I didn't see the article saying about how many of the agents were assigned to the legal ports of entry as opposed to how many are out there in the great beyond guarding the rest of the border. I also didn't notice any mention of how many of the agents were on the northern border. A break down of the numbers would be nice to know.
Here is some good news re. border security:
Tracking system has 4,000 successes (Border Patrol)
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1074026/posts More than 4,000 illegal immigrants with criminal records were busted last year by Tuscon sector Border Patrol agents using the world's most advanced biometric tracking system.
The identification system, which is linked to the FBI, uses a five-finger scan and instantly reveals any criminal record or outstanding warrant, Adame said.