That's how some U.S. authorities on the Canadian border may feel, after Customs agents last week stopped and then arrested Ahmed Ressam, an Algerian national accused of trying to bring bomb-making materials into the United States. Although the agents have been praised for their vigilant work, the arrest has brought into greater focus the problems that come with the United States' expansive border with Canada, through which more and more drug and alien smuggling and other illegal activities are coming to America. And those activities, as Ressam's arrest shows, may now include terrorism. Critics charge that the U.S. Border Patrol has understaffed the border with Canada compared to the resources devoted to the border with Mexico. Increasingly, smugglers are choosing to sneak illegal immigrants into the United States from the north.
Immigration laws are less stringent in Canada.
Chinese, Indians, Pakistanis and others often migrate legally to Canada and then cross illegally into the United States. And in recent months, as many as 100 Chinese illegal aliens have attempted to surreptitiously enter Canada by boat. And our people there are overworked. Some members of Congress have tried to make changes. In 1996, Congress passed legislation, including the Illegal Immigration Reform and Immigrant Responsibility Act, beefing up measures to curtail potential illegal immigration and other crimes along the U.S.-Canada border and elsewhere.