Posted on Wed, Feb. 20, 2013
Missed flight connections at MIA blamed on understaffed
border and customs officials
By Marc Caputo
mcaputo@MiamiHerald.com
For a picture of the nation’s border struggles, look at the long lines and understaffed
international-passenger checkpoints at Miami International Airport.
Up to 1,000 passengers in a single day have missed connecting flights at the airport —
the busiest in the nation for international flights — because they’re held up at the
Customs and Border Protection facility.
And the problem could get even worse next month because of looming federal budget
cuts, U.S. Department of Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano said
Wednesday after visiting the airport.
“Everything we are trying to do here — the additional staffing, overtime, technology….
will come to a screeching halt,” Napolitano said.
“It means not adding Customs officers, we’re going to be starting to furlough Customs
officers,” she said. “Not adding overtime to cover peak periods, but eliminating
overtime.”
If Congress comes up with a deal to avoid the cuts — under the so-called sequester —
the agency either needs to shift resources to properly staff its Miami facility or get more
money to hire more officers.
Absent a Congressional deal, however, Napolitano also warned that Transportation
Security Administration officers might be furloughed as well, meaning travelers should
arrive at busy airports like MIA an hour early and citizens re-entering the United States
could wind up waiting twice as long to get back in the country.
U.S. Rep. Joe Garcia, a Miami Democrat, toured the airport with Napolitano and said
earlier that the situation at the airport encapsulates what’s wrong with Congress as well
as the entire immigration system.
“We’re having a big debate over fixing our borders in Mexico, but we can’t even get a
rich Argentinean businessman through Customs on time because we don’t have the
proper staffing,” Garcia said before the press conference.
Garcia noted that up to half of the estimated 11 million illegal immigrants in the United
States overstayed their visas and probably flew into the country — they didn’t cross the
U.S.-Mexico border.
“We have to focus on a broader solution,” Garcia said.
While he toured the airport with Napolitano and U.S. Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz,
Garcia noted that half of the 72 booths at the international-passenger checkpoint were
unstaffed on Wednesday.
U.S. Rep. Rep. Ileana Ros-Lehtinen, R-Miami, joined the tour at the airport, but she
slipped away before cameras caught her with the Democrats. U.S. Rep. Rep. Mario
Diaz-Balart, also a Miami Republican, met Napolitano earlier Wednesday at Port
Everglades in Fort Lauderdale but couldn’t make the airport tour because he had
engagements in the Naples area. Diaz-Balart called for more officers in South Florida.
After touring the facilities Wednesday, Napolitano pointed out that the lines are better
now than in the past.
Almost as soon as the new $180 million facility opened in July, it was understaffed and
plagued with long lines.
Gov. Rick Scott wrote to Napolitano in September and again on Wednesday, asking for
more Customs and Border Protection staff. He said the long lines and missed flights
were bad for Florida’s reputation and therefore its bottom line.
“CBP has not been able to meet the necessary staffing numbers in the new facility. As a
result, customers, often numbering well over 1,000 daily, and their baggage are
misconnected and must be re-booked on later flights, many leaving the next day,” Scott
wrote.
During one 30-day study in February 2012, nearly 5,000 American Airlines customers
missed their connecting flights as a direct result of delays in CBP processing.
Napolitano said she was able to provide a few more staff at peak times and that it
helped alleviate some of the long lines.
The airport’s director, Jose Abreu, said wait times are down as are the incidence of
missed flights. But up to 700 people daily can miss flights because they’re held up in
lines, waiting to be processed by border officers.
To further shorten lines, Napolitano said, her agency would like to increase a prescreening program for low-risk international travelers and hire more border officers in
cooperation with local officials.
Miami-Dade Mayor Carlos Gimenez, who met with Napolitano and the congressional
members, said he’d be willing to help out by pitching money generated at the airport.
Wasserman Schultz, the Democratic National Committee chairwoman, said she and the
other South Florida congressional members will try to pass legislation giving local
governments the ability to help underwrite the costs of federal border officers.
But, she said, the looming federal budget cuts need to be handled quickly.
“Deep cuts to Customs and Border Protection operations will mean less staffing and
even more frustrated passengers,” she said.
