For the third time in six years, the federal government has commissioned an evaluation of the agency's interior checkpoints.

The University of Arizona and the University of Texas at El Paso will each receive $500,000 to evaluate checkpoints' effectiveness and efficiency in a study set to begin next year. Organizers are still working out how they will conduct the study.

"We'll be meeting with Border Patrol in D.C. in the next couple of weeks," said Riley Isaacson, program director for the National Center for Border Security and Immigration, which will oversee the operation. Until then, details remain fuzzy, including which checkpoints will be studied, she said.

Isaacson said she was not sure if the results would be made public.

The study comes on the heels of two similar ones by the Government Accountability Office – one in 2009 and another in 2005. Both criticized the Border Patrol for inconsistent data collection. According to the 2009 report, "...the information reported was inaccurate, resulting in an overstatement of checkpoint performance for both fiscal years 2007 and 2008."

Similarly, the 2005 report states, "The Border Patrol does not routinely evaluate the effectiveness of checkpoint operations, or their costs."

The study was requested in part by Rep. Gabrielle Giffords, D-Ariz., who has also requested a GAO evaluation of the Border Patrol's deployment strategy.
Not everyone thinks another study is necessary, however.

"You know, I get frustrated on studies," said Marshal Larry Talvy, who described the Tombstone checkpoint as a "valuable tool."

"They shut down in inclement weather," he said. "(But) I think if they had to respond to something, they're not going to complain about it."

Tombstone's checkpoint is located just past the turnoff for state Route 82, so anyone wanting to circumvent the Border Patrol need only turn left on that roadway.

"Every now and then I spot 'em," said Geno D'Ambrose, who lives off state Route 82. D'Ambrose said he sees suspicious activity once or twice a week.

"They come down Allen Street, into Walnut (Gulch), drop off their illegals and take off."

D'Ambrose criticized the study, saying he trusted the Border Patrol despite the nearby suspicious activity. "I think the Border Patrol is doing a terrific job."

The Tucson Sector is the only one without a permanent Border Patrol checkpoint. Funding for constructing permanent checkpoints has been prohibited since 1999.