APNewsBreak: US northern border checks scaled back

[Bad_Daddy 2,209]

http://news.yahoo.com/apnewsbreak-us-northern-border-checks-scaled-back-211616453.html

By GENE JOHNSON - Associated Press | AP – 2 hrs 39 mins ago

SEATTLE (AP) — The U.S. Border Patrol has quietly stopped its controversial practice of routinely searching buses, trains and airports for illegal immigrants at transportation hubs along the northern border and in the nation's interior, preventing agents from using what had long been an effective tool for tracking down people here illegally, The Associated Press has learned.

Current and former Border Patrol agents said field offices around the country began receiving the order last month — soon after the Obama administration announced that to ease an overburdened immigration system, it would allow many illegal immigrants to remain in the country while it focuses on deporting those who have committed crimes.

The routine bus, train and airport checks typically involved agents milling about and questioning people who appeared suspicious, and had long been criticized by immigrant rights groups. Critics said the tactic amounted to racial profiling and violated travelers' civil liberties.

But agents said it was an effective way to catch unlawful immigrants, including smugglers and possible terrorists, who had evaded detection at the border, as well as people who had overstayed their visas. Often, those who evade initial detection head quickly for the nearest public transportation in hopes of reaching other parts of the country.

Halting the practice has baffled the agents, especially in some stations along the northern border — from Bellingham, Wash., to Houlton, Maine — where the so-called "transportation checks" have been the bulk of their everyday duties. The Border Patrol is authorized to check vehicles within 100 miles of the border.

The order has not been made public, but two agents described it to the AP on condition of anonymity because the government does not authorize them to speak to the media. The union that represents Border Patrol agents planned to issue a news release about the change Monday.

"Orders have been sent out from Border Patrol headquarters in Washington, D.C., to Border Patrol sectors nationwide that checks of transportation hubs and systems located away from the southwest border of the United States will only be conducted if there is intelligence indicating a threat," the release says.

Those who have received the orders said agents may still go to train and bus stations and airports if they have specific "actionable intelligence" that there is an illegal immigrant there who recently entered the country. An agent in Washington state said it's not clear how agents are supposed to glean such intelligence, and even if they did, under the new directive they still require clearance from Washington, D.C., headquarters before they can respond.

A U.S. Customs and Border Protection spokesman, Bill Brooks, repeatedly insisted that any shift in enforcement tactics does not amount to a change in policy as local commanders still have authority to aggressively pursue illegal immigrants near the border and at transportation hubs.

"It's up to the local commander to position his agents the way he wants to position them. What we've done is gone to a risk-based posture," he said.

In a separate statement, the agency said, "Conducting intelligence-based transportation checks allows the Border Patrol to use their technology and personnel resources more effectively, especially in areas with limited resources."

Shawn Moran, vice president of the union that represents agents, was outraged at the changes.

"Stated plainly, Border Patrol managers are increasing the layers of bureaucracy and making it as difficult as possible for Border Patrol agents to conduct their core duties," the National Border Patrol Council's statement said. "The only risks being managed by this move are too many apprehensions, negative media attention and complaints generated by immigrant rights groups."

The Border Patrol, which patrols outside the official ports of entry handled by customs officers, has dramatically beefed up its staffing since 9/11, doubling to more than 20,000 agents nationally. Along the northern border, the number has jumped from about 300 in the late 1990s to more than 2,200.

At the same time, the number of Border Patrol arrests nationwide has been falling — from nearly 1.2 million in 2005 to 463,000 in 2010, and 97 percent of them at the southern border, according to the Department of Homeland Security's Office of Immigration Statistics. The office cited the recession as a likely factor in the drop.

Along the northern border last fiscal year, the agency made 7,431 arrests. It was not immediately clear how many stemmed from routine transportation checks. The public affairs office for the Border Patrol's Blaine sector said it doesn't break down the data that way.

But of 673 arrests in the sector, roughly 200 were from routine transportation checks, according to a Washington state-based Border Patrol agent who has been with the agency for more than 20 years and spoke to the AP.

Until receiving the new directive, the Bellingham office, about 25 miles from the Canadian border, kept agents at the bus and train station, and at the local airport 24 hours a day, seven days a week. Now, the agents have little work to do, the agent said.