© 2013 Miami Herald Media Company. All Rights Reserved.
http://www.miamiherald.com
Read more here: http://www.miamiherald.com/2013/02/20/v-print/3244748/missedflight-connections-at-mia.html#storylink=cpy
http://www.sun-sentinel.com/business/fl-napolitano-port-everglades-20130220,0,4011655.story
South Florida Sun-Sentinel.com
Secretary Janet Napolitano tours customs and
security operations at Port Everglades, MIA
Industry stakeholders ask for help to keep ports growing
By Arlene Satchell, Sun Sentinel
5:31 AM EST, February 21, 2013
Officials at South Florida airports and seaports are seeking federal government
assistance to ensure pertinent infrastructure is in place to keep growing and serving
travelers to the region.
On top of the wish list is the need for more U.S. Customs and Border Protection officers
to process travelers faster through immigration and customs.
A group of airline and cruise line representatives and other industry stakeholders made
their case Wednesday to Secretary of the Department of Homeland Security Janet
Napolitano, who was in South Florida touring customs and security operations at Port
Everglades and Miami International Airport.
In addition to needing more CBP officers, the Broward County Aviation Department,
which operates Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport, also wants the agency
to extend its operations there.
"Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport is looking to get 24/7 customs
operations at the airport — that's our most urgent need," airport spokesman Greg Meyer
said.
Meyer noted that there's currently a five-hour window daily when there aren't any CBP
operations, which hinders the airport's capacity to attract more international flights.
With its existing roster of airlines, the Fort Lauderdale airport is poised to see 15 to 20
percent growth in international travelers in the near future, airport officials said. That
percentage growth could be higher if it were able to process travelers arriving on
international flights around the clock, as is the case at Miami and Orlando international
airports.
Napolitano, accompanied by Congresswoman Debbie Wasserman Schultz and other
local and state representatives, toured the immigration and customs processing area at
Terminal 26 to see some of the challenges facing the port and its cruise line partners.
"I got a lot of good information to take back to Washington," Napolitano said after the
tour, noting there would be both short and long-term goals to address.
Some possible solutions to the staffing challenges could include automated passport
processing and an expanded Global Entry, Napolitano said. Global Entry is an agency
program that allows expedited clearance for pre-approved, low-risk travelers upon
arrival in the United States and is available at select airports.
Others agreed that insufficient CBP staffing is also a sore point at Port Everglades and
Miami International Airport.
"Our CBP agents are working diligently to protect us from any security threats, illegal
substances, and invasive pests and diseases entering the United States, but the lack of
staffing is creating long and disorganized lines for travelers, and discouraging travelers
from visiting and using South Florida's ports," Congressman Mario Diaz-Balart said after
the tour. "Tourism is the backbone of Florida's economy, and DHS must do more to
adequately staff our ports.''
In the last four years Port Everglades has spent more than $129 million to renovate and
expand five of nine cruise terminals to accommodate growing cruise traffic and meet
federal security mandates, port officials said.
The port is also spending millions to update cargo capacity for international trade. But
more work is still needed.
"Additional federal resources will help leverage the massive federal, state and local
infrastructure investments that have already been made here," Chief Executive and Port
Director Steven Cernak said in a statement.
U.S. Rep. Lois Frankel, who also toured the port, said the case for more CBP officers
and 24/7 operations needs to be made as an "economic argument."
"If we can perform better, more efficiently, [and] get better technology, it's going to more
than pay for itself and improve our economic climate," Frankel said. "That's the
argument to move forward."
Still, the road ahead could be challenging because of the looming sequester of
automatic federal budget cuts that could kick in March 1 and further hinder Napolitano's
agency from making improvements.
If allowed by Congress, the budget cuts are likely to result in reduced hours for border
patrol agents and cutbacks in air traffic control and airport security, leading to more
delays at airports across the country, among other problems, President Barack Obama
said in a speech Tuesday from the White House.
asatchell@tribune.com, 954-356-4209 or Twitter@TheSatchreport.
Copyright © 2013, South Florida Sun-Sentinel
http://miami.cbslocal.com/2013/02/20/homeland-security-secretary-napolitano-tours-air-sea-ports-toimprove-customs/
Homeland Security Secretary Napolitano Tours
Air, Sea Ports To Improve Customs
February 20, 2013 10:30 PM
Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano toured S. Fla. seaports and airports to
determine how to improve security. (CBS4)
Reporting Ted Scouten
Click on link to view video: http://miami.cbslocal.com/2013/02/20/homeland-security-secretary-napolitanotours-air-sea-ports-to-improve-customs/
MIAMI (CBS4) – Miami International Airport now has the most international passengers
in the country and traffic is growing each year.
