Security at Canadian Border Catches More Confusion than Terror Suspects

(Lucy Benz-Rogers — AllGov.com)

When the Customs and Border Protection (CBP) agency was created in 2003, its purpose was to provide immigration and counter-terrorism enforcement to prevent future attacks on the U.S. Six years later, the efficacy of the CBP along the U.S. border with Canada is being questioned, as officers arrest migrant families and marijuana users instead of the intended terrorist targets.

Before the September 11 attacks, 340 border patrol agents were assigned to oversee the Canadian border, a number that has since increased to 1,530. Along with this increase have come more frequent roadside checkpoints and patrols, and a doubling of the agency’s budget over the past five years to a total of $11 billion for 2009. There were roughly 75,000 apprehensions along the northern border between 2004 and 2006 that were sent to immigration courts, but only two were terrorism-related.

While the agency certainly does have a strong presence, some feel that it has strayed too far from its original purpose and is more of a burden than anything else. Read more here.

Related: Heightened security at U.S.-Canada border catching few terror suspects (Seattle Post-Intelligencer).