Requirements with respect to administering polygraph examinations to law enforcement personnel of U.S. Customs and Border Protection
In general
The Secretary of Homeland Security shall ensure that—
by not later than 2 years after
by not later than 180 days after
Waiver
The Commissioner of U.S. Customs and Border Protection may waive the polygraph examination requirement under subsection (a)(1) for any applicant who—
is deemed suitable for employment;
holds a current, active Top Secret/Sensitive Compartmented Information Clearance;
has a current Single Scope Background Investigation;
was not granted any waivers to obtain his or her clearance; and
is a veteran (as defined in section 2108 of title 5).
Source
(Pub. L. 111–376, § 3,Notes
Codification
Amendments
Waiver of Certain Polygraph Examination Requirements
the Commissioner determines is suitable for employment;
holds a current, active Top Secret clearance and is able to access sensitive compartmented information;
has a current single scope background investigation;
was not granted any waivers to obtain the clearance; and
is a veteran (as such term is defined in section 2108 or 2109a [probably should be “2108a”] of title 5, United States Code).”
Findings
According to the Office of the Inspector General of the Department of Homeland Security, since 2003, 129 U.S. Customs and Border Protection officials have been arrested on corruption charges and, during 2009, 576 investigations were opened on allegations of improper conduct by U.S. Customs and Border Protection officials.
To foster integrity in the workplace, established policy of U.S. Customs and Border Protection calls for—
all job applicants for law enforcement positions at U.S. Customs and Border Protection to receive a polygraph examination and a background investigation before being offered employment; and
relevant employees to receive a periodic background reinvestigation every 5 years.
According to the Office of Internal Affairs of U.S. Customs and Border Protection—
in 2009, less than 15 percent of applicants for jobs with U.S. Customs and Border Protection received polygraph examinations;
as of March 2010, U.S. Customs and Border Protection had a backlog of approximately 10,000 periodic background reinvestigations of existing employees; and
without additional resources, by the end of fiscal year 2010, the backlog of periodic background reinvestigations will increase to approximately 19,000.”