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New Plan Will Address Vulnerability of Territory's Border

Sept. 4, 2007 — Consolidating local U.S. Customs and Border Protection operations and providing more security for the territory's wide-open coastlines are the goals of a new, soon-to-be-launched initiative, local officials said Tuesday.
Customs and Border Protection would add three employees and a new marine supervisor to its ranks over the next two years in an attempt to beef up V.I. border-protection efforts, according to a Government House news release.
"The issue of border security in the Virgin Islands is of the highest importance to my administration," said Gov. John deJongh Jr., according to the release. "I am pleased with the decision of U.S. Customs and Border Protection to augment our available, local resources as part of an all-encompassing and critically needed safety program. These additional assets will further protect our … residents, as well as the thousands of visitors who come to our islands …."
The vulnerability of the Virgin Islands, which is surrounded by hundreds of miles of unprotected waters, has been outlined in various Customs' reports presented to Congress, the release adds. U.S. Department of Homeland Security officials have said that providing enhanced resources to the territory will help the agency maintain a "proactive vigilance" over the Virgin Islands, particularly when it comes to monitoring terrorist or other homeland-security threats.
The new initiative is also aimed at establishing a supervisory program within the territory, taking some of the responsibilities shouldered by Customs' regional office in San Juan, Puerto Rico, said a source close to the federal agency contacted Tuesday.
The governor also credits the increase in resources to efforts made by Delegate Donna M. Christensen, who has long campaigned for a local border patrol unit. In April, Christensen joined a delegation of members from the U.S. House of Representatives' Homeland Security Committee in a trip around the territory and nearby Caribbean islands, in hopes of gaining a better understanding of the region's border patrol and security issues. (See "Delegate Christensen, Committee Members Survey Regional State of Homeland Security.")
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