Chapter Three
The Human Borders

Plans to strengthen the nation's borders have had to balance economic considerations. However, the attempts to apply more muscle to its border security have affected more than dollars and cents. They have caused changes in the way border communities live, how criminals break the law, and especially how the residents of Canada and Mexico view the United States as a neighbor.

"It's Absurd, and It's Offensive"

The tightening of the U.S.-Canadian border, for instance, has brought a storm of protest from individuals for whom crossing back and forth is a daily occurrence. Many people do not realize how close together some Canadian and American communities are. In fact, there are some towns that actually lie across the border—half in Canada, half in the United States. There are even golf courses where a tee may be in one nation, while the green is in another.

In some of these northern communities the border is unmanned, and residents have a long history of crossing—often several times each day—to shop, to visit friends, or to work. In cases where a road does have a formal border, agents merely waved them through, smiling at familiar faces. However, some aspects of the border changed dramatically on September 11.

U.S. border officials were instructed to demand documentation from any Canadian who wanted to enter the country, no matter how familiar his or her face. Suggests one U.S. border spokesperson, "It's probably wise to bring as much documentation as you can—a passport, or if you don't have that, a birth certificate, to make things easier on everybody."³⁴

But while Canadians were sympathetic about the terrorist attacks of September 11, many were furious about what they perceived as a sudden hostility. One Ontario woman crosses the border several times a week to shop and visit with friends, and says she feels a coldness in how she is treated. "I'll tell you what it's like," she says angrily. "It's like I've been shopping in my corner market for thirty years or more, and I know the people who own it and suddenly I pop in to buy milk or cigarettes or something. And guess what? They don't seem to know me anymore, and demand to see identification before I am permitted to write a check. It's absurd, and it's offensive."³⁵

Fifty Feet

The problem was pushed into the international spotlight in October 2002, when Michel Jalbert, a thirty-two-year-old forestry worker from the village of Pohenegamook, Quebec, was arrested when he drove his truck to Oullete's, a gas station only fifty feet inside the U.S. border. Oullete's is in Estcourt Station, Maine, a community of four people. (Since September 11, villagers who cross from Pohenegamook into Estcourt Station are supposed to report their comings and goings to the U.S. border outpost three-quarters of a mile away.) While to many the ritual of registering seems pointless, border agents have been instructed to make certain they check all who enter and exit the country.

But residents said that almost everyone from Pohenegamook buys gas at Oullete's—after all, the gas is often as much as twenty cents per gallon cheaper than Canadian gas. They also point out that the gas station is on a little spit of land surrounded by dense forest, reachable only from a driveway that starts in Quebec and ends in Maine. "There's not even a fence there," protests Jalbert. "It was an invisible line. And crossing it was a habit."³⁶

Jalbert was sentenced to five weeks in jail for his border violation, but U.S. secretary of state Colin Powell intervened to try to smooth ruffled feathers. Powell acknowledged the openness between the two communities. However, he warned that the laxness of border rules could be exploited by some people. "We know that there are terrorists out there who will try to use that openness [between Canada and the United States] to attack either one of our two countries."³⁷

While Powell's comments did appease some Canadians, some felt that there was a new atmosphere of heavy-handedness by U.S. officers at the Canadian border. The Montreal Gazette condemned the actions of U.S. agents working at the border, saying that such "small-time mean-spiritedness sends a louder message to Canadians than Powell's vague assurance. Powell might be sensitive to the damage done to U.S.-Canada relations, but the U.S. officials on the ground, it's painfully obvious, are not."³⁸

The Most Porous Border

The United States has maintained that while Canadian officials have been cooperative to speed up border crossings for economic reasons, they have not done enough to keep their own borders secure from terrorists. As many as fifty foreign terrorist organizations are known to be currently operating in Canada—all of them targeting the United States. And that, say U.S. officials, is because of the laxness of Canada's borders.

While none of the nineteen hijackers of September 11 entered the United States from Canada, at least one known terrorist was arrested after leaving Canada for Port Townsend, Washington. Ahmed Ressam, who in 1999 was on his way to

blow up Los Angeles International Airport, had been admitted into Canada even though he had been accused of terrorism in Algeria.

