1. 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

2. Ambassador Bridge post 9/11/01

3. 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

4. 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

5. 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

6. No Borders North American Security Perimeter Presupposes:
lifting internal border controls
common external border
Presupposes:
customs union
common visa policy

7. 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

8. CUBA?
Cuban Prime Minister Fidel Castro and Prime Minister Pierre Trudeau join in a singalong during Trudeau's Latin American Tour, January 1976.

9. "I will maintain the embargo
"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

10. 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

11. Secure Border Initiative Network (SBInet)

13. “Virtual Fence”

14. US-Canadian Border - Farmed

15. US-Canadian Border Forested

17. Border Patrol apprehending illegal crossers

18. While others cross elsewhere

19. 1,349 miles of forested border

21. Fingerscans at consulates & PoEs

23. Table 1: FY 2002 Entries into the US (in millions)
Air
Sea
Land
Totals
US Citizens
33.0
7.4
120.7
161.1
Legal Permanent Residents
4.4
0.2
75.0
79.6
Visa Waiver
13.0
0.3
1.8
15.1
Visa Exempt (Canadians)
52.2
Regular Visa
19.3
4.5
28.3
Mexican Border Crossing Card
104.1
67.9
12.4
358.3
440.4

24. Table 2: False Claims to Citizenship
FY1999
FY2000
FY2001
FY2002
FY2003
FY2004
To US
27,781
31,964
30,129
15,293
12,878
12,404
To other
1,108
787
908
836
269
295

25. 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

26. “Our ID's are the best ID Cards money can buy
“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”

27. Pakistani and Polish Passports (genuine)
Australian and Philippine Passports (fake)

28. Crossing with fraudulent documents

29. WHTI requirements: June 1, 2009 passport
wallet-sized passport card (PASS)
Enhanced Drivers’ License (EDL)

32. Personal Authentication Device (PAD)

33. PAD system in action

34. Alternative: Binational inspections
Canadians collect data for US-VISIT
Binational zones for preclearance
European binational cooperation

35. Workplace Enforcement
1997
1998
1999
2000
2001
2002
2003
2004
2005
2006
Est. unauthorized population
5.9 M
6.1 M
6.5 M
7.0 M
7.8 M
10.3 M
11.1 M
12 M
Employer investigations
Arrests
17,554
13,914
2,849
953
735
485
445
159
251
716
Indictments
865
1,023
417
178
100 53
162 66
195
441
Convictions
778
535
297
180 78 13
124 46
188
493

36. 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

37. 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

38. 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