The situation is similar in upstate New York, where an agent told the AP — also on the condition of anonymity — that a senior manager relayed the new directive during a morning roll call last month. Since then, instead of checking buses or trains, agents have spent shifts sitting in their vehicles gazing out at Lake Erie and Lake Ontario, where few illegal immigrants cross.

"They're already bored," the agent said. "You grab the paper every day and you go do the crossword."

In the Buffalo sector, where there were more than 2,400 arrests in fiscal 2010, as many as half were from routine transportation checks, the agent estimated.

The change was immediately obvious to Jack Barker, who manages the Greyhound and Trailways bus station in Rochester, N.Y. For the past six years, he said, Border Patrol agents boarded nearly every bus in and out of the station looking for illegal immigrants.

Last month — one day after the 10th anniversary of 9/11 and all of the hype that surrounded it — the agents stopped coming. They haven't been back since, Barker said.

"What's changed that they're no longer needed here?" Barker asked. "I haven't been able to get an answer from anybody."

Doug Honig, spokesman for the American Civil Liberties Union of Washington, welcomed the news.

"If the Border Patrol is indeed not boarding buses and trains and engaging in the random questioning of people, that's a step in the right direction," he said. "People shouldn't be questioned by government officials when there's no reason to believe they've done anything wrong."

Kent Lundgren, chairman of the National Association of Former Border Patrol Officers, said the transportation checks have been a staple of the agency for 60 years. His organization has heard from agents around the country complaining of the change, he said.

Gene Davis, a retired deputy chief in the Border Patrol's sector in Blaine, Wash., emphasized how effective the checks can be. He noted that a check of the Bellingham bus station in 1997 yielded an arrest of Palestinian Gazi Ibrahim Abu Mezer. Abu Mezer skipped out on a $5,000 bond — only to turn up later in Brooklyn, where New York police shot him as he prepared to bomb the city's subway system. Davis also noted that would-be millennium bomb suspect Ahmed Ressam was arrested at the border in late 1999 when he left a ferry from British Columbia to Washington in a rented car full of explosives.

"We've had two terrorists who have come through the northern border here. To put these restraints on agents being able to talk to people is just ridiculous," Davis said. "Abu Mezer got out, but that just shows you the potential that's there with the transportation checks."

The Border Patrol informed officials at the Bellingham airport on Thursday that from now on they would only be allowed to come to the airport "if there's an action that needs their assistance," said airport manager Daniel Zenk.

"I'm shocked," Zenk said. "We welcome the security presence the Border Patrol provides."

[Gary and Alla 3,694]

The 9/11 terrorists were partying with the Canadian strippers in Montreal the night before they did their deed and entered at Champlain, NY, drove directly to Boston and got on the planes.

It is not like we have a lot of Quebecois hacking through the forest at night to get to Vermont, but there have been a lot of nationalities who take advantage of Canada's more liberal immigration policy to get within walking distance. Montreal is full of French speaking Haitians who have recently been coming across to take advantage of the relaxed policies we have implemented for Haitian "earthquake victims", buses are cheap and run regularly between Montreal and northern US cities. So I guess the CBP vehicles at the bus station will be going away?

Seems like we should ban strip clubs.

[peejay 327]

Obama can't get enough Undocumented Democrats into the USA if there any deterrents. Once they are here they have little or no fear of deportation unless they murder, rape, or commit felony theft. Everything else is ignored.

[sly_wolf 199]

Its about time it gets scaled back .... it's overkill and the money spent is huge. Where I live you cant even go to walmart sometimes without being asked where you are going .... just like a police state.

[sly_wolf 199]

The 9/11 terrorists were partying with the Canadian strippers in Montreal the night before they did their deed and entered at Champlain, NY, drove directly to Boston and got on the planes.

It is not like we have a lot of Quebecois hacking through the forest at night to get to Vermont, but there have been a lot of nationalities who take advantage of Canada's more liberal immigration policy to get within walking distance. Montreal is full of French speaking Haitians who have recently been coming across to take advantage of the relaxed policies we have implemented for Haitian "earthquake victims", buses are cheap and run regularly between Montreal and northern US cities. So I guess the CBP vehicles at the bus station will be going away?

