Border securityCritics: Trusted Traveler will allow Mexican cartels to bypass airport security
Two weeks ago DHS announced plans the roll out of Trusted Traveler program with Mexico; under the program, Mexicans who have undergone background checks and are deemed low security risks will be able to fly into major U.S. cities and breeze through customs without being questioned by U.S. Customs agents; critics say Mexico’s drug cartels will quickly learn how to exploit loopholes in the plan by recruiting Mexicans with clean backgrounds to attain trusted traveler status, and then use them to smuggle drugs and other contraband into the United States; Mexican citizens are already eligible for expedited land border crossings through another trusted traveler program, Secure Electronic Network for Travelers Rapid Inspection (SENTRI); last week, two SENTRI trusted travelers were caught trying to bring contraband across the border into the U.S. through the SENTRI-only express border passage
Mexican citizens will soon be eligible to apply for a “trusted traveler” status which will allow them to bypass some elements of airport security when they fly into the United States — a U.S. government-approved program that critics say could be exploited by violent drug cartels.
Under the program, Mexicans who have undergone background checks and are deemed low security risks will be able to fly into major U.S. cities and breeze through customs without being questioned by U.S. Customs agents.
DHS secretary Janet Napolitano and her Mexican counterparts announced their intent to roll out the program two weeks ago, trumpeting it as evidence of increased information sharing and law enforcement collaboration between the countries (“Mexico, U.S. agree on Trusted Traveler Program,” 8 December 2010 HSNW).
The program is an expansion of an existing trusted traveler program, the Global Entry Program, which was launched in 2008 and expedites pre-approved passengers through the airport customs and security process when they arrive in the United States. The program is designed to weed out low-risk passengers and enable authorities to zero in on those who may be more likely to pose a threat.
Fox News reports that critics say Mexico’s drug cartels will quickly learn how to exploit loopholes in the plan, and they point to the recent arrests of two pre-vetted trusted travelers caught trying to smuggle marijuana and other contraband into the U.S. through a Texas border checkpoint.
Sheriff Larry Dever of Cochise County, Arizona, says drug cartels could recruit Mexicans with clean backgrounds to attain trusted traveler status, and then use them to smuggle drugs and other contraband into the United States.
DHS officials insist, however, that people who attain trusted traveler status do not get a free pass. “Trusted travelers are still subject to random searches,” said U.S. Customs and Border Protection spokeswoman Joanne Ferreira. “We do all these checks all the time to maintain the integrity of the program. We look at it very carefully.”
The Global Entry program allows U.S. citizens and permanent residents who have undergone a thorough vetting process — fingerprinting, background checks, interviews with customs agents, etc. — to attain a low-risk status that allows them to skip the line at customs and complete their
