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June 10, 2010

The U.S. government said yesterday that its Border Patrol agents will use text messaging to help them better protect the U.S. / Canada border from drug smugglers and illigal immigrants.

Yesterday, the federal agency began asking residents, campers, hunters and other outdoor enthusiasts to send anonymous text messages to report suspicious people they come across in the lightly populated area from Washington State to Montana.

The U.S. government is also pushing a companion service that allows users to send tips through the website, tipsubmit.com. Officials say the e-mail is necessary in a region where cell phone coverage is sparse and some residents don't have the wireless devices.

Pat Zimmerman, who co-owns the combination quilting shop and state liquor store in Metaline Falls says "texting, I'm not that much in favor of that, least not yet."

Various immigrant rights groups say they are worried because similar efforts have devolved into racial and ethnic profiling.

"Each alert person is going to be an extra set of eyes and ears for us," said Danielle Suarez, spokeswoman for the agency's Spokane WA., Sector, referring to the more than 198 federal agents who patrol the region.

Pramila Jayapal, executive director of One America, a Seattle immigrant rights group says "it can lead to targeting of particular communities. It also creates the sense that somehow we should be suspicious."

In an effort to prevent profiling, the Border Patrol has been running classes in border communities to teach residents what to look for, Suarez said.

Ira Mehlman, spokesman for the Federation for American Immigration Reform, said the plan makes good sense, adding that many police departments and other security agencies are set up to receive text message tips.

"There is no reason this cannot and should not be implemented in the area of border security," he said.

Almost 95 percent of it is public land, and agents use trucks, all-terrain vehicles, snowmobiles in the winter and horses on their daily patrols, where they sometimes find themselves contending with moose and grizzly bears.

Most of the illegal activity involves drug importing from Canada, along with people trying to illegally get into the United States from places like Mexico, India and South Korea, after making the relatively easy entry into Canada, Moore said.

Having the aid of residents and others to report tips would be a huge help, observers say.

The border here is a 10-foot wide clearcut called "The Slash," carved from the dense forest. Short obelisks are located every few miles that say "Canada" on one side and "United States" on the other.

And people can quickly and easily disappear into the trees here.

Lonnie Moore runs the Metaline Falls, Wash., office, which has 21 Border Patrol agents and covers more than 33 miles of the U.S. border.

"We already receive calls," Moore said. "We would receive even more." Agents already make nearly 90 percent of their contacts based on tips from the public and other law enforcement agencies, he said.

A key element of the new plan is anonymity for the text message sender, which is important in small towns where people often know almost everyone. Each tip is automatically assigned a number, allowing agents to ask for more information without knowing who the sender is.

The new text messaging service is already fully enabled and active. People who see suspicious activity can text 274637 (it spells "crimes"), type 'bordertip" and send a message.

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Source: The U.S. Customs & Border Patrol Agency.