Seems like we should ban strip clubs.

The U.S. Homeland Security chief has clarified earlier remarks that suggested the 9-11 terrorists entered the U.S. through Canada.

Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano made the comments during a media interview earlier this week, much to the chagrin of Canadians on both sides of the border.

In a release Tuesday night following the interview, she called Canada a "close ally and an important partner" and said she was simply misunderstood.

"I know that the September 11th hijackers did not come through Canada to the United States," she said in the statement.

"There are other instances, however, when suspected terrorists have attempted to enter our country from Canada to the United States. Some of these are well-known to the public -- such as the Millennium Bomber -- while others are not due to security reasons."

Ottawa rushed to defend its border security on Tuesday amid the diplomatic scuffle that broke out over Napolitano's earlier remarks.

In recent years, Ottawa has invested a great deal of effort into dispelling perceptions among Americans that Canada's border is an easy entry point for terrorists planning attacks on U.S. soil.

"Unfortunately, misconceptions arise on something as fundamental as where the 9-11 terrorists came from," said Michael Wilson, Canada's ambassador in Washington.

"As the 9-11 commission reported in 2004, all of the 9-11 terrorists arrived in the United States from outside North America. They flew to major U.S. airports. They entered the U.S. with documents issued by the United States government and no 9-11 terrorists came from Canada."

Wilson, who was the keynote speaker at the Border Trade Alliance meeting in Washington on Tuesday, said Napolitano's staff attempted to tamp down the controversy by blaming the comments on a simple misunderstanding.

"Her comment from her people is that she misunderstood," Wilson said, adding that he was planning a personal meeting with Napolitano in the near future.

The furor began when Napolitano was asked to clarify statements she had made about equal treatment for the Mexican and Canadian borders, despite the fact that a flood of illegal immigrants and a massive drug war are two serious issues on the southern border.

"Yes, Canada is not Mexico, it doesn't have a drug war going on, it didn't have 6,000 homicides that were drug-related last year," she said.

"Nonetheless, to the extent that terrorists have come into our country or suspected or known terrorists have entered our country across a border, it's been across the Canadian border. There are real issues there."

When asked if she was referring to the 9-11 terrorists, Napolitano added: "Not just those but others as well."

However, Public Safety Minister Peter Van Loan downplayed the comments and said that Napolitano is well aware that Canada was not the source of the 9-11 terrorists.

"We spoke about it back in March, and we were sharing a chuckle at the fact that the urban myth does circulate," he told CTV's Power Play.

"Ms. Napolitano understood quite clearly, then and now, that none of the September 11 terrorists came through Canada, as the 9-11 Commission found."

Still, that positive outlook wasn't shared by other Canadian officials.

On Tuesday afternoon, RCMP Commissioner William Elliot expressed frustration with the comments during an interview on CTV's Power Play.

"I was somewhat surprised and disappointed," he said, adding he hopes the misconception has been cleared up.

"I understand and am happy to hear that she has issued a statement acknowledging that that didn't happen."

But Thomas d'Aquino, president of the Canadian Council of Chief Executives, decried Napolitano's comments on Tuesday.

"I am a longstanding friend and ally of the United States, but sometimes failures in our two-way dialogue cause me to shake my head in sadness and dismay," he said in a press release.

"The claim that some of the 9/11 terrorists entered the United States from Canada is, quite simply, a myth - an urban legend that began with a handful of erroneous media reports in the days following the terrorist strikes."

Read more: http://www.ctv.ca/CT.../#ixzz1cAmMBvoQ

[Gary and Alla 3,694]

The U.S. Homeland Security chief has clarified earlier remarks that suggested the 9-11 terrorists entered the U.S. through Canada.

Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano made the comments during a media interview earlier this week, much to the chagrin of Canadians on both sides of the border.

In a release Tuesday night following the interview, she called Canada a "close ally and an important partner" and said she was simply misunderstood.

"I know that the September 11th hijackers did not come through Canada to the United States," she said in the statement.

"There are other instances, however, when suspected terrorists have attempted to enter our country from Canada to the United States. Some of these are well-known to the public -- such as the Millennium Bomber -- while others are not due to security reasons."

