Minnesota’s U.S. senators say they oppose a proposal by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security to study the feasibility of charging a fee on vehicles and pedestrians who enter the United States through the Canadian and Mexican borders.

U.S. Department of Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano has proposed a study in its 2014 budget to collect fees from pedestrians and vehicles entering the United States at land crossings bordering Canada and Mexico. Canadian news reports have said that the proposal is opposed by Canadian officials.

Sen. Amy Klobuchar said the impact of a fee would be detrimental to the local economies of border communities.

“Tourism and trade are vital to the economy of International Falls and our state, and we should be doing everything we can to encourage visitors and cross-border business, not create obstacles for them,” Klobuchar, D-Minn., said in a statement to The Journal. “A land border crossing fee could harm local economies in Minnesota without improving security, and I will continue to fight this fee and work with Secretary Napolitano to prevent measures that hurt cross-border tourism.”

Sen. Al Franken also said he opposes the idea of a fee to cross into the United States.

“I don’t support imposing a fee on cars and pedestrians coming and going across our border with Canada,” said Sen. Franken, D-Minn. “I don’t believe we need a study to tell us what we already know: This will hurt tourism and disrupt commerce in a way that would be detrimental to the Minnesota communities on or near our border with Canada.”

Klobuchar sent a letter Monday to Napolitano asking her to reconsider whether her department should support the legislative proposal.

She wrote that while the proposal only seeks authority to examine the issue, “I believe that it is self-evident that the establishment of a land border crossing fee would face significant and costly challenges. More importantly, the request sends the wrong message to American and foreign travelers and businesses.”

Klobuchar serves on the Senate Commerce, Science and Transportation Committee and chairs the Subcommittee on Competitiveness, Innovation, and Export Promotion. She is also co-chair of the bipartisan Senate Tourism Caucus.

In the letter to Napolitano, Klobuchar said bilateral trade in goods between Minnesota and Canada total $19 billion per year and 161,500 Minnesota jobs depend on trade with Canada.

“Minnesota sells more goods to Canada than to the state’s next four largest foreign markets combined and is therefor a vital market for our state’s exporters as well as importers,” she wrote. “Additionally, nearly a million Canadians visit Minnesota for tourism every year and spend money in the United States which supports our local economies. In total, $1.9 billion worth of goods and services and 400,000 Canadians cross the U.S.-Canadian border every day.”

Klobuchar said everything must be done to encourage cross-border travel and commerce to strengthen the economy, not create obstacles.

“The proposed study raised questions among our Canadian partners of our commitment to lowering the barriers to cross-border tourism and business,” she wrote.

Eighth District Congressman Rick Nolan could not provide comment in time for this report.