Editorial: Looking to the north

Thursday, Sept. 14, 2006 | 7:25 a.m.

A Republican congressman's handpicked task force has recommended stepped-up patrols along the U.S.-Canada border to staunch what they say could be an increasing flow of illegal immigrants.

According to the Toronto Globe and Mail, Rep. Charlie Norwood, R-Ga., and four retired military and U.S. Border Patrol officials have recommended sending 8,000 National Guard soldiers to patrol the Canadian border, including surveillance of crossings on 1,000 paved roads.

No one patrols these roads, where boulders and narrow ditches often are the only barriers, the report says. Canada is not generally thought of as a major source of illegal U.S. immigrants. But Canadian authorities arrested 17 suspected terrorists in June, days after Border Patrol officials tightened security at Canadian crossings in New England.

The report is not without political baggage - Norwood is among House Republicans who want to impose tough immigration measures along the Mexico border that include making felons of those who live here illegally.

While federal officials shouldn't take Norwood's recommendation at face value, the report could jump-start an in-depth examination of U.S.-Canada border security. The United States should protect all of its borders, not just the one to the south.