U.S. Customs beefs up patrol force along Canada border

U.S. Customs beefs up patrol force along Canada border    The U.S. Bureau of Customs and Border Protection is transferring 375 border patrol agents from the southwestern border to the northern border to enhance anti-terrorism capabilities.
   The agency has posted vacancy announcements and veteran agents can put in for reassignment on a voluntary basis, spokesman Mario Villarreal said. Customs expects to complete all the transfers by the end of the year, he said.
   There are 9,500 border patrol agents along the Mexican border and 620 along the Canadian border. Historically, the Border Patrol has focused on stopping illegal immigration and related criminal activity in open areas between ports of entry. In fiscal year 2000, the Border Patrol arrested 1.7 million people attempting to cross into the United States from Mexico and made 12,108 arrests on the northern border.
   Customs officials say the terrorist threat now requires more agents up north even though illegal immigration is not a major problem there. In May 2002, the Immigration and Naturalization Service similarly reassigned 245 agents to the northern border. Since then the Border Patrol has become a part of the Department of Homeland Security, under the Customs Bureau organization.
   Customs, with the support of Congress, is also hiring more inspectors and trying to increase the number of inspectors at northern border crossings to over 4,100 by September, up from about 2,500.