Energy

DHS Touts Electric Vehicle Program Despite Lack Of Charging Stations At The Border

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The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) announced on Monday that it will be the first federal agency to debut an electric vehicle (EV) for law enforcement purposes despite the fact that there are very few EV charging stations located along the southern border.

DHS said it was debuting the fully electric Ford Mustang Mach-E at the Federal Law Enforcement Training Centers’ Office of Cheltenham Operations and expressed its plans to expand its use of EVs in its operations throughout the nation, according to a press release. However, there are only eight DC fast chargers, which can charge 80% of a vehicle’s battery in 30 minutes to an hour, located across Texas’ entire southern border, according to the Department of Energy’s Alternative Fuels Data Center.

Although there are more level-2 charging stations located across the southern border it can take about eight hours for such stations to fully charge an EV. Additionally, there are only two level-2 EV charging stations located at Eagle Pass and Del Rio, areas in Texas where DHS agencies often operate.

“DHS is leading the charge among federal agencies to transition its fleet vehicles from internal combustion engines to zero-emission electric vehicles,” said Deputy Secretary of Homeland Security John Tien, according to the press release. “DHS is proud to be the first Federal agency to upfit a battery electric vehicle for law enforcement use … we are excited to see how this and other EVs perform for our mission.”

The DHS promised in September 2021 to transition 50% of its vehicle fleet to EVs by 2030, according to the agency’s Climate Action Plan. The plan also commits to incorporating “climate adaptation planning” processes into homeland security mission areas to assess whether climate change is appropriately considered when arranging agency activities.

Biden promised in January 2021 to use a “whole of government approach” to fulfill his ambitious climate agenda, according to a White House fact sheet.

Border encounters with illegal migrants reached over 2 million for the first time during the fiscal year 2022, according to Customs and Border Protection (CPB) statistics released Monday. The total number of encounters for 2021’s fiscal year was 1,734,686 and in 2020, the last full fiscal year of former President Donald Trump’s tenure in office, the total number of border encounters was 458,088, according to CBP.

DHS did not immediately respond to the Daily Caller News Foundation’s request for comment.