U.S. Isn’t Building a Red-Tape Border Wall: Homeland Security Official

(Canada.com – Mike Blanchfield, Canwest News Service)

A senior Obama administration official is dismissing critics who say the American preoccupation with preventing terrorism has led to an unnecessary “thickening” of the Canada-U.S. border, tying up trade and hampering commerce.

“I’m aware of the charge, the thickening of the border and the sensitivities around it. My perspective is, I don’t share that view at all,” said John T. Morton who heads U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement – or ICE – a branch of the much-criticized Homeland Security Department.

“In the grand scheme of things, given the length of our border and you look at the immense trade and travel that goes across our border every day, it’s not fair to say it is hard or thickened or militarized in any way,” he told Canwest News Service Tuesday. Read more here.