FEINSTEIN CALLS FOR MORE STAFF, TECHNOLOGY TO CONTROL BORDER

She Says She Aims To Ease The Burden

More technology and manpower are needed at the border to stop the smuggling
of drugs and undocumented immigrants, Sen. Dianne Feinstein said yesterday
on a visit to San Diego.

Emerging from a closed-door meeting with border officials, Feinstein said
she hoped to obtain more resources for overburdened federal agencies.

The senator said agencies at the border have a "mixed mission" because they
are charged with cracking down on contraband and, at the same time,
speeding the flow of legal cross-border traffic.

"It's extraordinarily difficult for the people who work on the border," she
said. "They're undermanned. The demands are heavy."

In a twist in the push for border resources, Feinstein said she also plans
to ask that more inspectors for the U.S. Department of Agriculture be
stationed at the border, to protect U.S. crops vulnerable to fruit fly
infestation. Last year, the agency received 17 additional inspectors along
the southwest border because of the concern.

"This is a huge problem," Feinstein said. "Agriculture smuggling can be
devastating.

Yesterday's meeting was designed to give officials the opportunity to talk
with Feinstein about improvements and resources.

The Immigration and Naturalization Service and the U.S. Customs Service
told her they need more inspectors because legal and illegal traffic is
increasing at the ports of entry.

INS officials said more smugglers are using secret compartments in vehicles
to smuggle undocumented immigrants. This trend, the officials say, is a
reaction to the increase in Border Patrol agents stationed between the
ports as part of Operation Gatekeeper.

At the same time, an increase in legal traffic has strained the INS'
resources, said Adele Fasano, the agency's district director.

On Easter weekend, waiting times at the San Ysidro border crossing
sometimes stretched to an hour, partly because federal regulations limit
the amount of overtime the INS can pay its inspectors.

"We have some serious challenges that we are facing," Fasano said. "We can
do just so much with the resources that are allocated."

U.S. Attorney Gregory Vega said INS and Customs also have problems
retaining and recruiting inspectors. The INS has 80 vacancies out of the
520 positions authorized for the San Diego district.

At the same time, Vega said, more federal judges, prosecutors and defenders
are needed to handle the increasing number of drug and immigration cases.

Edward Logan, special agent in charge of Customs in San Diego, said his
agency needs more inspectors partly because cross-border trade is increasing.

"We don't need Gucci, we need the minimum staffing," he said. "With the
increase in international trade, we're just trying to keep up."

Feinstein said her first priority is to help agencies combat drug
smuggling. The agencies can't afford to back down on anti-drug efforts when
drug cartels in Mexico "are a far greater threat to the security of the
average American than the Mafia ever was."

"These are . . . vicious cartels," she said. "I don't want them in this
country, and I don't want them corrupting our people."