Steve Neavling ticklethewire.com
Officials worry that cuts to the Border Patrol budget will weaken protection from drug smugglers and human traffickers, the Kansas City Star reports.
The cuts will go into effect unless President Obama and Congress can reach a compromise soon to avert the so-called fiscal cliff, the Star wrote.
Some experts said the cuts would have little impact on an agency that has grown wildly over the past two decades.
“The notion that a small cut in the budget of ICE or CBP will result in a flood of unauthorized immigration is ludicrous, said Alex Nowrasteh, the immigration policy analyst at the Cato Institute, a libertarian research center in Washington.
Department of Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano disagrees and said the money is needed for strong border protection.
