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Washington, D.C.— U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) is already short-staffed and its operational jobs at land, sea and airports should be exempted from the federal hiring freeze, NTEU National President Tony Reardon told Congress Wednesday.

“There is no greater roadblock to legitimate trade and travel efficiency than the lack of sufficient staff at the ports,” Reardon said in testimony submitted to the House Homeland Security Subcommittee on Border and Maritime Security.

The staffing crisis at the Southwest border is so severe that CBP Officers are being diverted from other ports of entry, leaving those locations even more short-staffed. The CBP’s own workload staffing model shows 2,107 more Officers and 631 more Agriculture Specialists are needed this year.

The NTEU president said all CBP operational positions, including non-uniformed trade enforcement personnel, should be covered by the public safety exemption to the hiring freeze because they are critical to the safe and efficient processing of travelers and the American economy.

Congress in 2014 authorized an additional 2,000 CBP Officer positions but the agency has only a net gain of 900 through January because of attrition and the slow pace in hiring new Officers.

To address the ongoing hiring delays, Reardon recommended that the agency review its polygraph policy, which fails applicants at a higher rate than other law enforcement agencies.

Finally, Reardon said adequate staffing levels, less excessive overtime demands and fewer temporary duty assignments would improve morale at CBP and Officers would be more likely to encourage others to apply for vacancies.

“CBP employees represented by NTEU are proud of their part in keeping our country free from terrorism, our neighborhoods safe from drugs and our economy safe from illegal trade,” Reardon said. “These men and women are deserving of more staffing and resources to perform their jobs better and more efficiently.”

NTEU represents 150,000 employees in 31 agencies and departments, including CBP Officers at 328 ports of entry in the U.S. and 16 preclearance stations in Ireland, the Caribbean, Canada and the United Arab Emirates.