It's not clear what California will get out of the new $600-million border security bill. U.S. Customs and Border Protection Commissioner Alan Bersin expects the initial deployment will be in Arizona.
Bersin says the U.S. side of the border is as safe as ever, but he says federal officials still need to get control of Phoenix, Tuscon and Nogales.
"We want to see the stability that we've seen in places like San Diego and El Paso extended to those places where we continue to see illegal flows that are disruptive to the community that create perceptions of lack of control and instability," says Bersin.
The border bill the president signed last week provides for 1,500 more border agents, two aerial drones and more technology.
While Bersin anticipates the resources will first land in Arizona; he says the idea is that it will be like a strike team. When smugglers shift their operations, the team will swoop in.
Smugglers routinely exploit holes in border security. Bersin says plugging them is part of a larger strategy that could pave the way for immigration reform.
