Great Falls Tribune: Baucus, Tester ask Obama to remember importance of securing northern border
WASHINGTON — The Obama administration’s efforts to secure the U.S. border with Mexico shouldn’t come at the expense of securing the border with Canada.
That’s the message several northern-border senators, including Montana Democrats Jon Tester and Max Baucus, delivered to Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano this week.
“Any chain is only as strong as its weakest link, and the border security of the United States is no exception,” the senators wrote in a letter to Napolitano. “Our northern border should not be a weak link in our homeland defense.”
President Barack Obama has deployed 1,200 National Guard troops along the Mexican border in the wake of increased violence and a controversial Arizona law that makes it easier for law enforcement officers to question and detain people suspected of being in the country illegally.
In their letter, the senators said they support enforcement of the southern border, but not if it means transferring equipment, such as the Predator B drone and other aircraft, from the northern border.
“These assets are essential to defending our nation against smugglers, terrorists and others who wish to do us harm,” they wrote.
