AT BORDER, HARD JOB HAS GOTTEN TOUGHER

Drug Smuggling Is Back After A Post-Sept. 11 Lull. Hunt For Terrorists
Continues.

SAN YSIDRO -- Here and all along the 2,000-mile U.S.-Mexico border,
law-enforcement officers are using the skills they've honed catching
illegal immigrants and drug smugglers to try to nab any terrorist
attempting to escape notice among the tens of thousands of people who cross
daily.

Computerized law-enforcement databases are used to check the names of all
pedestrians, while automatic cameras record license-plate information for
each motorist leaving or entering the United States. Authorities cite these
and other security measures to say the border is as impenetrable as it can be.

And yet, much of the screening at the world's busiest border crossing is
still dependent on the skill and intuition of inspectors who have been
working almost nonstop on a constant state of heightened alert for months.

Inspectors decide which car trunks to search, which motorists are referred
to a secondary inspection area, and which pedestrians should be questioned
further even if all their documents seem to check out. A slight twitch or a
nervous look is sometimes all it takes for a pedestrian or a motorist to
undergo more scrutiny.

"We use the same techniques to try to find weapons of mass destruction as
we would for drugs," said Joseph Misenhelter, a U.S. Customs supervisor in
San Ysidro.

During a recent drug seiz ure, inspectors found 21 plastic-wrapped blocks
of marijuana in a secret com part ment between the back seat and the trunk
of a light blue Ford Thunderbird. To get them past drug- sniffing dogs, the
blocks were encased in a white substance believed to be detergent.

The vehicle was a family-type sedan, its rear-view mirror draped with two
crucifixes, probably designed to make the motorist look like "a regular
person," said Bruce Ward, who oversees U.S. Customs inspectors in San Ysidro.

But the agent on duty sensed something was awry when he noticed a gap
between the back seat and the trunk area, prompting him to refer the
motorist for further inspection.

Each inspector's "sixth sense" will always be important in catching
wrongdoers, but Customs and INS officials are leaning toward installing
more high-tech systems to pre-screen frequent travelers. This will allow
them to spend more time on travelers more likely to pose a risk.

Jayson Ahern, head of U.S. Customs in Southern California, says officials
must "work smarter" with better systems, training and technology to deal
with so much traffic in an area that serves as the gateway to thriving
commerce that provides jobs and revenue in California.

"We need to keep travel and commerce going," Ahern said. "We've seen the
impact it has on our economy when this doesn't happen, so I think we need
to strike a better balance."

Increasing social and commercial ties between the U.S. and Mexico have
translated into thousands more vehicles and pedestrians crossing the border.

Before the Sept. 11 attacks, authorities screened an average of 88,000
daily crossings at the San Ysidro port of entry. Increased inspections
meant long border waits of up to four hours, which reduced traffic to
58,000. During early-morning hours when waiting was worst, Tijuana
residents working in the San Diego area arrived before dawn to get to work
by 9 a.m. Many quickly discovered that they could get to the head of the
waiting traffic by riding a bike across the border. The number of
bicyclists quickly rose from about 20 to 2,000 each day.

The latest figures show traffic remains at about 58,000, but with a shift
of about 7,000 people now crossing on foot instead of in their vehicles. At
times like 7 p.m. on a weeknight, it is possible to walk across in five
minutes.

But at 10 a.m. on a recent weekday, lines of people waiting to cross wound
around and around the dimly lit room where inspectors check driver's
licenses, passports and immigration documents. Women with children,
travelers carrying luggage and men wearing hats were among the patient
crowd. Past the metal detectors, another group was waiting. And outside,
dozens more.

"I think the biggest benefit that we're seeing is that now people are more
patient," the U.S. Customs' Ward said. "They understand why we need to do
what we do."

There's a renewed sense of purpose as inspectors go about their work each
day. They're opening more car trunks, asking more people to step out of
their vehicles so drug-sniffing dogs can have free rein and scrutinizing
pedestrians' documents more closely.