Ottawa rushed to defend its border security on Tuesday amid the diplomatic scuffle that broke out over Napolitano's earlier remarks.

In recent years, Ottawa has invested a great deal of effort into dispelling perceptions among Americans that Canada's border is an easy entry point for terrorists planning attacks on U.S. soil.

"Unfortunately, misconceptions arise on something as fundamental as where the 9-11 terrorists came from," said Michael Wilson, Canada's ambassador in Washington.

"As the 9-11 commission reported in 2004, all of the 9-11 terrorists arrived in the United States from outside North America. They flew to major U.S. airports. They entered the U.S. with documents issued by the United States government and no 9-11 terrorists came from Canada."

Wilson, who was the keynote speaker at the Border Trade Alliance meeting in Washington on Tuesday, said Napolitano's staff attempted to tamp down the controversy by blaming the comments on a simple misunderstanding.

"Her comment from her people is that she misunderstood," Wilson said, adding that he was planning a personal meeting with Napolitano in the near future.

The furor began when Napolitano was asked to clarify statements she had made about equal treatment for the Mexican and Canadian borders, despite the fact that a flood of illegal immigrants and a massive drug war are two serious issues on the southern border.

"Yes, Canada is not Mexico, it doesn't have a drug war going on, it didn't have 6,000 homicides that were drug-related last year," she said.

"Nonetheless, to the extent that terrorists have come into our country or suspected or known terrorists have entered our country across a border, it's been across the Canadian border. There are real issues there."

When asked if she was referring to the 9-11 terrorists, Napolitano added: "Not just those but others as well."

However, Public Safety Minister Peter Van Loan downplayed the comments and said that Napolitano is well aware that Canada was not the source of the 9-11 terrorists.

"We spoke about it back in March, and we were sharing a chuckle at the fact that the urban myth does circulate," he told CTV's Power Play.

"Ms. Napolitano understood quite clearly, then and now, that none of the September 11 terrorists came through Canada, as the 9-11 Commission found."

Still, that positive outlook wasn't shared by other Canadian officials.

On Tuesday afternoon, RCMP Commissioner William Elliot expressed frustration with the comments during an interview on CTV's Power Play.

"I was somewhat surprised and disappointed," he said, adding he hopes the misconception has been cleared up.

"I understand and am happy to hear that she has issued a statement acknowledging that that didn't happen."

But Thomas d'Aquino, president of the Canadian Council of Chief Executives, decried Napolitano's comments on Tuesday.

"I am a longstanding friend and ally of the United States, but sometimes failures in our two-way dialogue cause me to shake my head in sadness and dismay," he said in a press release.

"The claim that some of the 9/11 terrorists entered the United States from Canada is, quite simply, a myth - an urban legend that began with a handful of erroneous media reports in the days following the terrorist strikes."

Read more: http://www.ctv.ca/CT.../#ixzz1cAmMBvoQ

I am not blaming Canada, it would not be their fault anyway, but then how did they get from the strip clubs in Montreal to the USA? I mean there WERE photos of them at the strip clubs

[Gary and Alla 3,694]

Its about time it gets scaled back .... it's overkill and the money spent is huge. Where I live you cant even go to walmart sometimes without being asked where you are going .... just like a police state.

I live right at the border with an immigrant family, cross the border frequently and we have NEVER had a question asked or a problem EVER. (other than the usual "how long will you be in Canada?) They do have a presence at the bus station in Burlington (or did anyway)but no one else bothers us.

They (CBP) even use our gun club range for practice and are often clearing out when my obviously heavily accented immigrant wife shows up to shoot on Wednesday afternoon. She talks to them all the time, never a question from any of them.

where do you live?

I do not think anyone could "blame" this on Canada, if the border protection is lacking it is OUR duty to improve it, not Canada's.

[sly_wolf 199]

I live right at the border with an immigrant family, cross the border frequently and we have NEVER had a question asked or a problem EVER. (other than the usual "how long will you be in Canada?) They do have a presence at the bus station in Burlington (or did anyway)but no one else bothers us.

