Border Patrol on alert for sneaky U.S. politicians
OUR VIEW: You never know when a pesky congressman's going to show up

There's no question that a meeting with certain members of Congress, governors or other big-time politicians can be daunting.

The dazzling, plastic smile can disorient you. The bombast can knock you off your feet. The heavy air of self-importance can take your breath away.

But in terms of trauma, does it rise to the level of being involved in a shooting? We don't think so.

Most people who have met a congressman and been shot at, if forced to choose one event or the other to go through again, would take bombastics over ballistics, we're fairly sure. Yet for U.S. Border Patrol management, a surprise visit from a congressman and being shot at are on a bureaucratic par. If involved in either type of skirmish, a Border Patrol agent must fill out and submit a Significant Incident Report to his superiors.

Yes, we can all be confident that at last, the Homeland Security Department, which runs the Border Patrol, has figured out what threatens our border. And it's not Mexicans or Central Americans crossing illegally to try to better their lots; it's not terrorists bent on acts of destruction; no, it's members of Congress sneaking down to the border to talk to Border Patrol agents without their supervisors present.

According to a U.S. Customs and Border Protection spokesman, the filing of Significant Incident reports on congressional visits is necessary for agency leadership to have "appropriate situational awareness" - whatever that is. One unnamed Tucson Border Patrol agent was suspended from his job for 10 days without pay for meeting with Rep. Steve King, R-Iowa, and giving the congressman a tracking demonstration.

The agent's suspension letter said in part, "You did not have

Advertisement
Click Here!

prior supervisory permission to perform these activities while in an on-duty status."

Agents can't talk to a member of Congress without supervisory permission. They can't pursue suspected smugglers who cross the border illegally from Mexico without supervisory permission.

Do they have to raise their hand and get permission before they can go to the restroom?

Congressman King, who resents having his border moves monitored by the Homeland Security Department, said that on several of his unannounced visits, Border Patrol agents would not speak to him for fear of reprisal. He called the required filing of incident reports a form of intimidation.

"If anyone is going to be punished," King said, "then they should be punished for not speaking to a member of Congress, rather than for telling the truth."

We couldn't agree more. Rep. Ted Poe, R-Texas, who also has made unannounced visits to the border, agreed with King that agents are being intimidated by their superiors and raised the specter of congressional hearings and subpoenas to investigate the matter.

Yes, Pogo, we have met the enemy, and he is us.

At least to the Border Patrol, he is our own elected representatives.