Like with anything, securing our nation starts with a perimeter. There are over 7,400 miles of land boundaries, and 12,300 miles of coastline. While most people imagine that there is a wall and facility similar to the large US/Mexico border crossings, in reality the protection rages from these massive, intricate walls and roadblocks to what are shockingly the vast majority of our border, completely unguarded and blind border crossings.
To build a wall, with defenses, border guards and border crossings over all 7,400 miles is an unreasonable task. Cost set aside, much of the border is in the remote wilderness, whether a Texan Desert or 150 miles from the nearest inhabitant in northern Maine. While all roads crossings the border have at least a part-time Customs and Border Patrol station, we hear frequently stories about human traffickers or drug smugglers crossing the unguarded desert, and the only way we knew is that the body was found some time later by a routine patrol.
With the push for homeland security, along with the technological advances of late, we are able to better protect our borders without manning and building a wall across the entire border. With tensions rising along the southern border, the US is implementing drones, or UAV’s to silently, remotely and automatically monitor the entire border, from a vantage point that will allow them to see more, and with less effort. With this, via a remote control center, the border agents can be better used where they are needed, rather than monitoring a very small point.
All in all, CBP is still investing in permanent defenses. Their website offers you a map with the update on construction of an actual fence spanning completely from the western tip of Texas to California. The image is to the right. I think that the hybrid system works well, focusing the “hard” border on more populated areas, while using technology to protect the broader, sparser border in Texas. One thing to consider, the Canadian border has a negligible amount of hard defenses, and even less technological defenses. While the US/Mexico border is a risk for immediate crime and drug trafficking, as witnessed by 9/11, the weak security between the two has already been exploited to do even greater damage. fence_map
While NEXUS cards allow commuters to pass from the US to Canada without inspection, there are still thousands of miles of border with nothing but a granite marker every several yards to mark it. When I researched as to why (other than the perceived safety of Canada, being similar and not known for hostility or smuggling at the border) I found that Canada did not feel that it was necessary when the US proposed one. As a result, the border will be monitored electronically.
What strikes me, is that to enter the United States from a European Union flight, you have to complete landing cards, are inspected; to enter by car you are sometimes stopped, and randomly inspected; but to drive across a logging road in Canada be undetected sets off some warning bells for me. I just hope that this loophole is not exploited… again.