Confusion and Poor Communication Among Border Security Agencies

"We've already had one blue-on-blue incident," said the park ranger. "We don't want any more. There are fourteen different agencies working in this part of the desert."

"It seems like you guys don't communicate very well with one another,"  I said.

He smiled. "There are fourteen different agencies."

In the past year, I've traveled to a number of locations in the Arizona/Sonora border region where smuggling activity is considered to be high. Sometimes I encounter law enforcement; sometimes I don't. I can't say that I've met people from fourteen different law enforcement agencies, but I can say this: from what I can see, they aren't talking to each other very well.

I've lost track of the number of times that an agent, officer or deputy from one agency has mistaken me for someone belonging to another agency, even allowing me to pass by them unchallenged. In one instance, I stood next to the border fence, in an area closed to the public, while wearing civilian clothes - as a Border Patrol SUV approached. The agent simply drove by me and threw up the "peace" sign.

In another instance - this one at night - deputies on a hilltop observation post, equipped with night vision devices, said they spotted me approaching two other deputies in the valley below. They didn't even bother contacting the deputies below, because, as one said, "We thought you were with us." When I reached the valley location, the deputies there were incredibly surprised to hear me call out to them from the darkness, and responded with an appropriate - and professional - level of caution.

Although there seems to be a coordinated effort to secure certain parts of the border, this level of coordination does not apparently rise to the use of a common radio frequency - or if it does, individual law enforcement officers are choosing to not use it. Officers sometimes work within several hundred yards of one another without knowing of the others' presence, or if they are aware of their presence, they are not aware of their identification - and they make little effort to identify one another.

Communication with the Mexican Army, which is to be considered vital from a "total security" standpoint, is spotty. In some areas, liaison officers can have Mexican Army soldiers provide backup to Border Patrol agents - while staying on their respective sides of the border - within minutes. In other areas, there is little to no communication between the nations at the tactical or operational level.

The events of 9/11 brought about a new - and apparently temporary - mindset among officials in the federal government. The creation of the Department of Homeland Security was supposed to increase coordination among intelligence and law enforcement agencies, but it would appear, from my perspective, that it has done nothing but add another layer of bureaucracy. I am not well educated about the amount of funding DHS is allocated, but if I were in an official position to question them about the efficacy of that spending, I would certainly do so.

"There's a big push to secure this sector right now," the Border Patrol agent said.

"Is it working?" I asked.

"Absolutely not," he said, laughing.