Chamber, NCBFAA Ask for Additional CBP Staffing

Business groups are asking the leaders of the appropriations committees in Congress to support money at the border in a funding request that also includes funding for the war in Gaza and Ukraine. In a letter last week, the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, the National Customs Brokers & Forwarders Association of America, the National Council of Textile Organizations and the Airforwarders Association said CBP says it needs at least 4,000 more officers. The money in the request would cover 1,000 CBP officers.

"In fiscal year 2023, CBP seized more than 27,000 pounds of fentanyl, compared with 14,600 pounds the previous year, with most seized at ports of entry, according to CBP drug seizure statistics. This investment in CBP officer staffing will increase illicit fentanyl seizures and save lives," they wrote. "Our air, sea, and land ports are in desperate need of more CBP employees at the ports-of-entry to reduce wait times for international travelers and cargo shippers, improve the interdiction of illegal drugs and illicit goods, and handle the processing of migrants seeking asylum."

They said if Congress doesn't give CBP the money to hire 1,000 new officers, "frontline employees will continue to face excessive overtime shifts, [and] out-of-town deployments that leave their home ports even more understaffed...."