The moment weve all been waiting for. Weve been talking about cbp and the Important Role that these important agencies play in creating a competitive u. S. mexico border. Were excited to have our guest speaker here today. Whether youre in the private sector, trade organization, if youre here, if you have anything to do with the border, you care very much about your on going relationship with cbp. Thats certainly the case for us at the Border Trade Alliance. Our relationship, our partnership, the communication is critical. Cbp ensures Border Security and the efficient movement of people and goods across our ports of entry. Were grateful for cbps work to reduce border wait times which is one of the most challenging barriers to trade. Today, yesterday and hopefully not tomorrow. Its my great pleasure to introduce john wagner, Deputy Executive Assistant Commission for the office of Field Operations at u. S. Customs and border protection. In 1991 he joined the Customs Service as a customs i
Up next here on cspan 3 a discussion from the Woodrow Wilson center on trade, Border Security and other issues along the u. S. mexico border. This lasts about an hour. All right, were going to get started here. Over the next i would say most important part of the day. Thank you all. Im the chair of the Border Trade Alliance and my day job is Vice President of the San Diego Regional Chamber of commerce. I have to start by saying this is my favorite conference each year. You know, whether youre new to the conversation on the u. S. mexico relationship and the border or youre an expert, the pan lists and the speakers provide thought provoking comments. Al and this panel is no exception. Were really pleased to hear and have them here. Ill run through and introduce them, but to kind of frame the conversation, you know, these panelists they have lived and breathed and in a couple cases run the border the Border Management ports of entry. So well cover a variety of factors that Border Manageme
Aspects of security. Security at the ports of entry is just as important as security between the ports of entry. And, you know, since then weve seen efforts and i think trade community has responded. Congress has responded. Weve seen bills to add more officers. We need other resources at the border. I think at first the only resource were being drawn from southern ports of entry and our first point was what about the airports . What about the seaport . What about the northern ports . You cant pick just one area and say well thats the only area that will get hurt. So beyond that weve seen may 7th, tomato duties went into effect. Now duties on mexican tomatoes. When tariff threat came up, that would have equalled 25 tariffs, 3 billion in tariffs just on what we eat and that constitutes a food tax. In the meantime we had these issues. Thats a glimpse into what we see at the border but we cant stop and think that we cant move forward because theres a lot of things we can move forward on. I
Testify about technologies theyre using to secure the nations borders, including efforts to combat drug smuggling. The committee on Homeland Security subcommittee on border and Maritime Security will come to order. The subcommittee is meeting today to examine the role of technology in the nations Border Security efforts. I now recognize myself for an opening statement. Border security is a complicated endeavor, because theres no one size fits all solution. Thinking through what it will take to secure the border is the primary responsibility of the three agencies represented by our witnesses today. Border patrol is our Operational Force between the ports of industry, cbps office of Field Operations job is to facilitate legitimate trade and travel while keeping illicit drugs from entering, air and marine is the supporting element. All three of these critical Border Security components rely heavily on technology to accomplish their mission. Indeed, technology is a Crucial Force multiplier
The office of Field Operations job is to facilitate legitimate trade and travel, while maintaining a list of those who cannot entry enter our country. Also, the supporting element, which provides intervention support. These components rely heavily on technology to accomplish their mission. Technology is a crucible a crucial multiplier, and the right mix of infrastructure, personnel, and technology has worked for the last 20 years. Instead of focusing on the gadgets and gizmos and repeated failures we have had, i think it is important to think strategically about the decisionmaking process. Those who mean to exploit our border for illicit purposes. Destroy that process by using usenology will help better the funding to secure the border in the long term. I want to take a hard look at the Role Technology plays in predicting, deterring, and detecting Illicit Activity along border. St order it is difficult to measure or accomplish. Discouraging bad actors from crossing the batter the borde