The US -Canada border has commonly been described as a border with many gates and no fences. With a recent event?the arrests made in Canada last month ?the US government had no recourse but to tighten security along the border. In June, Rep. Peter King (R-NY) stated, “We saw the extent of the arrests with probably more to come, and you realize how porous the border can be, so this is a real concern.”
The United States Customs and Border Patrol has its work cut out for it: interceding protective measures along the US southwestern and northern borders. Both borders total over 6,000 miles of often-desolate areas that require monitoring to protect the nation’s homeland security.
The two Atlanta-area men who met with Canadians in 2005 are still a concern of the FBI. The two men, Ehsanul Sadequee and Syed Ahmed, may have conducted terrorist training north of Toronto. Both traveled overseas in 2005; Ahmed traveled to Pakistan and Sadaquee to Bangladesh . While Sadequee is reported to have met with al-Qaeda during his visit, Bangladesh is an active recruiting haven for terrorists.
Protecting Canadian borders requires a team effort between American and Canadian partners. The formalized team is called the Integrated Border Enforcement Team (IBETS). The program employs a network of five law enforcement entities sharing information and working collectively on local, state, and province issues relating to national security, organized crime, and other criminality across the Canada/US border and between the Ports of Entry (POE). Those five players are the:
? Royal Canadian Mounted Police,
? Canada Border Services Agency ,
? US Customs and Border Protection/Office of Border Patrol ,
? US Bureau of Immigration and Customs Enforcement, and
? US Coast Guard
Canada, since 9/11 , has embarked on an intensive $280 million anti-terrorism plan to protect its citizens and, in doing so, help protect American citizens. The Canadian Border Services Agency (CBSA) is a workforce of approximately 12,000 public servants who provide services at approximately 1,200 points across Canada.
Protection of borders requires partnering and extensive cooperation to achieve protection of the homeland. Continuity of that partnering serves individual and collective interests. Recent developments are an additional burden to resources, but border security is a necessity to the protection of the country.
