"There are places like Derby Line where you can take any number of side streets that cross the border," another pointed out. Still another commented that "[Canada and the US] are so intertwined as to make it confusing what country you are in. Your next door neighbor on a quiet small town side street could literally be in another country. Hate to admit it, I once got lost up there and was among the confused for a bit. Obviously this creates all kinds of opportunity for illegal entry," said another. And there are other towns like Derby Line along the expansive US-Canadian border where sidestreets and back roads can be used to cross the border. GAO noted in its 1994 report that a "picture shows the unpatrolled nature of the border in a Washington town, where an individual can enter Canada simply by walking across a park." While the US-VISIT program will work for persons entering the US at designated border entry points, it does nothing to deter terrorists from seeking out unguarded pathways into the country."
Except for stupid amateurs, trained terrorists and smart criminals will continue to enter the U.S. from Canada using uncontrolled road entries. So, until a comprehensive plan for border control is devised (DHS still has not submitted a comprehensive one, only bits and pieces since Congress required that in 2004), the US-VISIT program merely makes entering the U.S. a pain in the tush for innocent civilians of both nations without much deterrent effect on the bad guys at all. Technical note: The bad guys smuggling marijuana mentioned in the article got caught, not because of good border surveillance, but because they did not turn their cell phones off. Thus the joint RCMP-U.S. group tracking them knew they had crossed the border and which way they were going using cell tower triangulation. Just like the Italians could do after-the-fact tracking of the CIA numbskulls that kidnapped the Imam because there was a record of which tower zones they passed through...and when. Cell phones check in with each tower zone passed through...even when turned off...so the only way to avoid that is to remove the battery. Ciao! David Bier http://www.hstoday.us/Kimery_Report/20050121_USVISIT_Begins_at_Small_Vermont_Town_Border_Entry.cfm?IsValid=true 2005-01-21 US-VISIT Begins at Small Vermont Town Border Entry; But Unguarded Side Streets Can be Used to Cross Border WASHINGTON, DC, JAN 21 - The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) announced in December it had started US-VISIT biometric entry procedures in the secondary inspection areas at land ports of entry at the Lewiston-Queenston, Whirlpool, Peace, and Rainbow Bridges in Buffalo, New York, and at the port of entry at Derby Line, Vermont. Visitors requiring an arrival/departure Form I-94 to enter the United States, including those traveling under the Visa Waiver Program, will be processed through US-VISIT at the secondary inspection area. US-VISIT processing involves the collection of two index fingerscans and a digital photograph. Additionally, with the deployment of US-VISIT technology, a visitor will no longer be required to fill out the Form I-94 by hand. Now the visitor's biographic information will be entered electronically when a Customs and Border Protection (CBP) officer scans the visitor's travel document. In ports where this technology has been deployed, the advancement has proven to expedite a visitor's inspection time. The implementation of US-VISIT at the border entry point into the United States at Derby Line, Vermont is of particular interest. In 1994, Congress' investigative arm, the General Accounting Office, since renamed the Government Accountability Office (GAO), paid special attention to Derby Line - a town of about 5,000 residents, in its report, "Money Laundering: U.S. Efforts To Fight It Are Threatened By Currency Smuggling." In this report, which was requested by the Chairman of the Senate Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations, GAO highlighted with photographs that "in many locations on the Canadian border there is no Customs presence at all, and individuals and vehicles can cross the border at will. For example, one picture shows a crossing on an isolated country road in Vermont while another shows a crossing on a residential street in a Vermont town. That residential street is in Derby Line. It sits directly across from the Canadian border of Stanstead, home to roughly 3,000 Quebecians. Together they form a rural working-class community in which there are residential streets straddling the border, such as Derby Line's Maple Street. This reporter has been to Derby Line and driven into Canada using one of the streets GAO referred to. Boston Magazine wrote about one of Derby Line's side streets that crosses the border and other unguarded entry points into the US in its Dec. 2001 issue. In Oct., 2002, 33 year-old Phong Nguyen and 47 year-old Houng Chau from Montreal were arrested for trying to smuggle 44 pounds of marijuana into the US by crossing the border using a side street in Derby Line. Border Patrol agents eventually stopped the two men in Holland, a short distance away. Derby Line's Haskell Free Library and Opera House is an internationally designated historic site that draws visitors from around the world from having been featured in "Ripley's Believe It Or Not." It's the only library and opera house built directly astride an international border. The border runs down the middle of the building and is marked with a black line on the floor. Similarly, in some places, when locals back out of their driveways they're actually backing up into Canada because the border runs down the middle of some streets. Canusa Avenue is a street that's also both in Vermont and Quebec. Residents must report to border patrol if they cross it. A scrub of the Web found chat rooms, blogs and other discussions mentioning the Derby Line conundrum. "There are several opportunities to turn onto side streets before the [US border checkpoint,] one said. "There are places like Derby Line where you can take any number of side streets that cross the border," another pointed out. Still another commented that "[Canada and the US] are so intertwined as to make it confusing what country you are in. Your next door neighbor on a quiet small town side street could literally be in another country. Hate to admit it, I once got lost up there and was among the confused for a bit. Obviously this creates all kinds of opportunity for illegal entry," said another. And there are other towns like Derby Line along the expansive US-Canadian border where sidestreets and back roads can be used to cross the border. GAO noted in its 1994 report that a "picture shows the unpatrolled nature of the border in a Washington town, where an individual can enter Canada simply by walking across a park." While the US-VISIT program will work for persons entering the US at designated border entry points, it does nothing to deter terrorists from seeking out unguarded pathways into the country. The Intelligence Community reform legislation President Bush signed into law in December authorizes the Secretary of Homeland Security to carry out a pilot program to test various advanced technologies that will improve border security along the northern border of the United States, especially "in remote stretches of border lands with long distances between 24-hour ports of entry with a relatively small presence of United States border patrol officers." This is to be accomplished "using advanced technological systems, including sensors, video and unmanned aerial vehicles. Depending on how successful this surveillance program is, it may be extended "along the entire northern border of the United States." As for the border with Mexico, within six months the Secretary of Homeland Security must submit to the President and appropriate Congressional oversight committees "a comprehensive plan for the systematic surveillance of the southwest border of the United States by remotely piloted aircraft." Additionally, in each fiscal year from 2006 to 2010, the Secretary of Homeland Security shall, subject to the availability of appropriations for such purpose, increase by not less than 2,000 the number of positions for full-time active-duty border patrol agents above the number of such positions for which funds were allotted the preceding fiscal year. In each fiscal year from 2006 to 2010, in addition to the border patrol agents assigned along the northern border of the United States during the previous fiscal year, the Secretary of Homeland Security "shall assign a number of border patrol agents equal to not less than 20 percent of the net increase in border patrol agents during each such fiscal year." -------------------------- Want to discuss this topic? Head on over to our discussion list, [EMAIL PROTECTED] -------------------------- Brooks Isoldi, editor [EMAIL PROTECTED] http://www.intellnet.org Post message: osint@yahoogroups.com Subscribe: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Unsubscribe: [EMAIL PROTECTED] *** FAIR USE NOTICE. This message contains copyrighted material whose use has not been specifically authorized by the copyright owner. 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