Washington, D.C.  -  The U.S. border with Mexico could see hundreds, if not thousands, of additional security personnel in three to six months under legislation unveiled today by Alabama Congressman Mike Rogers.

Rogers said his bill, which he discussed today at a border security forum in Washington, would allow the Border Patrol to augment its 12,000-member force with trained security forces drawn from the private sector on a temporary basis. His goal, he said, was to quickly and cost-effectively increase the number of boots on the ground while supporting the Border Patrol’s efforts to recruit, train, and deploy additional agents.

“The vast majority of Alabamians, like most Americans, want Congress to secure our borders now,” said Rogers, chairman of the Homeland Security oversight subcommittee. “This is a common-sense, fiscally-responsible solution for helping secure our borders in the short term until the Border Patrol can grow to its sufficient strength.”

Rogers says his proposal would allow the Border Patrol to deploy temporary security forces to help guard and protect our borders until more Border Patrol agents can be trained. Each time a class of new Border Patrol agents completes its training, the same number of temporary forces would be retired from service.

Rogers explained that since 2004, less than 1,000 new Border Patrol agents have been added, even after Congress authorized an increase of 2,000 a year for five years. Rogers said this hiring pace is unacceptable to him, and to the American public.

“We need more boots on the ground now – not three or four years from now,” Rogers said. “We simply do not have the training capacity to expand the force this quickly, which is why this temporary partnership with the private sector could make so much sense.”

Rogers said he will introduce his legislation later this week, known as the Secure the Border Now Act. He said he hopes his bill will be included along with other border security efforts, including additional border fencing. By 2010, Rogers said the Border Patrol is expected to grow to 18,000 agents.

 
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