The New York Times’ Randel C. Archibold and Andrew Becker uncover the potentially huge security problem of border patrol agents taking bribes. In 2007, the Dept. of Homeland Security launched 79 investigations into border agents suspected of taking payoffs to let immigrants coming from Mexico into America. There were 31 such cases in 2003, including at least one where agents themselves transported migrants to safe houses on the U.S. side of the border.

Part of the problem in tracking cases of corruption is that Customs and Border Protection dissolved its internal affairs unit when DHS was formed in 2003. It’s recently been brought back, which the article implies is to due to the border corruption cases.  Read Archibold and Becker here.  MB

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