St. Clair River - Pathway of Human Smuggling

(Port Huron, Michigan) The Secretary of Homeland Security Tom Ridge visited Michigan yesterday to review and discuss border safeguards on the St. Clair River and to inaugurate a system to shorten delays for commercial trucks crossing the Blue Water Bridge between the United States and Canada. Named the Free And Secure Trade (FAST) system, it speeds movement of authorized cars and trucks to border checkpoints.

Along with Senators Carl Levin and Debbie Stabenow and Representative Candice Miller, Sec. Ridge also toured the river by helicopter. The 40-mile river, watched by about 40 U.S. Border Patrol agents, is "still a pathway of human smuggling," said Ridge.

He said networks that move illegal aliens into the United States or create false identities can be threats to the nation's security.

"We know when it comes to human trafficking there is an organized network that can be used to smuggle terrorists and weapons as well," he said.

In 2003, the Border Patrol detained 118 aliens trying to enter the US by crossing the St. Clair River.

While the number is small compared to activity along the border with Mexico, "It's pretty substantial for the northern border," said Dan Hiebert, spokesman for the Border Patrol at Selfridge Air Nation [sic] Guard Base.

Let's check the math. One hundred eighteen coming across the St. Clair River as compared to, uh, maybe a gazillion coming from Mexico. Yeah, it's small.