"Canadians like to have a more open border with us," says one northern Minnesota resident, "because that benefits them. But they're not the ones being threatened by all these terrorist groups—we are. And if they want an open border between us, they have to be more vigilant about keeping these extremists out of Canada in the first place."³⁹

James Bissett, a retired Canadian ambassador, agrees. He says that it is has been far too easy for people to enter Canada, and the United States is quite correct in being nervous. "We sell our citizenship very cheaply," he says. "We have admitted 37,000 refugee claimants since September 11, five or six thousand from the Middle East. About 60 percent of them are smuggled in by international criminal gangs, and we don't know who … these people are. We aren't controlling our borders, and we won't until something catastrophic happens or until the Americans order us to do something."⁴⁰

"Every Single Stop, Every Single Airport"

Because the United States was not satisfied that Canada was strict enough with its own borders, U.S. border agents have been more thorough in their questioning of some Canadians crossing the borders, in particular those who are of Middle Eastern descent and/or are Muslim.

In one highly publicized case, a Syrian-born Canadian citizen who was on his way home to Montreal from Tunisia landed at New York's John F. Kennedy International Airport. He was only transferring flights, but U.S. officials detained him. Believing the man to have ties with al-Qaeda, they deported him to Syria without consulting with the Canadian government.

Many Canadians were angry, and accused the United States of being overreactive and racist. "Canadian citizens have a right to be treated as Canadian citizens," protested one Canadian official, "wherever they were born."⁴¹ Others add that American scrutiny of Muslims and Middle Eastern people is a serious human rights issue that needs to be addressed.

Some in the United States agree with the Canadians. They, too, feel that using race or religion to determine who gets scrutinized by border agents is unfair and a violation of civil rights. Others, however, say that since the hijackers of September 11 were all Middle Eastern Muslim men, it makes sense to look at that segment of the traveling public more carefully. "Who should we be asking [border officials] to take a look at?" asks one airline worker. "Should we have them concentrate on little old grandmas? Isn't it common sense to look at Arabs and Muslims? You can bet if the situation were reversed, and Americans attacked a Middle Eastern country, they'd be looking carefully at any Americans."⁴²

But Canadian officials are unconvinced. They see the American system of profiling as being an offense to some of their citizens, and they want it stopped. "We obviously cannot control what Americans do," says the director of Canada's Refugee Council, "but we must stand up to them. This profiling is proof that the United States is not a safe …country for refugees…. It is laughable to suggest that we are a threat to the United States."⁴³

Rohinton Mistry, a Canadian author born in India, agrees. He canceled an American book tour after being stopped for random checks at airports in New York, Minneapolis, and Washington, D.C. "I don't find this is the random check that they talk about," he insists, "not when they happen to have it at every single stop, every single airport."⁴⁴

"Cold, Hard Reality"

U.S. officials, however, are unwilling to tread more lightly in such matters. They admit that the status of their borders—especially the unmanned parts of the Canadian border—leave them with little choice but to be reactive when faced with a Middle Easterner at the border. As a spokesperson for Washington's Center for Immigration Studies says,

The cold, hard reality is that the U.S. has no control over its borders—7,000 miles of land borders alone—and is now very much in a reactive position…. We are in a war where borders are the front lines…. A war is being waged here by an army of foreign nationals. They are taking advantage of America's remarkable generosity, and their goal is mass murder. [Canada's] intelligence service has said that there are no fewer than 50 terrorist organizations operating in Canada. [Canada's] remarkably generous asylum policy [toward refugees] puts the U.S. in a uniquely vulnerable position.⁴⁵

A Flood of Illegal Immigrants

The question of racial profiling is not as much of an issue along the Mexican border. Since September 11, border agents have been establishing more of a presence at the border as a whole, not only the crossing points. The goal is not only to keep terrorists out, but also to cut down on the drugs and people being smuggled across—a longstanding problem, especially along the Mexican border.

Of Mexico's 100 million people, between 45 and 50 million are living at or below the poverty level. Each year there are about three hundred thousand Mexicans who illegally cross into the United States, seeking opportunities they cannot find at home. Most come because Mexico's economy is in shambles, with unemployment at record highs. In fact, since September 11, another sixty thousand unskilled Mexican workers immediately joined the ranks of the unemployed—migrant workers in the United States who were sent home after the attacks.

