GAO: Border Patrol's Staffing Shortage Getting Worse

A new report claims the U.S. Border Patrol is understaffed and is losing more agents than it can hire.

The Government Accountability Office released an audit Wednesday that showed the following statistics:

• The Border Patrol employed roughly 19,500 agents as of May 2017, fewer than the figure of 21,370 that has been the legal minimum since 2011.
• From fiscal year 2013 to fiscal year 2016, the agency hired an average of 523 agents per year but lost an average of 904 per year.

The GAO cited a February 2017 memo that outlined some factors that could be contributing to the shortfall.

"The memo cited challenges such as competing with other federal, state, and local law enforcement organizations for applicants," the GAO wrote in its report. "In particular, the memo noted that CBP faces hiring and retention challenges compared to DHS's U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (which is also planning to hire additional law enforcement personnel) because CBP's hiring process requires applicants to take a polygraph examination, Border Patrol agents are deployed to less desirable duty locations, and Border Patrol agents generally receive lower compensation."

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