BUFFALO, N.Y. — U.S. Rep. Brian Higgins is raising concern about a plan to reportedly shift U.S. Customs and Border Protection officers typically stationed at the northern border to the southern border with Mexico.
Higgins’ office says information from the National Treasury Employees Union, which represents CBP officers, appears to show a plan to move 421 officers from various field offices nationwide, although when and for how long is unclear.
“It is outrageous that you don't have a full complement of Customs and Border Protection [officers] working at places like the Peace Bridge and the other northern border crossings,” Higgins said.
CBP Officers inspect merchandise, agriculture, luggage, and people coming into and out of the United States, intercepting drugs, weapons, and other illegal goods according to the U.S. Department of Homeland Security.
Higgins worries that as more and more people crossing the border look for normalcy after the pandemic, and summer travel ticking up fewer officers in Western New York could mean longer wait times.
“When the bridge and the bridge crossing is a hassle, it discourages cross-border activity, and both the United States and Canada depend on that cross-border activity for our quality of life and also the economy,” Higgins said.
It’s also a security concern, he added, even with Western New York border crossings at 85% of what they were before the pandemic.
The northern border has seen shifts like this before in 2019 and in reverse with border patrol agents, which are separate from CBP officers, assisting in northern New York and Vermont back in March.
When asked for comment a CBP spokesperson told 2 On Your Side: "As a matter of policy, U.S. Customs and Border Protection does not comment on statements from elected officials."
The spokesperson also responded to several follow-up questions and said he would seek additional information.
“We are asking customs and border protection and the Department of Homeland Security to immediately address this problem,” Higgins said.
In a letter sent to the CBP commissioner Higgins has called for understaffing at the northern border to be addressed, the backlog in NEXUS applications to be resolved, and for all resources to be shifted back to the northern border.