Printer-friendly Version

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: February 17, 2004

SCHUMER, SLAUGHTER: FOR THE FIRST TIME, FEDS WILL BASE NEW BORDER PATROL AGENTS IN ROCHESTER TO PATROL LAKE ONTARIO

New border patrol officials will be armed federal agents who will enforce US laws and make arrests as needed

Schumer and Slaughter had urged Homeland Security to bolster its presence on the lake to protect the US from potential terrorists and drug runners

Customs and Border Protection, a bureau of the US Department of Homeland Security, will for the first time base a number of border patrol agents in Rochester to patrol Lake Ontario, US Senator Charles E. Schumer and US Representative Louise Slaughter announced today. Schumer and Slaughter said the additional agents address a major vulnerability for Rochester and are a big boost for local law enforcement.

"Previously, creative terrorists with just a little bit of money and effort could do devastating harm to Great Lakes cities like Rochester," said Schumer, who pushed Customs to bring agents to Lake Ontario in November, 2002. "A nuclear device or a dirty bomb could be smuggled into Rochester on a boat, or a ship packed with conventional explosives could set a direct course for the Ginna power plant. The lack of a border protection presence at Lake Ontario left us open to attack but today we're plugging in that hole and the result is that Rochester residents will be much safer. Now if a terrorist tries to sneak across our border, he'll have to sneak past patrol boats and federal agents. That's a major difference from the way it used to be."

“These additional patrols will bolster our ongoing efforts to secure the Lake Ontario shoreline and the northern border,” said Rep. Slaughter, a member of the Select Committee on Homeland Security. “Last month, I met with Customs and Border Protection officials and local leaders to discuss the security needs of the Rochester port. I am pleased that Customs and Border Protection has recognized the importance of securing the region. The additional officers will help keep our border, boaters and the new fast ferry more safe and secure.”

County sheriffs, the Coast Guard, and state police currently patrol the lake sporadically, but because of their extensive responsibilities elsewhere, are not able to do so at all times. Schumer and Slaughter have argued that because of the vastness of Lake Ontario, the Department of Homeland Security should add agents specifically assigned to the lake. Local Customs officials currently in Rochester do not perform border patrol duties. They are responsible for monitoring people and products at fixed locations such as airports. They monitor incoming boats at the Port of Rochester as well the thousands of commercial trucks each year that enter the US in Buffalo under a Customs bond and must be searched at their final destination in Rochester. They also monitor over 1200 private aircraft arrivals each year, and 3 commercial flights each day.

The new border agents will be armed federal agents who will enforce US laws and make arrests as needed. The new agents are part of a binational effort with Canada that will work to exchange information and intelligence in order to protect the US from terrorists and drug runners. Along the coastal waterways of the United States and Puerto Rico and interior waterways common to the United States and Canada, Customs and Border Patrol conducts border control activities from the decks of marine craft of various sizes. The Border Patrol maintains 88 vessels, ranging from blue-water craft to inflatable-hull craft, in 16 sectors, in addition to Headquarters special operations components. In addition, Border Patrol is the primary drug-interdicting organization along the border.

####