Border Security // Current

200,000 ID documents in the UK may be false

There could be as many as 200,000 fraudulent identity documents (driving licences and passports) in circulation in the UK,... more

JanaPokana
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Court bans British girl from leaving Russia for 7 years

A British girl of 11 has been told she may not be able to leave Russia for seven years after she went to visit relatives there. ... more

Moopak
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Canadian Border No Longer Invisible in Vermont

The changes started coming slowly to this small town where the U.S. border with Canada runs across sleepy streets, through houses and families, and smack down the middle of the shared local library.

First was the white, painted lettering on the pavement on three little side streets - “Canada” on one side, “U.S.A.” on the other. Then came the white pylons denoting which side of the border was which. After that, signboards were erected on some streets, ordering drivers to turn back and use an officially designated entry point.

And along with the signposts came an influx of American Border Patrol agents, cruising through the town in their sport-utility vehicles with sirens, chasing down cars and mopeds that ignored the posted warnings.

For longtime residents accustomed to a simpler life that flowed freely across a largely invisible border, the final shock - and what made most people really take notice - was a proposal by the border agents last year to erect fences on the small streets to officially barricade Derby Line from Stanstead, Quebec, and neighbor from neighbor.

“They’re stirring up a little hate and discontent with that deal,” said Claire Currier, who grew up in this border area and works at Brown’s Drug Store, which has operated on the same spot since 1884. “We’ve all intermingled for years.”

For the Department of Homeland Security, the changes are part of a gradual fortification of America’s northern border that began shortly after the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks and has accelerated in recent years.

The hardening of the northern frontier is unsettling to many in the small towns along the border. For as long as most of these people can remember, the line between the United States and Canada has been little more than a historic curiosity, rather than the hard and fast demarcation that is America’s southern border.

Named the Secure Border Initiative, the project calls for more than tripling the number of agents along the northern border, adding boats and helicopters, and deploying sophisticated new technology including hundreds of millions of dollars in new communications equipment, radiation detectors and three different types of camera-mounted sensors in the uninhabited wooded areas.

“It was freer before, but we live in a different world now,” said agent Mark Henry, the operations officer at the Border Patrol’s Swanton Sector, headquartered in Swanton, Vt. The sector encompasses about 24,000 square miles, extending from the town of Champlain, in upstate New York, on the east all the way across to the border with Maine. The sector now has 250 agents, up from 180 three years ago, and the number is scheduled to reach 300 next year. In 2001, there were 340 agents along the entire border with Canada.

“9/11 changed everything,” said Border Patrol agent Fernando Beltran, the operations chief for Swanton Sector’s Newport station, which includes Derby Line. “This may have been Mayberry before, but it’s not anymore.”

Residents of this town of 776 understand the need for enhanced security. They also wistfully remember a time when neighbors easily crossed into another country to visit neighbors. People went to church and to school on either side of the line. Members of the same family lived on either side. Some streets, an old factory, the local library and opera house, and a few houses straddle the line.

“I have one brother - he’s American. He was born on the U.S. side. I was born on the Canadian side,” said Arthur Brewer, who is 76. “It was like there was no border.”

Townsfolk are concerned about practical issues with fences. The two sides share a water system, a sewer system and snow-removal services. For years, the fire departments of both sides have helped each other without regard to a border, and fences, they fear, might disrupt travel routes for emergency vehicles.The changes started coming slowly to this small town where the U.S. border with Canada runs across sleepy streets, through houses... more

goldenways
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6 responses

3 months ago

Laptop on Lock

Don't be surprised if airport security takes your iPod or laptop without explanation coming back from your next trip abroad.

Jael
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21 responses

3 months ago

America funds Death Squads in Mexico

America has under the guise of fighting Terrorism decided to sent around $400 Million to Mexico. The United States says that... more

Psychedelic
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1 response

4 months ago

30 years of terror? Britain faces terrorist threat until 2038

Britain will be vulnerable to terrorist attacks for another three decades, according to a major report by Lord Stevens.

The study, commissioned by David Cameron, warns that Britain's borders are insufficiently protected and that militants can enter the country undetected. There is "no indication that the [terrorist] threat level will reduce significantly" for "at least 20 to 30 years," said the author of the report, former Metropolitan Police Commissioner Lord Stevens. "There is no doubt more attacks will be attempted against the UK and those involved are again likely to travel abroad for preparation. Others may travel to the UK for the sole purpose of carrying out attacks."

"The lack of a clear border security strategy has resulted in a situation where agencies are unaware of where their shared priorities lie," Lord Stevens said. "Border Protection Service for the UK: Policy Proposals" highlighted some of the threats to the UK's border security, including fears that it is now easier to enter the UK's airspace by light aircraft. There are many small airfields within easy flying distance of continental Europe, thereby facilitating the movement of people or illicit goods, it found.

Protection at some British airports is also poor, Lord Stevens claimed, pointing to the lack of armed police on duty when two suspects attempted to blow up Glasgow Airport last year.

Measures to intercept suspicious foreign mail were "inadequate to provide sufficient border control and security as the current automated scanning and physical inspections cannot ensure all items are thoroughly checked". Lord Stevens added: "The air cargo system is vulnerable to security threats including potential plots to place explosives aboard aircraft; illegal shipments of hazardous materials; criminal activities such as smuggling and theft; and potential hijackings and sabotage by persons with access to aircraft."

He also called for more "regulation of private security companies working at airports and sea ports" and said the screening of those who work for them is necessary.

Overall, he said, "there can be no overall indication of whether or not the taxpayer is receiving value for money on the control of borders".Britain will be vulnerable to terrorist attacks for another three decades, according to a major report by Lord Stevens. The... more