Bump in the road...

It ought to be more than a bump in the road. Crossing the U.S. borders should be more than a line on a map. Everyone is subject to inspection at the border, diplomats may be the exception, but even they can be inspected in certain circumstances. Why isn't everyone inspected when they cross the border? Because there are a lot more travelers than Officers. Except for a few cursory questions and verifying documents, most people coming into the country spend very little time dealing with border Officers. They get so used to the cursory inspection process that when they are selected for a more intensive inspection, they are offended. In fact, they have been conditioned to this facilitation by none other than the border agencies. Border Officers are continually bombarded with professionalism training, smile and greet every passenger admonitions, facilitate the traffic-we don't want the people waiting statements, but you better not admit a terrorist! Terrorism is our number one priority, but smile and greet everyone! "We must prevent terrorists and weapons of mass destruction from entering the country", but lets move this traffic!

There will always be the struggle to balance security and the economy (facilitation of people and goods into the country). This is normal, and the layered strategy to security is valid, but in the end it comes down to this; In the passenger environment, an Officer making a threat assessment on people entering the country and deciding whether to look at them further or release them. In the cargo environment, it might be an Officer or small group of Officers conducting threat assessment on incoming shipments and deciding which to look at and which to release. At the moment, even with all the bluster about terrorism, facilitation is weighing down the scale. It is a matter of will, and it is not the will of Officers that is at issue. Do our leaders have the will to make the borders more than just a bump in the road?

Current events persistently raise that question.