Lawmakers want more attention to be paid to security along the northern border
27 April 2015
Over the years, concerns over U.S. border security have largely focused on the southern border, where hundreds of thousands of illegal migrants have been apprehended and millions of dollars in illegal drugs have been seized by border patrol agents. U.S. Senator Cory Booker (D-New Jersey) tried to shift lawmakers’ focus toward the U.S.-Canada border at last week’s Senatehearing on border security, “Securing the Border: Understanding Threats and Strategies for the Northern Border.” At one point during the hearing, Booker focused on a ditch which separates western Washington state and British Columbia, one of many weak spots along the border. Areas like the ditch are left unguarded, making it easy for drug smugglers, terrorists, and human traffickers to cross over without detection.
The hearing last week was a fifth in a series exploring the challenges associated with U.S. entry points. Drawing attention to the security risks on the Canadian border has been a challenge. “It’s kind of the forgotten border,” said Senator Heidi Heitkamp (D-North Dakota). The border is not associated with highly chared issues such as immigration, day laborers, and violent drug traffickers.
Heitkamp, who has been vocal on security concerns at the northern border, drafted two amendments during the Senate’s 2013 immigration reform debate. One amendment aimed to speed up commercial goods flowing between the two countries by allowing border patrol agents to work more closely together; another tried to ensure the northern border received adequate resources- financial and manpower- just as lawmakers flooded the southern border with more patrol agents and program funding. Neither of Heitkamp’s amendments received a vote....
There is much more here....
Pay attention, America, to the hordes of ne'er-do-wells flooding your northern border.
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