Border Security Policies and
US-Canada Relations
Rey Koslowski
Fellow, Transatlantic Academy, Washington, DC
Associate Professor of Political Science, Public Policy
and Informatics
University at Albany, State University of New York
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Ambassador Bridge
post 9/11/01
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Smart Borders
“The border of the future must integrate actions
abroad to screen goods and people prior to their
arrival in sovereign U.S. territory.
Agreements with our neighbors, major trading
partners, and private industry will allow extensive
pre-screening of low-risk traffic, thereby allowing
limited assets to focus attention on high-risk
traffic.
The use of advanced technology to track the
movement of cargo and the entry and exit of
individuals is essential to the task of managing the
movement of hundreds of millions of individuals,
conveyances, and vehicles”
- White House, Jan. 25, 2002
Scenarios for US-Canada border
No borders: lift internal border controls
after erecting a common external border.
Smart borders: increase security and
facilitate travel using technology and
registered traveler programs
Virtual borders: automated data
collection, data-mining, biometrics & RFID
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Presentation outline
Possibilities of “no borders” with N.A. perimeter
SBInet: physical barriers and a “virtual fence”
US-VISIT: automated biometric entry-exit
WHITI: passport to enter US
Alternatives: security through US-Canada cooperation
Proposal: identity management and global mobility
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No Borders
North American Security Perimeter
– lifting internal border controls
– common external border
Presupposes:
– customs union
– common visa policy
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Lifting border controls in the EU
1957 Treaty of Rome
– committed states to customs union in 12 years
1968 customs union achieved
1986 Single European Act
– committed EC states to end non-tariff barriers by 1992
1990 Schengen Convention
– harmonizes asylum and visa policies
1993 customs controls at internal borders lifted
1995 all internal border controls lifted
38 years from treaty commitment to customs union to lifting
all internal border controls
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CUBA?
Cuban Prime Minister Fidel Castro and Prime Minister Pierre Trudeau
join in a singalong during Trudeau's Latin American Tour, January 1976.
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"I will maintain the embargo. It provides us
with the leverage to present the regime
with a clear choice.”
Barak Obama
Miami, Florida
May 23, 2008
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Visa-free travel
To US and Canada (35 countries):
Andorra, Australia, Austria, Belgium, Brunei, Czech Republic,
Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Hungary, Iceland,
Ireland, Italy, Japan, S. Korea, Latvia, Lithuania, Liechtenstein,
Luxembourg, Malta, Monaco, Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway,
Portugal, San Marino, Singapore, Slovakia, Spain, Sweden,
Slovenia, Switzerland, United Kingdom
Additionally to Canada (17 countries):
Antigua and Barbuda, Bahamas, Barbados, Botswana, Cyprus,
Greece, Israel, Mexico, Namibia, Papua New Guinea, Poland,
St. Kitts and Nevis, St. Lucia, St. Vincent, Solomon Islands,
Swaziland, Western Samoa;
British dependent territories: Anguilla, Bermuda, British Virgin
Islands, Cayman Islands, Falkland Islands, Gibraltar, Montserrat,
Pitcairn, St. Helena or the Turks and Caicos Islands;
Hong Kong
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Secure Border Initiative Network (SBInet)
“Virtual Fence”
US-Canadian Border - Farmed
US-Canadian Border Forested
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Border Patrol apprehending illegal crossers
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While others cross elsewhere
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1,349 miles of forested border
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Fingerscans at consulates & PoEs
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Table 1: FY 2002 Entries into the US (in millions)
Air
US Citizens
Legal Permanent Residents
Visa Waiver
Sea
7.4
120.7
161.1
4.4
0.2
75.0
79.6
13.0
0.3
1.8
15.1
52.2
52.2
4.5
28.3
104.1
104.1
358.3
440.4
19.3
4.5
Mexican Border Crossing Card
Totals
Totals
33.0
Visa Exempt (Canadians)
Regular Visa
Land
67.9
12.4
Table 2: False Claims to Citizenship
To US
To other
FY1999
FY2000
FY2001
FY2002
27,781
31,964
30,129
15,293
1,108
787
908
836
FY2003
FY2004
12,878 12,404
269
295
Western Hemisphere Travel
Initiative (WHTI)
Intelligence Reform and Terrorism
Prevention Act of 2004
– a valid passport or
– documentary proof of citizenship
– beginning Jan. 1, 2008
Delayed to June 1, 2009
Jan. 2008: oral declaration of citizenship
no longer accepted
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“Our ID's are the best ID Cards money can buy. They
also come with many added security options such as
holograms
Learn More about Fake ID's”
http://www.theidshop.com
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Pakistani and Polish Passports (genuine)
Australian and Philippine Passports (fake)
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Crossing with fraudulent documents
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WHTI requirements:
June 1, 2009
passport
wallet-sized passport card (PASS)
Enhanced Drivers’ License (EDL)
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Personal Authentication Device (PAD)
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PAD system in action
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Alternative: Binational inspections
Canadians collect data for US-VISIT
Binational zones for preclearance
European binational cooperation
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Workplace Enforcement
1997
1998
1999
2000
2001
5.9 M
6.1 M
6.5 M
7.0 M
7.8 M
17,554
13,914
2,849
953
735
485
Indictments
865
1,023
417
178
100
Convictions
778
535
297
180
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Est. unauthorized
population
2002
2003
2004
2005
2006
10.3 M
11.1 M
12 M
445
159
251
716
53
162
66
195
441
13
124
46
188
493
Employer
investigations
Arrests
Identity Management and Global Mobility
(a potential research project)
UAlbany Center for Technology in Government
Identity document fraud – complex problem
Examine administrative reforms:
–
–
–
–
Birth certificate issuance process (US states)
Digitization of vital records (US States, Italy)
National identity management (UK, Australia)
US-VISIT: “biometric data” service provider
case studies, best practices
NYS agencies
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Conclusions
“No borders” not politically viable
“Virtual borders” constrained by infrastructure
“Smart borders” can be improved with border
infrastructure and/or binational inspections
Hope for N.A. perimeter could reduce support
for infrastructure budgets and taxes
Political capital not infinite; choices necessary
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Further reading and info:
“Smart Borders, Virtual Borders or No Borders: Homeland Security
Choices for the United States and Canada.” Law and Business
Review of the Americas, Vol. 11, (Summer/Fall 2005).
Prepared Testimony for “US-VISIT: Challenges and Strategies for
Securing the U.S. Border,” Hearing before the Subcommittee on
Terrorism, Technology and Homeland Security of the Committee on
the Judiciary, United States Senate, January 31, 2007.
Real Challenges for Virtual Borders: The Implementation of US-VISIT,
Migration Policy Institute, June 2005.
available at:
Rey Koslowski’ webpage
http://www.albany.edu/~rk289758/
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