The United States is an attractive idea, for there are always jobs—especially for unskilled workers. The United States does allow people to immigrate legally, but those selected are

usually only people with exceptional skills in some area. Too, those wishing legal immigration status must go through a process that may take many months, and even then there is no guarantee that they will be selected.

"You Would Think It Would Be Easy"

The only other option is finding some way to cross the border without being caught by the agents who patrol the area. "You would think it would be easy," says one young woman who crossed as a teenager in 1993. "You see that the border between our countries is almost two thousand miles, and you say that there's no way that la migra [Border Patrol] can guard it all. But it is very hard."⁴⁶

Many echo her sentiment, saying that it is very common for people to try three or four times—or sometimes more—before they are successful. Ana was fourteen when she crossed into the United States from Tijuana, Mexico.

We had to wade in shallow water, walking almost two hours in the dark…. Otherwise, we would be faced with metal barricades on the land you can't get through. The first time the Border Patrol heard us, and we ran back [to the Mexican border] and we tried three days later. But then there were fireworks going on near the shore—some fiesta, I think. And we worried that we would be seen, with all the lights, so we went back then, too. I was so glad that we were successful the third time—we were feeling very unlucky.⁴⁷

Coyotes

After September 11 millions of dollars were spent hiring more border agents for the U.S.-Mexican border. Although their primary mission was to catch terrorists entering the country illegally, agents have also caught more immigrants seeking a new life in the United States. Agents were provided with more technology, such as X-ray scanners that can show whether a

truck is carrying human cargo. Along the more remote borders, more walls, motion sensors, and cameras were installed. That made it even more difficult for people wanting to cross illegally.

The improvements in border security have affected the way people are attempting to illegally enter the United States. First, fewer people feel comfortable crossing without the help of a "coyote" or human smuggler. "Since 9/11," says the head of border security at Del Rio, Texas, "we have seen a massive increase in the numbers of people paying to be smuggled into the United States."⁴⁸ Before the security was stepped up, many people were willing to rely on their own wits to cross, even if it took several attempts.

The benefit of hiring a coyote is that a professional knows the best routes, and is able to provide illegal immigrants with fake Social Security cards or other documents once they arrive. In addition, coyotes have networks of people in border towns on the U.S. side that will help the immigrants get to their destination safely, without being apprehended by agents. "It's not like you're free once you get across [the border]," says one boy. "As long as you have no papers, nothing that proves you're legal, you can be arrested anytime. You just want to get to where you know you'll be safe, like if you have relatives already [in the United States]."⁴⁹

Hiring a coyote has always been expensive, but since September 11 the price has skyrocketed. One twenty-two-year-old who asked not to be identified says that coyotes are getting thousands of dollars to bring one person across in 2003. He explains,

Four years ago, my brother in Chicago sent home money for a coyote to bring our little sister here—$900! She was only thirteen then, and she could not have made it safely on her own [from southern Mexico]. It seemed very expensive at the time—my brother had to work a long time to earn that much. I came on my own when I was sixteen, and I have been back twice to Mexico. Now I want to bring my girlfriend up, but the coyote—the same man my brother used before—is very expensive, almost $5,000.⁵⁰

More Dangerous

However, the increase in smugglers' fees has not necessarily meant safer passage across the border. The coyotes have steered their clients away from the busy city borders where there is more security and threat of detection. Instead, many have routed their clients toward more desolate desert areas with fewer border agents. Unfortunately, the new routes have had tragic results for many of the immigrants.

When nineteen-year-old Yolanda set out with her ten-month-old daughter to join her husband in the United States, she hired a coyote. He put Yolanda and her baby in a group with nine others, and gave them instructions to walk to the Arizona border—a walk which would, he said, take them about six hours. However, the group wandered for four days in temperatures of 109 degrees, their water supply long since used up. Yolanda collapsed and died; but, although her baby was badly sunburned and dehydrated, she survived—only because Yolanda had given all the water to her.

