	Southern Border Crossings

The following information provides details about our agents’ experiences  and observations entering the United States from Mexico at border  crossings in California and Texas and at two crossings in Arizona. The CBP officers did  not request any other documents to prove citizenship, and allowed both  agents to enter the United States. Texas: On February 23, 2006, two agents crossed the border from Mexico  into Texas on foot. One of the agents carried a counterfeit West Virginia driver’s license and a  counterfeit West Virginia birth certificate. When asked for identification by the CBP officer on  duty, the agents presented a counterfeit West Virginia driver’s license and  a counterfeit Virginia driver’s license. The CBP  officer asked for the agents’ country of citizenship and the agents  responded that they were from the United States. We conducted a corrective action briefing with officials from CBP on June  9, 2006, about the results of our investigation. CBP agreed its officers are  not able to identify all forms of counterfeit identification presented at land  border crossings. We did not assess whether this  initiative would be fully implemented by either the January 2008 or June  2009 deadline or whether it would be effective in preventing terrorists  from entering the United States. Conclusion

The results of our current work indicate that (1) CBP officers at the nine  land border crossings tested did not detect the counterfeit identification  we used and (2) people who enter the United States via land crossings are  not always asked to present identification. Furthermore, our periodic tests  since 2002 clearly show that CBP officers are unable to effectively identify  counterfeit driver’s licenses, birth certificates, and other documents. This  vulnerability potentially allows terrorists or others involved in criminal  activity to pass freely into the United States from Canada or Mexico with  little or no chance of being detected. It will be critical that the new  initiative requiring travelers within the Western Hemisphere to present  passports or other accepted documents to enter the United States address  the vulnerabilities shown by our work. This is a work of the U.S. government and is not subject to copyright protection in the  United States.
Why GAO Did This Study

Currently, U.S. citizens are not required to present a passport when entering the United States from countries in the Western Hemisphere. However, U.S. citizens are required to establish citizenship to a CBP officer's satisfaction. On its Web site, U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) advises U.S. citizens that an officer may ask for identification documents as proof of citizenship, including birth certificates or baptismal records and a photo identification document. In 2003, we testified that CBP officers were not readily capable of identifying whether individuals seeking entry into the United States were using counterfeit identification to prove citizenship. Specifically, our agents were able to easily enter the United States from Canada and Mexico using fictitious names and counterfeit driver's licenses and birth certificates. Later in 2003 and 2004, we continued to be able to successfully enter the United States using counterfeit identification at land border crossings, but were denied entry on one occasion. Because of Congress's concerns that these weaknesses could possibly be exploited by terrorists or others involved in criminal activity, Congress requested that we assess the current status of security at the nation's borders. Specifically, Congress requested that we conduct a follow-up investigation to determine whether the vulnerabilities exposed in our prior work continue to exist.

What GAO Found

Agents successfully entered the United States using fictitious driver's licenses and other bogus documentation through nine land ports of entry on the northern and southern borders. CBP officers never questioned the authenticity of the counterfeit documents presented at any of the nine crossings. On three occasions--in California, Texas, and Arizona--agents crossed the border on foot. At two of these locations--Texas and Arizona--CBP allowed the agents entry into the United States without asking for or inspecting any identification documents. After completing our investigation, we briefed officials from CBP on June 9, 2006. CBP agreed that its officers are not able to identify all forms of counterfeit identification presented at land border crossings and fully supports a new initiative that will require all travelers to present a passport before entering the United States. We did not assess whether this initiative would be effective in preventing terrorists from entering the United States or whether it would fully address the vulnerabilites shown by our work.