WASHINGTON -- Union leaders representing the nation's Customs and Border Protection officers report a "morale crisis" among officers, in an interview with kfoxtv.com. They said staff shortages are creating dangerous conditions and "fatigue" at border points of entry.

Colleen Kelley, president of the National Treasury Employees Union, which represents 21,000 CBP employees, told kfoxtv.com, "The turnover and attrition is getting worse everyday. They're just not able to fill the positions fast enough. The work these men and women do is dangerous work."

Kelley cited a recent report from federal government auditors with the Government Accountability Office, which found an increasing number of federal CBP agents are working double-shifts. The audit also found a surge in "vacant positions," in addition to "morale problems, lack of backup support, and safety issues."

Rep. Silvestre Reyes, a former El Paso Border Patrol chief, said attrition is taking a toll on CBP. Reyes said frustrations from staffing shortages and long lines at border crossings are causing an exodus within the agency. Reyes said, "Officers are being overworked. They don't feel like they're being supported by their own government, because they see the number of vacancies at each of these ports of entry."

Reyes has proposed federal legislation to provide for 5,000 additional CBP officers, in addition to 17,000 other federal port of entry personnel. His bill also calls for $5 billion in equipment upgrades at ports of entry to make checkpoints more efficient.

Reyes' proposal faces an uncertain future. The federal government is still working to complete the deployment of thousands of new border patrol agents, as ordered by President George W. Bush in 2006. CBP spokespeople in Washington said they consider all ports of entry to be staffed at acceptable levels.

To hear more from Kelley and Reyes, click on the links to the right.