Panel: More help needed at border

By ANGELA MULLINS
Times Herald

Manpower and training are key factors affecting the fight to secure the Canadian border in southern St. Clair County, Clay Township police Chief Don Drake said Monday.

Drake was among four people who testified during the first hearing of the Michigan Task Force on Border Security and Immigration Reform.

The hearing, which will be followed by several more throughout the state, was at the Thomas Edison Inn in Port Huron. The task force was formed by state House Republicans. State Rep. Phil Pavlov, R-St. Clair Township, is the chairman.

Jeffrey Friedland, St. Clair County's emergency management director, was the only other local official who testified Monday.
Drake recounted dozens of past calls his officers have had, including hours of searching St. Clair River islands for suspected illegal aliens and finding duffel bags filled with drugs floating in the water.

While Clay Township and

other local police departments receive help from U.S. Customs and Border Protection, local agencies often have first contact with smugglers and aliens, Drake said. A map displayed during his testimony gave a sampling of 20 spots where the Clay Township Police Department has dealt with illegal aliens or drug smuggling in the past two years.

"We're suffering from a lack of funds. ... Your local police are the people that are out there," Drake said. "You have to have the resources to handle your every day calls and surveillance.

"Our area is the drop-off point."

Chief Patrol Agent John Bates, with U.S. Border Patrol Detroit Sector, said Drake is far from alone in his concerns. Bates, who also spoke Monday, said he regularly hears similar comments from other downriver police agencies, which include Marine City and Algonac.

Bates said more than 90% of his agency's arrests start with a report from a citizen or local law-enforcement agency.

While local law enforcement may be struggling to meet the demand, he said manpower issues are being addressed at a federal level.

In the Detroit sector, which includes Michigan, Ohio Indiana and Illinois, the number of people working has increased from 20 in 1997 to nearly 200. The goal is to have 415 agents working in the sector within the next three years.

The agency also is overseeing a pilot program in Detroit designed to teach police officers how to identify illegal aliens. The training program is expected to be made available to other departments in the next year.

As for the local issues, Pavlov said the state legislature may be able to help through grants or increased revenue sharing.

"The reason for these meetings is to find out what our priorities are."


Contact Angela Mullins at (810) 989-6257 or amullins@gannett.com.

Originally published July 24, 2007