The increased hiring of Border Patrol and other federal agents for U.S.-Mexico border security operations has created a need for a better screening process of prospective employees, U.S. Rep. Henry Cuellar said.

The Department of Homeland Security released a report last month detailing almost 1,400 internal investigations, netting 318 arrests and 260 convictions, all from 2011. While praising the DHS Office of Inspector General’s effort to investigate employee corruption, Cuellar said more efforts can be made on the front end — including mandatory polygraph tests — to ensure DHS is hiring the right people.

But Cuellar, who sits on the House Homeland Security Committee, said some of the employee arrests could be attributed to growing pains for the fast-expanding DHS. Since 9/11, the number of Border Patrol agents assigned to the Southwest border has expanded from 9,100 agents to more than 17,500.

“The last 10 years, we have hired almost double the amount of Border Patrol agents,” Cuellar said. “Any time you have a lot of folks coming in, you will have these kind of situations.”


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