US border patrol understaffed by roughly 2,000 agents

The federal law enforcement agency responsible for securing the United States border is losing its agents faster than it can hire them.

The U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) agency is roughly 2,000 agents short of its required 21,000 agents, according to the Government Accountability Office (GAO).

In an interview with FOX Business’ Lou Dobbs, Border Patrol Deputy Commissioner Ronald Vitiello said the agency is making the hiring process as efficient as possible and he calls on Congress to change the way it conducts its hiring testing for new employees.

“We need to have a system that brings the right people in because the job is important. We hold the public’s trust. We have to make sure the people we bring are the right one,” Vitiello said.

In January, President Trump vowed to hire 5,000 additional agents to patrol and protect the U.S-Mexico border to stop the influx of illegal immigrants and drugs.

“The men and women of CBP are dedicated to doing the best they can using the tools, the technology, using intelligence, partnering with state, local, tribal authorities, other Federal government agencies to stop what we can at the border,” Vitiello said on “Lou Dobbs Tonight.”