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In the post 9/11 world, border agents are widely seen as the first line of defense against anything coming across the border, be it a terrorist, drug shipment, or an illegal immigrant. So logic would lead one to believe that more Border Patrol agents equals a higher degree of “homeland security.” Unfortunately, at the northern border separating the U.S. from Canada, that isn’t quite the way some public officials would describe the situation.
According to an article by the Associated Press, a US attorney was so frustrated with his interactions with the Border Patrol he felt compelled to shoot off a terse letter asking the agents to get with it – for a lack of a better term. The note from U.S. Attorney Jeff Sullivan to the U.S. Border Patrol was short and to the point.
He was sick of the nickel and dime marijuana cases agents were sending to his office. “It is our long-standing policy to use limited federal resources to pursue the sophisticated criminal organizations who smuggle millions of dollars of drugs, guns and other contraband across our borders,’’ Sullivan wrote in November.
The note from Sullivan is just one in a series of flare-ups as the Border Patrol expanded its influence and manpower along the USA/Canada border here in recent months. Oddly enough, it’s a similar dynamic to that on the southern border, where the Border patrol and other government agencies have a history of not getting along.
But now the northern sheriff’s offices, farmers, and even a U.S. Congressman have all made their opinion about the patrol’s increased presence known. Very few of those opinions could be described as positive. More than 1,100 agents have been added to the Canadian border since Sept. 11, 2001, four times its presence before the terrorist attacks, and hundreds more agents will come on board in 2009.
Agents can set up roadblocks up to 100 miles from the border, board passenger buses, and patrol transportation hubs that are not near the border. The Border Patrol, which is part of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, has even set up roadblocks in other northern states, including Vermont, New York and Maine. The increased presence has stirred controversy.
“It’s the newness and the heightened presence of the Border Patrol that has brought this issue to the forefront,” said John Bates, the patrol’s chief for the western half of Washington. “We’ve been utilizing checkpoints for more than 75 years. Obviously when you use a new tactic in the border, people are going to have questions, and rightfully so.’’ Bates wants people to speak out if agents are rude at the checkpoints, one of complaints he has heard.
The folks that answer the phones at the DHS complaint dept. are getting exhausted. Critics of the Border Patrol say intrusive operations like boarding passenger buses are threatening civil liberties. The ACLU says the border patrol’s 100-mile belt of jurisdiction, which the group terms a “Constitution-Free Zone,’’ is occupied by two-thirds of the country’s population.
“Our concern is not just what they’re doing now. But what this expanded interpretation of what they can do, can expand into,’’ Shankar Narayan, legislative director for Washington’s ACLU chapter told the AP. “They can eventually claim a range of authority away from the border, who can say where that stops?’’
Farmers say Border Patrol’s crackdown on illegal immigration is scaring away workers – even the legal ones. “We’re going to become a military zone in effect, where the federal government has dozens of police on the street, stopping people at will,’’ Eric Chester of Port Townsend, Washington told the AP. Add this page to your favorite Social Bookmarking websites        
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