WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senators Heidi Heitkamp (D-ND) and Kelly Ayotte (R-NH), members of the Senate Committee on Homeland Security & Governmental Affairs, today introduced bipartisan legislation to require a comprehensive examination of how to strengthen American security at the Northern Border – the longest common land border in the world.

At 5,500 miles long, including 1,500 miles between Alaska and Canada, the Norther Border has 120 border crossings, including 17 border crossings in North Dakota, many of which are small and in rural areas. Heitkamp and Ayotte’s bill aims to address challenges at the Northern Border by requiring the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) to do a full assessment of the security threats and challenges at the border.

The Northern Border Security Review Act would specifically follow up on feedback and concerns Heitkamp heard from federal, state, county and local officials when she brought the second in command at DHS to Pembina in April to tour the Northern Border, as well as other meetings she has held in North Dakota and a Senate hearing she pushed for on the issue.

“We certainly need to keep a close eye on our southern border, but it shouldn’t come at the expense of the Northern Border,” said Heitkamp. “When I visited the Northern Border with DHS Deputy Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas in April, we heard from federal border security officials and local law enforcement about difficulties with recruiting officials to work remote areas of the border and the increases in crime across the border. These are challenges we must take seriously and our bipartisan bill would help give the issues across the 5,500 mile-long Northern Border the attention they deserve. By bringing a stronger focus to these challenges, especially as North Dakota’s population has surged, we can makes sure border security officials have the tools they need to keep the border and our communities strong and safe.”

"Securing our nation’s borders is one of my top priorities.  We’ve seen tragic examples of what happens when our enforcement system fails—whether it involves a criminal alien taking an innocent life or illegal drugs flowing into our country and communities. We must continue to combat heroin trafficking, human trafficking, and illegal entries at our southern border, but it’s also important to ensure our northern border is appropriately equipped to guard against terrorist and criminal threats,” said Ayotte. “Our bill will ensure that we have a full understanding of the northern border’s needs, strengths, and vulnerabilities so that we can protect our country from current or potential criminal or terror threats. New Hampshire law enforcement officials, particularly those serving Coos County, are critical to maintaining the security of our border with Canada and we must ensure that federal authorities are working collaboratively with them to identify, understand, and confront threats.”   

The comprehensive federal examination required by Heitkamp and Ayotte’s bill would specifically look into issues with recruiting and retaining border security officials to cover the Northern Border, including at more remote areas of the border. It would also determine tools border security officials need to effectively combat drug and human trafficking at the Northern Border, identify technology that could expand the reach of border agents, and find vulnerabilities in cooperation between Canadian, state, county, local, and tribal law enforcement. Approximately 300,000 people and $910 million in trade cross the Northern Border every day, representing the largest bilateral flows of goods and people in the world.

Cosponsors of Heitkamp and Ayotte’s bill include Senators Gary Peters (D-MI) and Ron Johnson (R-WI). Click here to view a summary of the bill.

The legislation follows a variety of actions Heitkamp has taken over the past year and a half to make sure the Northern Border receives the proper attention, including:

• Bringing DHS Deputy Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas to North Dakota. In April, Heitkamp and Mayorkas toured the Port of Entry and Border Patrol facilities in Pembina, and held a roundtable discussion with federal border security officials and local county sheriffs to hear about issues with recruiting and retaining a strong border security workforce. They also discussed ways to improve efforts to combat human and drug trafficking, as well as ways to expand the use of technology to help cover open areas of the border.

• Making the Northern Border a priority for a Senate committee. Following Mayorkas’ visit, Heitkamp successfully called for the Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs, on which she sits, to hold a hearing on the Northern Border. During that hearing, Heitkamp questioned federal border security officials about the issues she heard about firsthand in Pembina with Mayorkas. In June 2014, she brought U.S. Senator Tom Carper, now Ranking Member of the Committee, on a tour of the Northern Border.

• Reducing drug crime and flow at the border. Last August, Heitkamp joined White House Drug Czar Michael Botticelli to unveil a new national strategy to fight drug crimes in the Bakken and at the northern border that she specifically pushed for.

• Holding border security meetings in Minot and Grand Forks. Heitkamp visited the CBP facility in Grand Forks in January 2014 to see the work law enforcement officers are doing at the border, and she held a discussion in June 2014 with law enforcement in Minot to discuss stressed law enforcement personnel in the border region.

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