That can mean backups when passengers check in at customs.
“How long did it take for you to get through customs?” CBS 4′s Ted Scouten asked
international traveler Solme Hernandez.
“Not too long this time,” she said, “Sometimes it’s worse.”
Sometimes it’s a lot worse. Passengers can wait up to two hours at MIA in worst case
scenarios, according the Customs and Border Protection website. In fact, in a one
month period, 5-thousand passengers missed their connecting flights because they
were delayed going through customs at MIA.
While passenger growth has gone up, so have the number of customs agents, but not
enough.
“Passengers arriving at MIA on international flights continue to face the longest wait
times for immigration and customs processing of any us airport,” said Democratic South
Florida Congresswoman Debbie Wasserman-Schultz from Weston.
Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano, along with a South Florida
Congressional delegation, toured South Florida airports and sea ports Wednesday
trying to figure out a way to keep people and cargo moving quickly.
One big step is expanding pre-screening programs.
“We are expanding our trusted travel programs, the international program known as
global entry and the domestic version known as TSA pre-check,” said Secretary
Napolitano.
But any plans for more staff and shorter waits could be out the window if Congress
doesn’t pass a budget and automatic cuts go into effect.
“It means that not adding customs officers we’re going to be starting to furlough
customs officers, not adding overtime to cover peak periods but eliminating over time
and that’s just the beginning,” warned Napolitano.
She said if the cuts go into effect and staff is furloughed, passengers will have to show
up 3 hours early for a domestic flight and wait times at customs could double.
Napolitano is also calling for airports, airlines and local governments to kick in to help
pay the cost for more federal agents.
http://www.local10.com/news/Secretary-of-Homeland-Security-talks-customs-at-MIA//1717324/19004270/-/8n81q9z/-/index.html
Secretary of Homeland Security talks customs at
MIA
Janet Napolitano stops at Miami International Airport, Port Everglades
Author: Christina Vazquez, Reporter, cvazquez@wplg.com
Published On: Feb 20 2013 05:55:01 PM EST Updated On: Feb 21 2013 12:28:06 AM EST
Napolitano talks customs at MIA
MIAMI -
Secretary of Homeland Security Janet Napolitano wants to shorten wait times for
international passengers arriving at Miami International Airport.
Napolitano toured Port Everglades and Miami International Airport with U.S. Rep.
Debbie Wasserman Schultz on Wednesday.
Elected officials told Napolitano not having enough customs officers in place to process
incoming international visitors has created a backlog that hurts tourism and impacts
business.
Miami-Dade County commissioners and Florida Gov. Rick Scott have issued their
complaints about the problem.
"(I) got the governor's letter," said Napolitano. "The situation is most severe in the
airports we have that have grown the most and grown the most in international arrivals,
obviously, and Miami would be tops amongst those lists."
Napolitano said the department expanded the Global Entry Program, which expedites
clearance at ports of entry for pre-screened passengers. She also mentioned a plan that
would split the cost of adding staff between airlines and county taxpayer money,
although that's even further off since it involves a statutory change.
Last summer, airport officials showed off Miami International Airport's new $180
million customs facility. It has 72 inspection stations to accommodate MIA's growing
number of international visitors.
But airport officials said there aren't enough federal customs officers to staff them,
adding they need more customs officers in those expanded lanes to bring wait times
down.
On Wednesday, Miami-Dade County commissioners discussed a resolution which
urges "the United States Congress to increase funding for Customs and Border
Protection staffing at Miami International Airport."
None of these gripes, however, are new. Customs staffing problems at America's
busiest airports can be described as chronic, documented as far back as 2005 in a U.S.
Government Accountability Office report. Back then, the report recommended that
international passenger wait times be included as a performance measure for customs
officers so that Customs and Border Protection (CBP) can better assess staff levels and
how best to address passenger volume.
Local 10's Christina Vazquez asked CBP spokeswoman Jenny Burke if that had been
implemented but has yet to hear back.
Meantime, Napolitano said the looming sequester could make this already challenging
situation even worse in the form of mandatory furloughs and delays on
implementing some of her staffing ideas.
Spending cuts would also impact TSA staffing and Napolitano warned if nothing is done
to stop the implementation of the sequester on March 1, fliers should plan on getting to
the airport as much as an hour earlier than normal.

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