Steady state: DHS pressing on with troubled technology programs.

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One truism that has emerged in the Department of Homeland Security's first six years is that controversy always follows whatever it attempts.

Whether it is program delays, public uproars over its policies, court challenges or accusations of mismanagement, nothing ever seems to go smoothly for DHS.

Many of these controversial programs involve the development of new technologies. So far, DHS has enjoyed few success stories. Some of the high-profile acquisition programs, the transportation worker identity credential, the Secure Border Initiative's Project 28 and the Coast Guard's Deepwater modernization effort have experienced technical and management problems. Nevertheless, Congress and the Bush administration keep on funding these programs, and in some cases, have proposed increases in 2008.

One of the most high-profile programs continues to be the Secure Border Initiative. The plan involves boosting the number of Border Patrol agents, building relatively low-tech fences and strengthening enforcement of existing laws. DHS Secretary Michael Chertoff has touted lower apprehension rates as a measure of success.

The technology aspect has not gone so well. Project 28, a demonstration of a so-called virtual fence on a 28-mile stretch of mountainous desert terrain in southern Arizona, was supposed to be completed in June. Lead contractor Boeing finally handed an operational system over to the Border Patrol in December.

"We're not going to actually accept and buy a system until we know what works," Chertoff said. "Not just in the laboratory but in the frankly very tough environment of the border itself."

"We're committed to using the results of this technology to continue to move forward with our efforts at the border," he added.

CBP officials have an additional $20 million to begin a similar technology demonstration on the northern border, and will take small steps this year towards doing so in the Detroit area. The lead contractor also will be Boeing.

Along with the fencing, the Border Patrol is on target to reach President Bush's goal of doubling the number of agents to 18,000 by the end of 2008, Chertoff said.

DHS is continuing to build conventional fences. So far, DHS has added 160 miles of pedestrian fences and 115 miles of vehicle barriers, Chertoff said. He predicted the agency could add 225 miles of pedestrian fences by the end of 2008 if Congress provides the funding.

A Congressional Research Service report examining the current House and Senate 2008 appropriations bills points out that DHS has requested $1 billion for the Secure Border Initiative, but has not fully explained how the money will be apportioned between conventional fences, technology and infrastructure. It also has not produced an analysis of the cost of maintaining and operating the "virtual" SBInet fence technology. The House version of the bill would withhold $700 million from DHS until it can produce these estimates.

One border technology that has produced results is unmanned aerial vehicles. A pilot program had an immediate impact on the southern border, where drones were used to track illegal migrants and pursue drug smugglers, Customs and Border Protection officials said. The agency is expanding its fleet of Predator B aircraft, which are manufactured by General Atomics. That program has not enjoyed a perfect record, either. Its first aircraft crashed in the Arizona desert in April 2006. The accident was due to pilot error, though, and CBP has plans to purchase up to 18 additional Predators, said Douglas Koupash, the agency's acting program manager for unmanned aerial systems. The new aircraft will allow the agency to expand to the northern border and in the Caribbean off the coast of Florida, he said. CBP will also begin construction of a command and control center at its facility in Riverside, Calif., he added.

Despite the sensational television footage of illegal crossers jumping over fences in the south, most illegal immigrants still enter the United States at airports and border checkpoints, officials were quick to point out. Stopping the flow of illegal immigrants at ports of entry and keeping potential terrorists off U.S.-bound airliners are two of the US-VISIT program's goals.

US-VISIT collects biometric data and checks those wishing to enter the United States against terrorist and law enforcement watch lists.

Immigration officials currently have no way of keeping tabs on those who have overstayed their visas. There are no exit lines for those departing the United States so DHS was tasked with creating a system to monitor who is coming and going. Progress has been painfully slow. Pilot programs using radio-frequency identification chips to automatically scan travel documents as travelers exit land crossings and self-service kiosks in airports flopped.

Current 2008 budget requests cut US-VISIT funding for "exiting" pilot programs by $31 million. The Senate Appropriations Committee noted that there has been "no tangible progress on instituting an exiting policy in over four years," according to CRS.

US-VISIT Program Manager Robert Mocny announced that the program will propose rules that will make airlines collect data at check-in counters. That solution is sure to spark opposition from airlines.

Meanwhile, the program continues to invest in biometric collection technology. It is expanding the number of fingerprints scanned and collected from foreign visitors arriving at U.S. airports from two to 10. The State Department currently collects all 10 prints from visitors applying for visas at consulates, and the goal is to collect the same from those arriving from countries that do not require a visa.

Ten-fingerprint scanners were employed at Washington Dulles International Airport in November and DHS plans to expand their use to all ports of entry by the end of 2008, a DHS statement said.

On securing sea ports, DHS has generally received good marks from the Government Accountability Office. However, two related programs have emerged as the poster children for DHS mismanagement and controversy.

The transportation worker identity credential, after six years of development, began enrolling port workers in October, and will push to complete the process by this summer.

Critics have complained the $100 million joint Coast Guard-Transportation Security Administration program to issue a standardized card to port workers has so far produced little more than a glorified picture ID. Without machines to read information stored on the cards and a database that alerts security personnel if one has been lost, stolen or faked, the program is not providing real security.

The Coast Guard is expected to release rules and specifications on card readers in 2008, although it will not be choosing a vendor to manufacture the machines. Port and ship operators will be expected to purchase their own readers, so when the final specifications are released, vendors will be vying to sell devices that are rugged enough to withstand harsh maritime environments. Current legislation has appropriated $15 million to test new readers in 2008.

The other problematic port security program has been the $1.2 billion allocated so far for advanced spectroscopic portal monitors, which are designed to detect nuclear material inside shipping containers.

Congress has mandated that all sea cargo under the secure freight initiative be inspected before it departs for the United States by 2012. DHS has strongly opposed the idea, wishing to use data mining techniques to separate out high-risk shipments for special screening. Some trading partners have also expressed displeasure with the requirement. Nevertheless, DHS must press ahead with the technology, which has proven to be difficult to develop.

Early versions of the portals were unable to distinguish background radiation from genuinely threatening materials. DHS has come under harsh criticism from the Government Accountability Office and members of Congress such as Senate Homeland Security Committee Chairman Joe Lieberman, I-Conn., who claimed that pre-deployment testing was insufficient.

The Domestic Nuclear Detection Office, formed within DHS in 2005, is leading the effort to produce the portals.

CBP Deputy Commissioner Jay Ahem said there will be no full scale deployment of the portals in 2008. Instead, there will be further testing. Congress is requiring that the secretary of Homeland Security personally certify that the technology works before the department makes large-scale purchases.

"We just needed more time for this technology ... to mature," he told reporters. Ahem denied that there are any major "concerns" with the technology.

"I think what we needed to do was have more testing before we make any certification recommendations to the secretary," he said. Chertoff has appointed an independent review board tasked with recommending when the portals are ready.

As for other nefarious items that can be smuggled inside the supply chain, CBP has been moving at a glacial pace to write requirements for a system that ensures no one has tampered with locks or placed something inside shipping containers as they are in transit.

CBP Commissioner W. Ralph Basham said he understands that potential vendors are frustrated that requirements are still pending. He had hoped these documents would be released by the end of 2007.

"There is still debate within the department on the requirements. Quite frankly, we're anxious to get [them] out there. We're anxious to see what the private sector can develop," he said.