cannabisnews.com: Security Extends Into America's Largest Park Area





Security Extends Into America's Largest Park Area
Posted by CN Staff on April 10, 2004 at 10:09:27 PT
By Kirstan Conley, Associated Press Writer
Source: Associated Press 
North Hudson, N.Y. -- Searching for a summer getaway, Jerome and Sylvia Wu drove past the pines and bald rock faces that crown the state's highest mountains. Along one of the remotest stretches of Interstate 87, about 40 miles from the nearest McDonald's and almost 75 miles south of the Canadian border, the couple found the outstretched arm of homeland security. Armed border patrol agents in green uniforms waved them to halt, peered into their faces, scrutinized their plans and scanned their passports before sending them on their way.
In the new era of color-coded terrorist alerts, the agents and their drug-sniffing dog Kirza have become permanent fixtures in the heart of the Adirondack Mountains. This will be the first summer that tourists returning from vacation spots like Lake Placid and the High Peaks will routinely see federal agents.There are nearly 50 such inland security checkpoints on interstates throughout the United States to help agents detect and deter anyone coming into the country illegally, said Leslie Lawson, spokeswoman for U.S. Bureau of Customs & Border Protection in Swanton, Vt., which oversees checkpoints in New York, Vermont and New Hampshire.Authorities say this deserted stretch of the Northway, where there are 44 acres of protected forest land for each person living here, is the logical "outfield" for catching illegal aliens, terrorists and drug dealers that slip over remote and unprotected patches of the Canadian border.Through last week, more than 160 people from 45 countries had been arrested at the North Hudson checkpoint. Agents said they seized nearly 200 pounds of marijuana. Since the beginning of the year, 226 illegal immigrants have been arrested at a similar checkpoint in Vermont.Roving patrols supplement the fixed checkpoints, making it more difficult to avoid agents by using back roads.Officials cited national security when they declined to say if any of those arrested were on terrorist watch lists. For the same reason, they wouldn't say how much money the federal government spends on the checkpoints.Agents have inspected motorists passing through the tiny town of North Hudson for 25 years, Lawson said. They used to set up orange traffic cones and temporary trailers for inspections that lasted up to 10 days.That changed when the federal government temporarily increased the nation's terror alert level to orange in late December. Since Dec. 28, agents have increased their visibility and vigilance, monitoring traffic 24 hours a day in all but the most inclement weather, working from a permanent base at the nearby High Peaks Welcome Center.At this checkpoint, 100 miles north of Albany along the main artery between New York City and Montreal, agents rotate in from other places. Last week, they came from a checkpoint on the Marine base at Camp Pendleton, Calif. As the agents waited in an office for people flagged for background checks, they searched the Internet for news about military friends fighting for control of Fallujah.Behind them were printouts of some of the federal immigration statutes that allow border patrol agents to detain people within 100 air miles of international borders. Three detention rooms were bare except for hard, built-in benches and toilets behind small partitions with single rolls of toilet paper perched on top.Jerome and Sylvia Wu, who recently moved to New York from Canada with work visas, never saw the border patrol offices. Like most motorists, they were waved through after telling agents where they were from and where they were going.A Moroccan man who appeared to be in his 20's or early 30's, was stopped in a car with Quebec license plates and asked to name his country of citizenship. He, too, was allowed through.The agents who examined his passport refused to say whether they're more suspicious of young men from countries flagged by Immigration and Naturalization Services for special registration last year. And they wouldn't say what would trigger a more thorough search.Kirza's bark points out those who may have drugs or illegal stowaways. The day the Wus passed through, state police ticketed two women for a small amount of marijuana.Some local residents have complained the checkpoint creates an inconvenience and a road hazard - particularly after a Canadian tour bus crashed, injuring 55 people. An investigation continues, but more signs have been erected to warn drivers.The Wus said the checkpoint is fine with them."We were a little surprised, but we come from the Philippines where they always have checkpoints," Jerome Wu said. "It was a pleasant surprise with all that's going on in the world."Scott Abar, the special agent in charge of North Hudson, said people will have to get used to it."We're here to stay."Complete Title: Security Extends Into America's Largest Protected Park AreaSource: Associated Press Author: Kirstan Conley, Associated Press WriterPublished: Saturday, April 10, 2004Copyright: 2004 The Associated Press Related Articles:Supreme Court OKs Gas Tank Border Searcheshttp://cannabisnews.com/news/thread18560.shtmlUS Faults Canada for Letting Drugs Across Border http://cannabisnews.com/news/thread15345.shtmlLegalized Pot Would Mean Tighter Bordershttp://cannabisnews.com/news/thread14090.shtml
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Comment #1 posted by reggie_the_pug on April 12, 2004 at 02:38:32 PT
Who are they going after
Is this checkpoint set up to bust terrorists coming towards NYC or people with a bag of goodies leaving NYC to go on vacation????  
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