Border security focus of hearings

The U.S. House of Representatives brings its traveling debate on immigration to Washington state today, where a hearing in Bellingham will focus on security at the U.S.-Canada border.

Two subcommittees of the Homeland Security Committee, whose membership includes Reps. Dave Reichert, R-Auburn, and Norm Dicks, D-Bremerton, will host the hearing in the Bellingham City Council chambers. It's one of 21 such hearings being held this month in 13 states across the country.

"When people think of border security, they usually think only of our southern border," said Mike Shields, Reichert's chief of staff. But he said the northern border, where incidents of human and drug smuggling have been discovered recently, is also vulnerable to terrorists slipping into the country.

The hearing will be at 1 p.m. in the 125-seat chambers at 210 Lottie St. There, the congressional delegation will likely be met with protesters who believe the hearings, which began last week, are biased against immigrants.

The schedule of national hearings comes as Congress faces the task of reconciling two very different immigration bills passed by the House and the Senate.

In December, the House passed an enforcement-only measure that sought to toughen security at U.S. borders, including building a fence between Mexico and the U.S. In May, the Senate passed a bill that would increase border security but also create a guest-worker program and provide a path to citizenship for many of the estimated 12 million illegal immigrants in the country.

Some see the hearings as a way for House Republicans to rally public support for their approach.

"I've seen some of these hearings on CNN. They are all one-sided, all immigrant bashing, without an opportunity for real input on the economic and social impact these policies will have on our communities," said Rosalinda Guillen, coordinator of Aguila del Norte Legal Observer program, an immigrant-advocacy group based in Bellingham.

"To us in the immigrant community, these appear to be no more than election-year mobilization efforts by Republicans to shore up their grass-roots bullies — groups like the Minutemen and other vigilante groups along the border," she said.

Guillen said her group and several other advocacy groups will host their own immigration hearings, called Defending Democracy, on Aug. 16.

In the divisive debate over immigration, much of the focus has been on the border with Mexico, although the northern border has been plagued by its own concerns. Officials say smugglers, hindered by post-Sept. 11 restrictions, have found new ways to move people and drugs.

Last year, agents discovered a 360-foot, $1 million tunnel that smugglers had built near Lynden.

In June, U.S. and Canadian law-enforcement officials busted a large-scale airborne drug-smuggling scheme that they say netted 4 tons of marijuana, 800 pounds of cocaine and $1.5 million in cash and resulted in at least 46 arrests.

Shields said Reichert wants members of the committee to see for themselves what the challenges are and "why it is important to invest resources in technology and other areas to make sure our borders are secure."

In addition to officials with the U.S. Customs and Border Protection, witnesses at today's hearing will include state Sen. Dale Brandland, who is a former Whatcom County sheriff, and David Harris, an expert on international terrorism.

Lornet Turnbull: 206-464-2420 or lturnbull@seattletimes.com