Many experts feel that the large fees that coyotes can command since September 11 have brought many into the human smuggling business who are less careful about their clients' safety. Deaths such as Yolanda's have become all too common in recent months. For example, between January and September 2002, there were 141 deaths in the Arizona desert alone. Officials say that the figure reflects only the reported deaths; there have been at least that many unidentified bodies buried in paupers' graves, as well. The number might be higher yet without the efforts of the Border Patrol's elite search and rescue team members, who have saved almost six thousand illegal immigrants over the past three years.

Border agents feel that the coyotes are responsible for most of the deaths they see among illegal immigrants. "These smugglers couldn't care less about human life," says one agent. "It's become big business. The smuggling of human cargo now rivals that of drug smuggling."⁵¹

"Listening to Us, Watching Us"

Much of the drug traffic destined for the United States goes through Mexico—from marijuana grown there to heroin or cocaine that has come north from Colombia. Just as the tighter borders have created more risky routes for illegal immigrants, they have necessitated that drug traffickers become more creative in their smuggling as well.

According to experts, the flow of heroin, cocaine, and marijuana seemed to slow for a few weeks after the attacks of September 11. Smugglers were nervous, and waited until they could assess the new security procedures. One inspector says

that they were under constant surveillance from hundreds of the unseen eyes and ears of smugglers "on both sides of the border, listening to us, watching us."⁵²

When the trafficking started up in October, agents say that, because of the heightened security, they were seizing far more drugs than they ever had. While they have yet to apprehend a terrorist crossing the border, they have set records every month since the attacks for the amount of drugs seized. "We are real cognizant of the fact we have to keep that weapon of mass destruction from coming in," says one inspector. "That's everybody's greatest fear. But we're real proud of the fact that we're seizing so many drugs. It has been our antiterrorism dividend."⁵³

A Violent Alternative

Just as the more careful border searches since September 11 have changed the way coyotes smuggle illegal immigrants across the border, drug smugglers have changed tactics, too. At one time drugs were smuggled across the border in backpacks and secret compartments in cars—often by ordinary citizens who were paid for their trouble. Since September 11, however, drug traffickers themselves are often going to more remote, unmanned border crossings, and are moving millions of dollars' worth of their product at a time.

Using off-road vehicles and bodyguards armed with automatic weapons, traffickers often cross the border on private property or land owned by the U.S. National Park System. Organ Pipe Cactus National Monument, a park in southern Arizona, is widely regarded as the most dangerous park in the United States, for it is used almost daily by smugglers. Since 1998, three rangers at the park have been killed as they tried to arrest traffickers.

Park officials are angry, for they say rangers are not trained to do such police work. They feel that there should be more control by CBP or other government agencies at the parks. "We have caught people from China, Pakistan, and Yemen

coming through," says one park ranger. "If one thousand illegal immigrants can walk through the desert here, so can one thousand terrorists."⁵⁴

Vigilantes

The drug traffickers' tactics at the borders have had other consequences. Armed citizens' groups, some using high-tech scanners and satellite equipment, have begun patrolling the border areas. Although many have accused such groups of being no more than vigilantes, one citizens' group member disagrees. He says that they are only patrolling the borders because the federal government has not provided enough government agents to do the job. "We are answering the president's call to be vigilant," he maintains. "We are going to do the job that he refuses to do. He is not protecting American citizens. So we say either recruit us, train us, and support us—or stay the hell out of the way."⁵⁵

Other residents see the citizens' patrols as having the potential to do far more harm than good. "I can see being angry about drug runners making roads through your property," says Earle, who lives in another remote border area in southern California. "If they can arrest these smugglers, do something about the easy access they have into the United States, I'm for it. But these ranchers chasing around in the desert with their night goggles and shotguns, running people down—that's crazy. It sounds more like the [Ku Klux] Klan to me."⁵⁶

He believes that it is important for the United States to address the issues of smuggling and illegal immigration and how they relate to border security, and the sooner the better. "It sounds like our country better figure out a way to strike a balance here between human values and keeping terrorists out of here," he warns, "or we're going to be reading about one of these groups killing somebody—maybe a Mexican family just trying to get into the United States to have a better life. That's not what we want to do—I mean, that's not how America is supposed to work."⁵⁷