GAO report says security lax along U.S.-Canada border
The U.S. and Canada share more than 5,000 miles of border; the U.S. and Mexico share 1,900 miles of border; the U.S. had 972 Border Patrol agents on the northern border — but almost 12,000 on the southern one; GAO says this disparity creates vulnerabilities
Most of the debate in the United States about border security revolves around the U.S.-Mexico border. A terrorist wanting to smuggle radioactive material into the United States, however, would it easier to do so through the U.S.-Canada border, a new Government Accountability Office (GAO) report says. Government investigators were able to cross from Canada into the United States carrying a duffle bag with contents that looked like radioactive material and never encountered a law enforcement official, according to a report released yesterday. “Our work clearly shows substantial vulnerabilities in the northern border to terrorist or criminals entering the United States undetected,” the GAO’s Greg Kutz testified Thursday at a Senate Finance Committee hearing on the topic. “Although the southern border appears to be substantially more secure, we did identify several vulnerabilities on federally managed lands where there was no CBP [Customs and Border Protection] control.”
CNN reports that the investigators made crossings from Canada into the United States three times in fall 2006. In one of those instances, the Customs and Border Protection (CBP) agency reported an alert citizen notified authorities of the suspicious activity of the undercover investigators and described their vehicle. The GAO report says the Border Patrol was not able to locate the rental vehicle. The GAO’s task was to perform what it called a “limited security assessment to identify vulnerable border areas.” The focus was on border ports where the U.S. government does not maintain a manned presence twenty-four hours a day and has no apparent monitoring equipment in place. The study was meant to simulate how easy it would be to cross the border with radioactive material or similar items.
Facing tough questions from senators, Ronald Colburn, national deputy chief of the Border Patrol, told the committe that “We already knew this, senator,” Colburn answered. “This is not a surprise report to us.” He defended the priorities set by the Border Patrol, pointing out that a vast majority of the traffic coming into the United States comes across the southern border, not the northern one. He also testified that federal authorities are making progress toward getting operational control of both borders. “We are getting there,” Colburn said. “We are bringing manpower. We are bringing … unmanned aerial vehicles. We are bringing aircrafts. We are bringing boats, and we are bringing more manpower and sensing systems.”
Investigators also noted several ports of entry have posted daytime hours and are not manned overnight. In addition, the GAO investigators identified a security vulnerability regarding federally managed land adjacent to the U.S.-Mexico border. “These areas did not appear to be monitored or have a manned [Border Patrol] presence during the time our investigators visited the sites,” the report said. The GAO report pointed out the dramatic disparity in the law enforcement presence at border crossings between the U.S.-Mexico and U.S.-Canada borders. As of May 2007, the U.S. government had 972 Border Patrol agents on the northern border but almost 12,000 on the southern one. The United States and Canada share more than 5,000 miles of border, while the U.S. and Mexico share 1,900 miles.
