach that goal?

Status of Nexus program and Air-Nexus program.

• How would it work? Is there a criterion developed? A risk assessment model?
• How would the Nexus program jive with US Visit?
• How do you plan to integrate the Charles K program into Nexus/ US Visit?
• How do the Advanced Passenger Lists feed into this program?

Cargo Security Initiative. ($62 mil requested)

• Please pro vide a brief update. You have the reg. You have unanimous adoption by the World
Customs Organization in Brussels of a resolution supporting CSI. You have the 24 hour advance
manifest before foreign port lading for maritime, rail and commercial trucking. Tell us where you
are with the bilateral negotiations with foreign countries. (In Canada and the Netherlands;
agreements with Belgium, France and Germany).
• With the initiative, what percentage of the 6 million or so cargo containers arriving at US seaports
are being searched now? (Has it changed from 1 to 2 percent?)
• What are the criteria and automated targeting tools to determine high risk containers?
• Do we currently have foreign Customs officers working in our ports as part of the reciprocity of
CSI? What countries? Where? What screening do these Customs officials go through prior to
having access to our ports? (to determine if intel officers or other security risks)
• Status of Air-CSI.

Customs-Trade partnership Against Terrorism, C-TPAT. Brief update, (fast lane for shippers at land
borders) ($18 million requested) (3,000 participating companies) (hiring of supply chain security
specialists). Radiation Detectors. Vehicle and Cargo Inspection System (gamma ray images). Smart
cameras, (have the people to enforce when unusual movements detected?) (How training people on
these?)

Morale and One face at the Border. (18,000 inspectors integrated on March 1, 2003)
• What are you doing to maintain morale?
• What about attrition? Have the unions maintained much of a voice in the new personnel system?
• Uniforms are Customs?
• POE appointments all Customs but . INS folks don't even want to apply, because they think
they've got no chance.
• Concern about loss of expertise in cross training agricultural, immigration and customs inspectors?

DHS organization.
• What are your biggest challenges with the current structure of DHS?
• Do you find problematic the bifurcation of investigations, detention and removal technically from
ICE?
• How are you working with ICE on alien smuggling? Information sharing?
• What work, if any, are you doing with CIS?
• What work onwith the Coast Guard?
• Is there a clear handoff established in the "federal chain of custody" established between CBP and
TSA for air, rail, ship and trucks? (registered traveler program; air cargo security; CAPPS II,
Explosives Detection System Installation)
• Are there any other agencies CBP works with on a regular basis we should be aware of?

International cooperation.
• Describe your relationship with the Canadians.
• Describe your relationship with the Mexicans.
• What other countries provide good models for screening we should be looking at.

Law on the border.

• What changes in law do you see as essential to attaining better control over the borders?
• Is expedited exclusion being used on EWIs? (It was only implemented at POEs under INS.)

Recommendations.
• If you were on the 9-11 Commissions, what would be the top three or so recommendations you
would want to see made for greater assurance of border security?
111301 witness Page 1 of 1

WITNESS LIST
Committee on WITNESSLIST
Hearing On
REVIEW OF INS POLICY ON RELEASING ILLEGAL
ALIENS
The United States Senate PENDING DEPORTATION HEARING

Tuesday, November 13, 2001

COMMITTEE 9:30 a.m.
MEMBERS
342 Dirksen Senate Office Building
SUBCOMMITTEES

HEARINGS Panel One

KEY LEGISLATION
MR. MICHAEL A. PEARSON
Executive Associate Commissioner for Field Operations
JURISDICTION U.S. Immigration and Naturalization Service
PRESS
STATEMENTS MR. GUSTAVO DE LaVINA
U.S. Border Patrol
SPECIAL REPORTS

Panel Two:
MR, MARK HALL
VIDEO OF
SELECTED HEARINGS President, Local 2499
SITES OF National Border Patrol Council and
INTEREST Senior Border Patrol Agent
U.S. Border Patrol
Detroit, Michigan

MR, KEITH OLSON

President, Local 2913
National Border Patrol Council and
Senior Border Patrol Agent
U. S. Border Patrol
Bellingham, Washington

MR, EUGENE DAVIS

Retired Deputy Chief Patrol Agent, Blaine Sector
U. S. Border Patrol
Blaine, Washington
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Law Enforcement Problems at the Border Between the United States and Canada: Drug S... Page 1 of 87

SPEAKERS CONTENTS INSERTS

Page__ 1 TOP_0£_^OC

63-123

2000
LA W ENFORCEMENT PROBLEMS A T THE BORDER BETWEEN THE UNITED STA TES AND
CANADA: DRUG SMUGGLING, ILLEGAL IMMIGRATION AND TERRORISM

HEARING

BEFORE THE

SUBCOMMITTEE ON
IMMIGRATION AND CLAIMS

OF THE
COMMITTEE ON THE JUDICIARY
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

ONE HUNDRED SIXTH CONGRESS

FIRST SESSION

APRIL 14, 1999

Serial No. 17
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COMMITTEE ON THE JUDICIARY

HENRY J. HYDE, Illinois, Chairman
F. JAMES SENSENBRENNER, Jr., Wisconsin
BILL McCOLLUM, Florida
GEORGE W. GEKAS, Pennsylvania
HOWARD COBLE, North Carolina
LAMAR S. SMITH, Texas
ELTON GALLEGLY, California
CHARLES T. CANADY, Florida
BOB GOODLATTE, Virginia
ED BRYANT, Tennessee
STEVE CHABOT, Ohio
BOB BARR, Georgia
WILLIAM L. JENKINS, Tennessee
ASA HUTCHINSON, Arkansas

http://commdocs.house.gov/committees/judiciary/hju63123.000/hju63123_0.htm 11/19/2003
 WITHDRAWAL NOTICE

Series: Team 5 Files

Folder: Davis, Gene

Date: n.d.

Pages: 49

Description: Correspondence and other records re: Gene Davis

Reason for withdrawal: Personal privacy, law enforcement privacy, law

enforcement sensitive

Box 2

Withdrawn by: kw, 12/23/2008