The Role of Integrated Border Enforcement Teams in Maintaining a Safe and Open Canada-United States Border

After the 9/11 terrorist attacks, the Bush administration believed that the Canada-US border, which was largely unguarded between official ports of entry, was at risk to terrorism and other criminal activity. Canada\u27s economic stability depends on the US market and open Canada-US border, so Canadian policymakers proposed a bilateral border security agreement to keep the border open to trade and closed to illegal activity. The result was the Smart Border Declaration, implemented in December 2001. The Declaration stipulated that Integrated Border Enforcement Teams (IBETs) would be expanded across Canada and the US. These joint Canada-US teams share intelligence and patrol the border between ports of entry. This thesis assesses whether IBETs have met their operational objectives since 9/11. The extent to which Integrated Border Enforcement Teams have fulfilled the objectives of the Declaration are critically examined, as are outcomes of shared intelligence through IBETs and their presence between ports of entry