They (CBP) even use our gun club range for practice and are often clearing out when my obviously heavily accented immigrant wife shows up to shoot on Wednesday afternoon. She talks to them all the time, never a question from any of them.

where do you live?

I do not think anyone could "blame" this on Canada, if the border protection is lacking it is OUR duty to improve it, not Canada's.

I live in upper NY state very close to the border. We have plenty of border patrol sitting around in there SUV's doing random road checks .... too many.

The news article stated at the end: "The claim that some of the 9/11 terrorists entered the United States from Canada is, quite simply, a myth - an urban legend that began with a handful of erroneous media reports in the days following the terrorist strikes."

[Gary and Alla 3,694]

I live in upper NY state very close to the border. We have plenty of border patrol sitting around in there SUV's doing random road checks .... too many.

The news article stated at the end: "The claim that some of the 9/11 terrorists entered the United States from Canada is, quite simply, a myth - an urban legend that began with a handful of erroneous media reports in the days following the terrorist strikes."

Yeah, we do also. Have they ever stopped you? They have never stopped me or anyone in my family, I see them all the time. I see them at the local gas station/deli's getting their sandwiches. So what?

Seriously, they have stopped you? Harassed you? What have they done to you? To anyone you know? How is it worse than regular police that patrol around and stop people for traffic violations?

[sly_wolf 199]

Yeah, we do also. Have they ever stopped you? They have never stopped me or anyone in my family, I see them all the time. I see them at the local gas station/deli's getting their sandwiches. So what?

Seriously, they have stopped you? Harassed you? What have they done to you? To anyone you know? How is it worse than regular police that patrol around and stop people for traffic violations?

Yes, they have stopped us to ask us where we are going. My wife (USC) always wants to tell them none of your business its a free country. We have neer been stopped by police ... only border patrol. It does make you feel like u dont live in a free country anymore.

[Gary and Alla 3,694]

Yes, they have stopped us to ask us where we are going. My wife (USC) always wants to tell them none of your business its a free country. We have neer been stopped by police ... only border patrol. It does make you feel like u dont live in a free country anymore.

Then tell them it is "none of your business it is a free country". I would, because it is a free country, but they have never stopped me or Alla. How many times have they stopped you?

They have some pretty cool shotguns, definitely class III stuff, and we watched them blasting away Wednesday before they finished at the range and we could use it. Alla gets kinda PO'd that she has to wait for them sometimes, she is like that about shooting.

Edited October 29, 2011 by Gary and Alla

[sly_wolf 199]

Then tell them it is "none of your business it is a free country". I would, because it is a free country, but they have never stopped me or Alla. How many times have they stopped you?

They have some pretty cool shotguns, definitely class III stuff, and we watched them blasting away Wednesday before they finished at the range and we could use it. Alla gets kinda PO'd that she has to wait for them sometimes, she is like that about shooting.

Dont want to mess with them .... I dont want a colonoscopy from anyone but my doc.

[Gary and Alla 3,694]

Dont want to mess with them .... I dont want a colonoscopy from anyone but my doc.

How many times have they stopped you?

Being afraid of something that would not happen is no reason to say you feel like you do not live in a free country. Seriously? You live in the USA on the border with Canada and you are afraid of that? The most peaceful, pristine, friendly border in the world makes you feel oppressed? Maybe it is because it is New York, I feel a bit oppressed over there also. Get a concealed carry permit, you will feel better.

[momof1 205]

The 9/11 terrorists were partying with the Canadian strippers in Montreal the night before they did their deed and entered at Champlain, NY, drove directly to Boston and got on the planes.

I've never heard that before but makes sense now why we were stopped and held for 2.5 hrs at Champlain border crossing in June. Well...and a crappy immigration history but whatever. They were jerky to everyone though so that makes me feel a bit better.

[sly_wolf 199]

How many times have they stopped you?

Being afraid of something that would not happen is no reason to say you feel like you do not live in a free country. Seriously? You live in the USA on the border with Canada and you are afraid of that? The most peaceful, pristine, friendly border in the world makes you feel oppressed? Maybe it is because it is New York, I feel a bit oppressed over there also. Get a concealed carry permit, you will feel better.

The dangerous ones already live in the US and New York already abuses us with their high property taxes too. They suck.