Decision model for U.S.-Mexico border security measures

The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has invested billions of dollars to prevent illegal drugs, immigration, weapons, and currency from transiting across the U.S.–Mexico border. DHS has not created a sufficient standardized method to measure whether an investment in a security measure is cost-effective when combining assets. To take it one step further, DHS has not created a model that combines cost-effectiveness of a security asset while simultaneously determining how it will contribute to achieving operational control of the border. This study provides an in-depth look into the current risk-based model DHS uses, the administrative and physical infrastructure of U.S.-Mexico border security, and a critical view of DHS’ annual budget. A decision model is presented that will give policymakers a process to choose a combination of border security investments that will achieve operational control of the border while remaining within budgeting constraints. A lot of work needs to be done for DHS to determine the correct security assets to be placed at the U.S.-Mexico Border to maintain operational control and cost-effectiveness. This study does not determine which security assets need to be put into place, but it provides a decision process that will be an asset for policymakers to save federal time and money assigned to border security investments.http://archive.org/details/decisionmodelfor1094556150Lieutenant, United States NavyApproved for public release; distribution is unlimited