"Ah, so you were born in Mexico," an inspector said as he swiped a
traveler's passport through a computer reader on a recent day. He narrowed
his eyes, gazing closely at the young woman's face, then over at the
computer screen to see whether she had a criminal history. Nothing came up.
"OK, have a good night." Inspectors were busy much of the time even before
Sept. 11. Now, officials at U.S. Customs and at the Immigration and
Naturalization Service, the two agencies charged with patrolling the
border, say finding better ways to screen the crowds is a priority with
anti-terrorism mandates not likely to change.

Ahern doesn't expect funding for staffing in his area to increase much in
the near future, especially since Congress recently appropriated funding to
boost staffing along the notoriously understaffed Canadian border. This
means, he said, that the agency will need to focus on improving in other areas.

"We need to know more about the people and the cargoes coming across the
border," Ahern said.

INS officials are looking at ways to expand existing systems, such as the
commuter lane called Secure Electronic Network for Traveler's Rapid
Inspection. The SENTRI system allows commuters and frequent travelers to
cross in less than three minutes. These commuters go through an extensive
background check and have their vehicles equipped with equipment that
relays information to INS computers as a motorist drives past the border.

Since Sept. 11, SENTRI applications have increased 100 percent. There are
12,000 people enrolled in the program, and 6,000 more are waiting for
approval, said Lauren Mack, INS spokeswoman in San Diego.

For pedestrians, prescreening also appears to be the wave of the future. A
pilot program at a U.S.-Canada port of entry in Port Huron, Mich., allows
prescreened pedestrians to cross more quickly by swiping an INS- issued
card embedded with a chip that relays information to inspectors.

At San Ysidro, INS inspectors check each name against a law- enforcement
database called Interagency Border Inspection System. The system allows
inspectors to swipe U.S. passports and INS-issued identification cards
directly, without needing to type in the person's name.

"What is so attractive in today's world is that a background network of
databases can do an automatic check," Mack said.

This is why U.S. citizens are now required to carry at least their driver's
license, although the system is not foolproof. Pedestrians over the age of
14 are required to show documentation, but motorists are not. Inspectors
screening vehicular traffic sometimes will wave motorists and their
passengers through without requesting to see any documents if they claim to
be U.S. citizens.

In a report issued earlier this month, San Diego Dialogue, a cross- border
think tank, also recommended prescreening frequent travelers. Its research
showed that 96 percent of all crossings are by people who cross four to 20
times a month.

The likelihood of installing more high-tech systems or adding more
inspectors in San Ysidro depends on how INS allocates funds appropriated by
Congress.

In the past, funding has been cited as an obstacle for some INS
initiatives. For example, the INS has yet to install the technology to read
high-tech "biometric" crossing cards carried by Mexican commuters.

But Congress last week approved spending $150 million for technology
initiatives at INS, including expanding current pre-clearance programs. The
bill also allows federal agencies to waive application fees to encourage
people to participate, which could help boost enrollment in programs such
as SENTRI, which carries a basic annual fee of $129.

For now, most border screenings will continue to rely on inspectors, who
have been working overtime like never before.

Since Sept. 11, the entire border has been at Stage 1 security alert, the
highest level. For agents and inspectors, that means workdays that extend
up to 14 hours and workweeks that can last six or seven days. Few are
complaining about the hours, but Customs inspectors are working so much
overtime that their supervisors are encouraging them to take advantage of
counseling programs.

Drugs remain a priority. The port of entry is one of the busiest anti-
smuggling operations in the country. Drug seizures in Southern California
accounted for more than a quarter of all narcotics seized nationwide during
fiscal 2001, according to U.S. Customs statistics.

In the days immediately after Sept. 11, the number of drug seizures
decreased significantly as news of increased inspections at the border got
out. "There were days when we didn't have any seizures at all, but that
changed," said Misenhelter, the Customs supervisor. "They couldn't wait
much longer. They have their own payroll to meet, their own expenses to
meet. And now drug smuggling has come back with a vengeance."

Authorities are moving staffers around to ensure that the border is
adequately staffed.

INS has boosted staffing at the border by deploying 20 Border Patrol agents
to the port of entry. Border Patrol agents typically patrol along the
border, not usually at ports of entry.

Customs has requested 100 National Guardsmen to help with duties such as
running X-ray machines because the Guard is barred by law from performing
law-enforcement functions. Customs officials have transferred support staff
to inspector positions, but workdays remain long at this port, with the
highest workload in the country.