The Militant - October 8, 2001 -- U.S. government increases cops at border checkpoints

Vol.65/No.38 October 8, 2001

U.S. government increases cops at border checkpoints

BY BRIAN WILLIAMS
Crossing the border into the United States from Mexico and Canada has become much more difficult for millions of working people, as the U.S. government has beefed up the presence of INS cops and National Guard troops at border checkpoints since the September 11 attack on the World Trade Center and Pentagon.

"For the foreseeable future," stated a September 22 Economist article, "American customs officers are at 'Level 1' alert. That means checking every single vehicle crossing the border." At the busiest highway crossings, people face a wait of up to four hours.

INS agents are now stopping and questioning many more people, seeking to verify the identify of every person who crosses the border. Vehicles are searched more thoroughly and documentation papers closely scrutinized.

Last year nearly 130 million people--both U.S. citizens and immigrants--crossed the border into the United States from Canada at six of the busiest checkpoints.

New laws and regulations are in the process of being put in place that will further restrict the rights of immigrants beyond what was put into effect in 1996 under the Illegal Immigration Reform and Immigrant Responsibility Act. The INS, for example, is starting to put in place a computerized database of the estimated 500,000 people who traveled to the United States on student visas.

In another move, Senator Edward Kennedy, a Democrat from Massachusetts, has introduced legislation to provide U.S. consulates access to the FBI's criminal database.

Related article:
Firefighters in Miami suspended for protesting American flag on truck

Front page (for this issue) | Home | Text-version home