Warning on Canadian border

Associated Press

WASHINGTON — The heads of the Customs Service and the Immigration and Naturalization Service told senators Wednesday that they cannot ensure the future security of the U.S.-Canadian border without more resources.

Commissioners James Ziglar of the INS and Robert Bonner of Customs said they have boosted efforts to shore up security along the 4,000-mile border, which is about twice as long as the U.S.-Mexico border.

Americans can have a high degree of confidence that the borders are secure now, Ziglar told the Treasury and General Government Subcommittee. However, he said, "That degree of confidence will go down very rapidly if we don’t get additional resources."

In the past few years, most of the discussion about border security involved Mexico. But more attention has been paid to Canada since the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks and the 1999 arrest of Ahmed Ressam, who tried to enter Washington state from Canada with explosives in his car.

Ressam was convicted this year of plotting to bomb the Los Angeles airport during year 2000 celebrations.

Attorney General John Ashcroft, who oversees the INS, promised tighter security after documents showed one person taken into custody after the Sept. 11 attacks entered the country through Canada.

The Customs Service has temporarily moved 100 inspectors to northern border posts, but Bonner acknowledged that’s not enough to do the job. He said Customs employees are working long hours and the agency’s resources are stretched thin.

In a written statement, Sen. Patty Murray, D-Wash., noted that only 1,773 Customs officers and 300 INS border agents patrol the U.S.-Canadian border. That compares with about 16,000 Customs officers and INS agents along the Mexican border.

Among the improvements Ziglar and Bonner asked for were more personnel, more interagency cooperation, improved intelligence and technology upgrades. For instance, Ziglar said biometrics systems that can scan physical features could be used to identify high-risk travelers.

Copyright ©2001 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

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