PLUGGING OUR POROUS BORDER

A Congressman explains how he'd stop terrorists and illegals entering the
United States from Canada

Countering the threat of terrorism tops the agenda of the U.S. Congress this
week and our country's porous border with Canada may be the place to start
cleaning house.

Last month, on the eve of our millennium celebrations, U.S. officials
prevented a series of alleged terrorists from infiltrating our country after
they crossed the frontier from British Columbia and Quebec. How many others
got through?

At the same time, illegal immigrants from China and other countries are
paying as much as $70,000 to Canadian middlemen to smuggle them across the
border on their way to jobs in New York sweatshops. "The boat people in B.C.
are opening the eyes of the Canadian public to a system that is being
totally abused," a senior RCMP officer commented.

Drugs coming to the United States from British Columbia, where there is
significant domestic production, have increased tenfold, and a U.S. Border
Patrol agent in Detroit recently complained about the impossible task of
confronting all kinds of smuggling with only four agents assigned to a
50-kilometre stretch of the border.

The Canadian Security and Intelligence Service has long warned us about
terrorism. "For a number of reasons, Canada is an attractive venue for
terrorists. Long borders and coastlines offer many points of entry which can
facilitate movement to and from various sites around the world, particularly
the United States," CSIS reported last month.

In Montreal, where Ahmed Ressam is accused of organizing a conspiracy to
attack targets south of the border, police investigator Claude Pacquette
noted that loose immigration controls and interagency fumbling have turned
Canada into "a Club Med for terrorists."

Both Canada and the United States are sovereign nations and should respect
each other's right to determine their own immigration laws. But, the goal
should be to reach mutual solutions to mutual problems, acting with good
faith in the interests of our respective nations.

If Canadians want more liberal immigration and drug policies, that is their
decision. And if Americans want to act on security concerns, that is our
decision.

Experts from both countries have observed that the border has become an
irresistible temptation to international terrorists and smugglers. As a
result, we should focus on two issues:

Terrorism and the smuggling of drugs and aliens. These crimes pose a direct
and growing threat to citizens in both Canada and the United States.

The legitimate flow of people and goods across the border. This should be
facilitated.

There is too much at stake in terms of bilateral trade to accept anything
less than a well-secured border that also facilitates legitimate crossings.
In fact, co-operation at the border among immigration, customs, and
investigative agencies is already good. This co-operation resulted in the
largest-ever alien smuggling bust in upstate New York and in Quebec in 1998
and triggered the international law-enforcement response in the Ressam case.
Ahmed Ressam proved that those in the United States who argue that accused
terrorists don't enter at checkpoints are wrong. The United States now
needs, more than ever, the ability to track the entries and exits of foreign
nationals. While it won't stop all terrorists, an entry-exit system will
deter them because they could no longer slip across the border with no
trace.

Canadian citizens will benefit from such a system through information shared
with law-enforcement officials about suspected criminals traveling north.
The Federal Law Enforcement Officers Association, which represents more than
15,000 U.S. police officers, has cited the value of conducting spot checks
of individuals leaving the United States. In just 10 days during December of
1998, the U.S. Immigration and Naturalization Service and Customs Service
discovered more than 1,100 illegal aliens, $500,000 in undeclared cash, 52
stolen vehicles and almost 800 rounds of ammunition, during spot exit
checks.

"This illustrates that we need exit controls," the organization informed me.
The association also wrote that the lack of information on entries and exits
hampered the investigation of the World Trade Center bombing in New York.
Canadians share our relief that the result of the Ressam entry was an
arrest, not a terrorist bombing, and they understand that the United States
must act to protect its citizens.

Congress has authorized a buildup of the Border Patrol at a rate of 1,000
new agents a year. A similar buildup of border infrastructure that responds
to both security and congestion concerns is also needed.

Congress has authorized a comprehensive, computerized port-of-entry security
system that will allow us to know who enters our country and when they
leave. When we don't know who comes in, we can't know what comes in, such as
bomb-making materials or illegal drugs.

Our Border Patrol and Customs agents are dedicated professionals. But they
have too few resources and have said that the Ressam arrest was an
exception. "It was pure luck, the unravelling of this in Port Angeles,"
Vincent Cannistraro, former counterterrorism chief for the CIA, explained.
To protect U.S. citizens from terrorism, illegal drugs and alien smugglers,
we must track the entries and exits of all foreign nationals -- a legitimate
and understandable goal given the security risks we face and the illegal
immigration problems we confront.

But when it comes to implementing this policy, it is appropriate for us to
consult with members of all interested communities, including our neighbour
and ally, Canada.

As we implement this crucial policy, which should expedite and expand legal
traffic, we should also make better use of technologies that already exist.
Programs to pre-clear business travellers and provide them with a variety of
options for quick passage across the border should be expanded. The twin
goals of increasing security while also facilitating legal traffic can be
attained.

Canadians want easy access to the United States. Americans want increased
security in an increasingly unfriendly world. Neither request is
unreasonable. Given our two nations' long and successful relationship,
there's no reason we cannot accommodate both interests.

Lamar Smith, a Republican Congressman from Texas, is chairman of the House
of Representatives' subcommittee on immigration.