ICE Plans Tighter Security for U.S. / Canada Border
Posted May 21, 2004

The U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) plans to improve security on the border between the United States and Canada. They announced plans to open five new branches of the ICE air and marine operations division along the U.S. / Canada border. Each branch will have 28 officers. The purpose of these new branches is to increase control over potential movement of drugs, terrorists, and undocumented immigrants. The first new branch will be opened in Bellingham, Washington on September 1, 2004. The next branch will be in Plattsburgh, New York. The locations of the other three branches are yet to be determined.

Although the focus on having immigration agents on the Southern border with Mexico seemed to be the priority pre-9/11, this has since shifted to the Northern border with Canada. The problem of poor, hardworking immigrants crossing the border illegally to perform jobs that many Americans cannot or will not perform does not compare to the potential danger posed by terrorists coming in from Canada to cause grave harm and danger.

The new ICE branches have a goal of a one-hour response time anywhere along the border to provide air and ground support for border control agents. The need for additional security on the Northern border has been a long-standing concern, with 9/11 making the funding for this type of project more urgent and, also, more available.