GAO report faults Border Patrol on checkpoints


08/28/2009

By JACQUES BILLEAUD

A draft government study found the Border Patrol isn't measuring how its checkpoints along the border affect the quality of life in surrounding communities.

One of the findings of a Government Accountability Office draft report was that the Border Patrol hasn't documented how many agents it needs to confront smugglers sneaking around a proposed permanent checkpoint on Interstate 19 in southern Arizona.

Residents near the interim checkpoint have complained that illegal immigrants and smugglers are flooding their communities.

A spokesman for the Border Patrol's Tucson sector declined to comment.

The report is scheduled for release on Monday. The Associated Press obtained its highlights on Friday from a congressional source who asked not to be named because it hadn't been officially released.

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On the Net:

U.S. Government Accountability Office: http://www.gao.gov



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