According to Sen. Patty Murray, a Democrat from Washington State who co-authored the bill, the legislation “works toward a goal of getting to 100 percent screening” of cargo coming into the United States from foreign ports. The bill, which would add 1,000 additional customs and border officers, also allots $3.6 million to beef up “homeland security” on the railroad and mass transit, including random passenger and baggage screening.

Sen. Charles Schumer, a Democrat from New York who voted for the bill, criticized it for not going far enough. “Programs to screen for nuclear materials are years delayed…and international security programs have been grossly mismanaged and underfunded,” he said.

The House of Representatives approved a bill the same day to build a two-layer fence along 700 miles of the U.S.-Mexico border. That day the House also passed the Secure Fence Act to increase the use of unmanned aerial vehicles, ground-based sensors, satellites, and cameras on “the entire international and land maritime borders.” The act instructs the Department of Homeland Security to investigate the feasibility of constructing a wall along the border with Canada.

“Every day smugglers are bringing drugs, people, and other contraband across our northern borders, which is met with little or no resistance,” Candice Miller, a Republican from Michigan, argued during the House debate on the legislation.

A similar “homeland security” drive is unfolding on the other side of the border. On August 31, Canada’s Prime Minister, Stephen Harper, announced that Canadian border patrol agents will be armed with guns over the next decade. Ottawa will also hire 400 more border cops to augment the 4,400 it currently has, he said.
 
 
Related articles:
Day laborers fight for right to work
Immigration expanding in U.S.  
 
 
Front page (for this issue) | Home | Text-version home