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Joint Statement on Progress Made on the Smart Border Action Plan - May 16, 2002

May 16, 2002

Immediate

John Manley, Canada's Deputy Prime Minister, and Tom Ridge, Director of the White House Office of Homeland Security, met on Thursday, May 16, 2002 to continue discussions on the 30-point Smart Border Action Plan outlined in the Smart Border Declaration that was signed last December. They issued a joint statement following their meeting:

"Since our last meeting, we have made significant progress on several key border initiatives.

Developing and coordinating physical and technological improvements to major points at the border is an important commitment in the Smart Border Action Plan. We are working with partners and community leaders to identify common strategies for addressing border congestion at key crossings.

Today, we received a demonstration of "border modeling" technology. Using the example of the Peace Bridge linking Buffalo, New York to Fort Erie, Ontario, the demonstration illustrated the impact of potential changes in infrastructure, facilities, demand, and inspection operations on commercial and non-commercial wait times at the border. Modeling at this and other border crossings will assist us in making informed decisions about infrastructure spending aimed at overcoming traffic management and growth challenges.

We discussed progress on the expansion of the NEXUS program for low-risk travelers to major crossings at the Canada-U.S. land border. We are on track to initiate the NEXUS program at three ports of entry along the British Columbia / Washington State land border by Summer 2002. We are also working to finalize a plan to implement NEXUS at high-volume border crossings in Southern Ontario, New York State and Michigan, including at Buffalo/Niagara, by the end of this year.

As a result of the Smart Border discussions, we are announcing the development of a new Integrated Border Enforcement Team (IBET) along the Niagara frontier. IBETs are multi-agency special law enforcement teams with Canadian and United States police, immigration and customs officials working together on a daily basis with local, state and provincial enforcement agencies.

This unique, integrated enforcement model for tackling cross-border crime will be dedicated to tracking terrorists and organized crime, including the smuggling of people, illicit drugs, weapons, tobacco and alcohol, and vehicles.

Integrated Border Enforcement Teams already exist on the border between British Columbia and Washington State, in the Atlantic Region and at Cornwall-Massena along the Ontario-New-York border."

Jennifer Sloan
Director of Communications
Office of the

Susan Neely
Director of Communications
Office of Homeland Security
(202) 456-5227