{"database": "press", "table": "releases", "rows": [["https://www.heitkamp.senate.gov/public/index.cfm/press-releases?ID=5F1E351A-DF34-462B-A8A9-B290F291C7DE", "President Signs into Law Heitkamp, Ayotte Bipartisan Bill to Protect Northern Border", "2016-12-15", "2016", "2016-12", "Democrat", "House", "ND", "Heidi Heitkamp", "H001069", "www.heitkamp.senate.gov", null, null, "legacy", "WASHINGTON, D.C. \u2013 U.S. Senators Heidi Heitkamp (D-ND) and Kelly Ayotte (R-NH), members of the U.S. Senate Committee on Homeland Security & Governmental Affairs, today announced that the president signed into law their bipartisan bill to help assess and strengthen American security at the Northern Border \u2013 the longest common land border in the world \u2013 to make sure North Dakota\u2019s communities remain strong and safe.\r\nA key piece of Heitkamp\u2019s Strong & Safe Communities Initiative, the bill specifically addresses the concerns and challenges she and then-U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Deputy Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas heard about in April 2015 from federal, state, county, and local officials and law enforcement while visiting Pembina when she brought Mayorkas to North Dakota\u2019s Northern Border. Heitkamp heard similar feedback during other meetings she held in North Dakota and at a Senate hearing she pushed for on the issue. The bill passed unanimously in both the Senate and House. \r\nNow law, Heitkamp\u2019s bill will require DHS to evaluate security threats at the border through a comprehensive examination of current resources and personnel levels. The assessments Heitkamp\u2019s bill calls for will help tackle the challenges she and Mayorkas discussed with federal border security officials and local sheriffs about cooperation issues among law enforcement, and challenges recruiting and retaining a strong border security workforce. \r\n\u201cWhen it comes to protecting North Dakota\u2019s rural communities along our nation\u2019s 5,500-mile long Northern Border, we need to take steps now to address any challenges before security issues arise,\u201d said Heitkamp. \u201cWhile meeting with the dedicated border agents and officers who serve in incredibly remote locations like Portal and Pembina, many told me about the difficulty they face in recruiting and retaining the workforce they need to keep our communities safe. I heard their concerns loud and clear, and with this new law, we can begin bolstering security along the longest common law border in the world by giving them the tools and resources to keep our communities and families strong and safe.\u201d\u201cI\u2019m proud that our bipartisan bill to help secure our northern border is now becoming law, as keeping New Hampshire and our country safe has always been one of my top priorities,\u201d said Ayotte. \u201cWe are facing unprecedented national security challenges that demand a full understanding of the northern border\u2019s needs, strengths, and vulnerabilities. I applaud New Hampshire\u2019s law enforcement community, especially those serving Coos County, for their work to protect the border and look forward to the implementation of this law to help further support their efforts. I also want to thank Senator Heitkamp for her partnership and dedication to getting this important measure signed into law.\u201d\u201cFor almost two decades, I\u2019ve been working to keep our nation\u2019s borders safe, and I can tell you that protecting our country\u2019s longest border \u2013 particularly in remote areas like around Portal \u2013 is a whole different ballgame than the Southern Border. Fortunately, Senator Heitkamp understands the unique challenges we face, and her bill that was signed into law makes that crystal clear,\u201d said Aaron M. Heitke, U.S. Border Patrol Grand Forks Sector Chief Patrol Agent. \u201cWhen Senator Heitkamp visited Portal this fall and spoke with my team on the ground, it was clear she grasped the difficulty we face in recruiting and retaining the workforce our nation needs, particularly when we lack the resources to help agents move themselves and their families across the country from duty on the Southern Border. By providing assessments of the threats our nation faces along the Northern Border and the technology tools and recruitment resources to help overcome them, Senator Heitkamp\u2019s bill will help make sure we get the support we need to face challenges such as terrorism and drug trafficking so we can keep our communities safe.\u201d\r\nAt 5,500 miles long, including 1,500 miles between Alaska and Canada, the Northern Border has 120 border crossings, many of which are small and in rural areas. Approximately 300,000 people and $910 million in trade cross the Northern Border every day, representing the largest bilateral flow of goods and people in the world. Heitkamp\u2019s Northern Border Security Review Act will require a comprehensive examination of how to strengthen American security at the Northern Border by looking into issues with:\r\n \r\nRecruiting and retaining border security officials to cover the Northern Border, including at more remote areas of the border;\r\nDetermining tools border security officials need to effectively combat drug and human trafficking at the Northern Border;\r\nIdentifying technology that could expand the reach of border agents; and\r\nFinding vulnerabilities in cooperation between Canadian, state, county, local, and tribal law enforcement.\r\n \r\nClick here to view a summary of the bill.\r\nLast week, a separate bipartisan bill Heitkamp helped introduce passed in the U.S. Senate and will also soon be signed into law, which will speed up travel at border crossings, especially for commercial cargo at the most congested crossings, increasing economic activity while keeping the border secure.\r\nSince first offering an amendment to improve security at the Northern Border to comprehensive immigration reform legislation in 2013, Heitkamp has been working to make sure sufficient attention is paid to protecting the Northern Border through meetings with border security officials in North Dakota and in Washington, visiting the border in Pembina and Portal, raising awareness about the challenges at the border for top federal officials and agency heads, and introducing legislation. More details about action she has taken to make sure the Northern Border receives the proper attention include:\r\n \r\nBringing then-DHS Deputy Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas to North Dakota. When Heitkamp brought Mayorkas to Pembina\u2019s Port of Entry and Border Patrol Facilities in April 2015, they spoke about ways to improve issues federal border security officials face in attracting and maintaining a strong border security workforce. During the visit, they also discussed ways to improve efforts to combat human and drug trafficking, as well as ways to expand the use of technology to help protect the border.\r\n \r\n\r\n\r\n \r\nHolding border security meetings in Minot, Portal and Grand Forks. Heitkamp visited the U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) facility in Grand Forks in January 2014, and she held a discussion in June 2014 with law enforcement in Minot to discuss stressed law enforcement personnel in the border region. Earlier this month, Heitkamp visited the Portal Port of Entry where she met with CBP officers and managers about the challenges they face in helping secure the Northern Border.\r\n \r\n###", 1, "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z", "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z"]], "columns": ["url", "title", "date", "year", "month", "party", "chamber", "state", "member_name", "bioguide_id", "domain", "scraper", "source", "date_source", "text", "has_text", "collected_at", "updated_at"], "primary_keys": ["url"], "primary_key_values": ["https://www.heitkamp.senate.gov/public/index.cfm/press-releases?ID=5F1E351A-DF34-462B-A8A9-B290F291C7DE"], "units": {}, "query_ms": 2.094144932925701, "source": "dwillis/congress-press", "source_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press", "license": "MIT", "license_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press/blob/main/LICENSE"}