dear senator
... should remain as a separate border security agency. Customs Service personnel are the nation’s premier first line of defense against terrorism and the smuggling of illegal drugs and contraband at our borders and in our ports. Our mission also includes possessing world class expertise in the administering and enforcing of hundreds of complex laws governing international trade into the United States. The Customs Service is also responsible for the collection of over $25 billion annually in trade revenue. To combine our agency with INS and the Border Patrol would severely alter the unique role of the Customs Service. Other concerns surrounding this proposed border agency consolidation have to do with the fact that this new agency could be under the jurisdiction of the Department of Justice. This agency, with its highly visible problems regarding visa entry and processing among other things, would hardly seem to be the ideal model for creating a new border security agency. I would...