Letter to Army Secretary McHugh

Letter

Today, U.S. Senator Charles E. Schumer and Congressman Bill Owens wrote a letter to Army Secretary John McHugh, urging the Army to transfer the title of the former Lockwood Army Reserve Center to Franklin County, clearing the way for the establishment of a Northern Border Intelligence Center. The Franklin County District Attorney, along with federal, state, and local law enforcement, have been seeking to establish the center in order to better coordinate their efforts to fight drug smuggling and cross-border criminal activities.

"Securing our northern border is absolutely essential to keeping drugs and other contraband out of North Country communities," said Senator Schumer. "The unused Lockwood facility is the perfect place to house a Northern Border Intelligence Center that will allow federal, state, and local law enforcement to band together in the fight against drug smuggling and crime. This intelligence center will improve information sharing and coordination among the many groups dedicated to protecting our shared border with Canada."

"As co-chair of the Congressional Northern Border Caucus, I believe it is critical that we continue to support local law enforcement in their fight against illicit cross-border trafficking by giving them the tools they need to do their job," said Congressman Owens. "This center will help to make the area safer and allow law abiding citizens to contribute to the robust trade relationship we have with our neighbors to the north, creating jobs and bolstering economic development in the process."

The proposed Northern Border Intelligence Center in Franklin County would involve the application of personnel and technology to enhance border security and to minimize drug trafficking across the northern border. This intelligence center would allow for collaborative work and communication between the Franklin County District Attorney's Office, officers and agents of the Drug Enforcement Agency, Homeland Security Investigations, United States Border Patrol, New York State National Guard, New York State Police, Malone, Saranac Lake, Tupper Lake Police Departments and the St Regis Mohawk Tribal Police, along with the State of New York and Franklin County. Schumer states that establishing a Northern Border Intelligence Center will greatly help to coordinate efforts in dealing with cross-border criminal activities that directly impact the safety and security of the northern New York region.

Canada is a significant source for illicit drugs like MDMA, ecstasy and high potency marijuana, that are then consumed in the U.S. Often these drugs enter via New York's northern border. In such an environment, where traffic flow is spread across vast expanses of border, Schumer notes that it is critical to rely on intelligence, information-sharing, and strong partnerships with federal, state, local, and tribal law enforcement agencies, to maximize resources and success. Schumer states that the vacant Lockwood Army Reserve Center would be the perfect location for this new law enforcement center.

According to statistics from media reports and the Department of Homeland Security, drug smuggling from Canada into the United States is on the rise. Last year, there were more than 24,000 arrests across Upstate New York related to the possession of illicit drugs, an average per-county increase of 84% from 2001. Schumer believes that these figures demand a series of border security solutions designed to identify, investigate, and interdict drug traffickers who travel by land, air, and sea. Schumer's push to establish a Northern Border Intelligence Center in Franklin County is the latest piece of a comprehensive strategy to secure the U.S.-Canadian border.

In February, Schumer joined colleagues from other states along the northern border in a letter to Secretary Napolitano, asking that DHS begin utilizing military-grade radar technology along the border in order to detect low-flying planes that are commonly used to smuggle drugs. Schumer cited a report detailing the 24,000 drug-related arrests of adults in 2010 as well as an increase in the number of drugs being seized at border checkpoints as clear evidence that more must be done to combat this alarming problem. Last month, Napolitano said she intended to improve our ability to catch low-flying aircraft by integrating military radar feeds used by Canada with our Air and Marine Operations Command Center. At a May hearing on border security chaired by Schumer, Customs and Border Patrol Commissioner Alan Bersin stated that the radar feed should be operational by November 2011, greatly enhancing our ability to detect and stop low-flying planes that might be loaded down with drugs.

Schumer and Owens also helped create a Massena-based border security enforcement team in neighboring St. Lawrence County. Immigrations and Customs Enforcement operates a series of Border Enforcement Security Task Forces (BEST). The teams will consist of personnel from ICE, CBP, tribal police, local, state, and Canadian law enforcement working in concert to improve overall border security. Given the success of the BEST team in the Buffalo/Niagara region, Schumer and Owens pushed for and successfully secured DHS' commitment to establish a BEST team to be based in Massena, NY. At a hearing on Northern Border issues, Schumer asked ICE Director Morton to establish the team as quickly as possible, given the growing drug abuse problem in Upstate New York. In response to Schumer's request, the Director stated that ICE plans to have implemented the team by October of 2011.

A copy of Senator Schumer and Congressman Owens' letter to Army Secretary McHugh appears below:

Dear Secretary McHugh,

We write to request your assistance in helping to convert the Lockwood Army Reserve Center in Malone, NY to a Northern Border Cooperative Operations Center. We know you are familiar with the property, which lies in the heart of the 23rd Congressional District. As you may know, the Reserve Center was closed in September, 2010 and was officially deemed excess property by the United States Army Reserve.

In recent months the Franklin County District Attorney's Office, who operates a Border Narcotics task force which includes officers and agents of the Drug Enforcement Agency, Homeland Security Investigations, United States Border Patrol, New York State National Guard, New York State Police, Malone, Saranac Lake, Tupper Lake Police Departments and the St Regis Mohawk Tribal Police, along with the State of New York and Franklin County, have expressed interest in establishing a Northern Border Intelligence Center to help coordinate efforts in dealing with smuggling and other cross border criminal activities that directly impact the safety and security of the northern New York region. The vacant Lockwood Army Reserve Center would be the perfect location for this new law enforcement center.

Our understanding is that the property is under the control of the Army Real Property office. We would appreciate your assistance in getting the title to the property transferred to Franklin County, so that it could be used to help protect our northern border, our state, and country from criminal organizations intent on exploiting the northern border region of New York State in order to facilitate the smuggling of contraband, narcotics and aliens.

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