Koochiching County commissioners discussed border protection issues Tuesday with representatives of the U.S. Customs and Border Protection agency.
Derek Mason, agent in charge of the U.S. Border Patrol in International Falls, and Bob Tuttle, assistant patrol agency in charge, met with the county board in committee to answer questions and discuss the need for better relations in the community.
Much of the discussion surrounded the “Beyond the Border” plan from the U.S. and Canadian governments and how its cross-border law enforcement would impact Borderland.
The board has been asked for input into the plan by staff from U.S. Sen. Al Franken. Saying the document was vague, commissioners said they wanted a briefing from federal officials about the plan.
Commissioners acknowledged that the two local agents are not responsible for the plan, but said they feared the cross-border law enforcement part of the plan would lead to a loss of freedoms and wondered why border communities like International Falls were not asked for input.
Mason said the plan relates more to U.S. Customs activities and commerce and said public input was taken, but he was unsure from whom.
Commissioner Wade Pavleck asked about a “ship rider” program. Mason said the program is not now implemented locally, but involves Royal Canadian Mounted Police paired with Border Patrol agents who share intelligence and contacts and patrol both sides of the border. They said the ship rider program has only been implemented in the larger Great Lakes and is designed for larger maritime areas.
Pavleck said the program should make people nervous. “There are good things in this plan that should have probably been implemented years ago, but that issue raises alarms for all that value freedom,” he said.
Mason also responded to questions about bills in Congress that would expand the Border Patrol’s authority to 100 miles from the border and waive compliance with many environmental regulations.
Mason said U.S. Secretary of Homeland Security Janet Napolitano opposes the bill. “She’s our boss an she opposes it and so do we,” he said.
Commissioners noted that Pres. Barack Obama has voice opposition to the bills as has U.S. Secretary of the Interior Ken Salazar.
Meanwhile, Mason and Tuttle said the agency is encouraging its agents to become more a part of the community. An open house at the Border Patrol facility is being planned in an effort to provide more information to the community about “who we are and what we do,” said Mason.
“We want to foster a relationship with the board, Border Patrol and the community,” he added.
Reiterating their appreciation for meeting with the board, commissioners asked questions about the Border Patrol duty.
Commissioner Mike Hanson said his neighbors in Birchdale are critical of Border Patrol because they see their vehicles often and wonder whether the number of agents is justified given the low criminal behavior in the area. Hanson said he and others have been followed by agents to their driveways.
Pavleck related a story about a well known area resident giving visitors to the community a ride on the Rainy Lake ice road. Border Patrol agents stopped the car and approached it with their hands on their guns, said Pavleck. When asked why the car was stopped, the agents said the vehicle was driving too slow, he continued.
Both agents said that the response of agents is critical in good relations. Tuttle said he would have introduced himself if he followed someone to a driveway.
And Tuttle said he could not discuss specifics of the variety of devices used in the region to detect movement in response to a question about whether devices are placed on riverbanks which alert agents to activity. Once such incident allegedly involved school children during a maple syrup project.
Tuttle said he hoped that the agents response was appropriate and do not alarm people when checking on such incidents.
Hanson said he’d like to discuss how to develop a plan to alleviate local criticisms of the Border Patrol.
The agents said perhaps a meeting with their sector chief from Grand Forks would be appropriate.
In other business Tuesday, the board tabled action on a plan by the Rural Fire Protection Association to expand a taxing district in order to provide service to about 200 cabins n Rainy Lake islands.
RFPA representatives said they wanted to withdraw the proposal to allow more information about providing the service to be gathered.
