Deputy Secretary of DHS Visits Northern Border

By Joyce Kryszak

Buffalo, NY – The Deputy Secretary of Homeland Security is making her first tour of northern border operations. Jane Lute was at the Peace Bridge Wednesday to begin her two-day cross border visit.

The fate of a new Peace Bridge and plaza is a five-year long debate with which local travelers are only too familiar. But it is the first go-round in the debate for the newly minted Deputy Secretary of Homeland Security. Lute was sworn in last week. She wasted no time making her way to the northern border to meet with American and Canadian border officials. Lute said she is here to learn.

"Really, the purpose of the visit is to be here first-hand, see these things, get an understanding for the border crossings, the issues that present themselves," said Lute.

United States Congressman Brian Higgins wants the unresolved shared border management proposal to be a top priority of the visit. He joined Lute to begin her tour. He took the opportunity to tell Lute this is an issue that needs to be decided once and for all - and soon.

"My position is that the people of Buffalo deserve a decsiion on this issue and I think this is toward the goal of getting to that point," said Higgins.

Lute said the matter will be among those on what she called "a very rich agenda" of issues important to both countries. Implementation of the Western Hemisphere Travel Initiative probably tops the agenda. The new border crossing identification requirements go in effect June 1. Lute said they do not expect any problems.

"We have been working on this for a number of months, putting out information, installiing the necessary equipment to ensure a smooth experience as people cross," said Lute. "The numbers of people who are getting themselves in compliance are up in the various categories of documents, so we expect this to run smoothly."

Unites States Customs officials say 90 percent of local travelers are already in compliance with the new identification requirements. Travelers will need either a passport, enhanced driver's license or passport card. There are currently as many as 8,000 possible identification documents. Spokesman Kevin Corsaro said now with only three and the new technology it will move faster.

"With the RIDF technology that information will populate on the screen as soon as the driver pulls into the lane as opposed to an officer typing in that information - at about fifteen seconds per person per car," said Corsaro.

And he said that is very time consuming when you multiply that by the roughly 16 million travelers who pass through customs at the Peace Bridge each year.

Click the audio player above to hear Joyce Kryszak's story now or use your podcasting software to download it to your computer or iPod. News.