TEXAS-BASED BORDER CZAR IS PROPOSED

Plan Targets Illegal Drugs, Undocumented Immigrants

WASHINGTON - Drug czar Barry McCaffrey is proposing a new coordinator for
federal units trying to stem the flow of illegal drugs and undocumented
immigrants crossing the border from Mexico.

Essentially a Southwest border czar, the new presidential appointee would
be based in El Paso and consolidate some smaller agencies already there.

The proposal would vastly expand previous efforts to improve coordination
between the Customs Service, the Border Patrol and other federal police
forces.

"The American people deserve a more coherent, better-orchestrated effort on
the Southwest border," he said in an interview. "We need a border
coordinator in El Paso."

Mr. McCaffrey said the concept is key to bringing control to the border
with Mexico, where illicit trafficking has been a growing problem.

Beginning this month, Mr. McCaffrey will campaign to enlist support from
other agencies and border-state leaders. He will make his case in a speech
planned for San Diego next week and during a Texas visit later this month.

Mr. McCaffrey said he hopes Mr. Clinton will approve a plan this fall and
send it to Congress next year.

Mr. McCaffrey acknowledged he'll have to overcome skepticism from agents
and supervisors who fear a loss of autonomy.

"The new guy should not be in command of all federal agencies, but should
coordinate how their policies and budget work together," said Mr.
McCaffrey, director of the White House Office of National Drug Control Policy.

Critics have said problems are legion among the myriad of enforcement
agencies that operate along the border. Earlier, less-ambitious proposals
to improve coordination have surfaced, but cooperation largely depends on
informal teamwork.

Congress and the administration increasingly target the Southwest border,
which analysts say is the route for most of the cocaine smuggled into the
United States and about half of its undocumented workers.

"There's a tremendous amount of frustration in Congress about the impact of
drug trafficking on America's communities," said Rep. Sylvestre Reyes, D-El
Paso. "Politically, the time is right for an idea like this."

The rise in trafficking already forces them to work together more, border
agents say.

"I've met with my counterparts more often the past eight months than I did
in all of several years before," said David Higgerson, customs port
director in Pharr.

"If we don't work together, we figure somebody's going to make us one
agency," he said.

Aides to Mr. McCaffrey said he doesn't want to merge the larger enforcement
agencies. But somebody must at least be in charge at the ports of entry -
the staffed highway and bridge crossings - where agents from four or more
federal agencies are working, said Mr. McCaffrey.

"There must be a federal coordinator at each port of entry," he said. "You
can't have 300 or 400 people working seven days a week, 24 hours a day . .
unless somebody's in charge."

He wants customs to take charge of the ports of entry and the Immigration
and Naturalization Service supervising the vast border between the ports.

But his office has developed few details. Aides say talks among agency
heads will develop a proposal for President Clinton.

Like his proposed border czar, Mr. McCaffrey carries no direct authority
over the budgets of agencies involved in the drug fight. But he has
persuaded the Pentagon to change its spending plans, and he recently
criticized Treasury officials for not warning Mexico of a money-laundering
investigation there.

He also shepherded a $2 billion, five-year anti-drug media campaign through
the administration and Congress.

Republicans have remained critical of the administration's counter-drug
efforts, saying Mr. McCaffrey's agency and others have failed to stem
America's drug use.

More limited efforts in the past included a borde upervisor appointed by
Attorney General Janet Reno in San Diego, who focused on problems at the
border there.

No senior official has tried to tackle the entire border and all federal
agencies, Mr. Reyes said. "The problem has been that nobody of McCaffrey's
stature has been committed to this idea."

Mr. McCaffrey recently predicted the federal government could largely close
the Southwest border to drug traffickers in five years.

Aides say he developed the idea of a border coordinator over the past two
years as Congress and the administration poured resources into the region.

The added resources can't work without better coordination and
intelligence, Mr. McCaffrey said.

The new border coordinator could take control of the counter-drug,
interagency El Paso Intelligence Center as well as Joint Task Force 6,
which coordinates the military's anti-trafficking missions.

Aides to Mr. McCaffrey said they hope a new border coordinator also could
improve legal crossings at the border. Truck drivers and other frequent
crossers often complain of poor coordination among the many inspection
agencies.

Government auditors also have criticized agencies for not cooperating
better at the border. Customs and immigration offices, for example, have
duplicated administrative overhead, sometimes sabotaged each others'
inspections and slowed traffic by not coordinating their staffing,
according to studies by the General Accounting Office, the auditing arm of
Congress.

Checked-by: Mike Gogulski