Two years after President Trump signed orders to hire 15,000 new border agents and immigration officers, the administration has spent tens of millions of dollars in the effort — but has thousands more vacancies than when it began.

…Today, Customs and Border Protection — the Border Patrol’s parent agency — has more than 3,000 job vacancies, according to House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s office. That’s about 2,000 more than when Trump signed the orders, according to a Government Accountability Office report on CBP’s hiring challenges.

…In December, the Homeland Security inspector general’s office said Accenture and CBP were “nowhere near” filling the president’s hiring order.

It warned that if problems in the “hastily approved” contract are not addressed, CBP risks “wasting millions of taxpayer dollars.”

…ICE requested $830 million to hire about 3,000 new officers and build capacity to ultimately bring on 10,000.

…Instead, Congress last year gave ICE $15.7 million for 65 new agents plus 70 attorneys and support staff.

Over the past two years, ICE has brought on 1,325 investigators and deportation officers, according to the agency. The agency typically loses nearly 800 law enforcement officers each year, so it has not kept pace and remains far behind the president’s order.

…Given historically low illegal immigration on the southern border, even the Homeland Security inspector general has questioned the need for the surge.

…Officials could not “provide complete data to support the operational need or deployment strategies for the additional 15,000 additional agents and officers they were directed to hire,” the inspector general’s office wrote.

Trump ordered 15,000 new border and immigration officers — but got thousands of vacancies instead – Los Angeles Times

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