THE WHITE HOUSE

MAY 2 2 2003
Office of the Press Secretary
National Commission on
Terrorist Attacks
Internal Transcript February 28, 2002

MEDIA ROUNDTABLE
WITH
HOMELAND SECURITY DIRECTOR TOM RIDGE
Room 476
The Dwight D. Eisenhower Executive Office Building

10:40 A.M.

GOVERNOR RIDGE: I apologize for keeping you waiting. If you

don't mind, I would just like to frame our discussion with some
general observations about the trip, and then just open it up to
questions.

NON-RESPONSIVE
MATERIAL

0002.19
 been working issues on drug interdiction and immigration before
September llth, the dimension of that relationship has been
expanded because of the September llth attack and the heightened
security that has resulted at the borders, and the accompanying
impact, negative impact on commercial activity.
Commerce has slowed down. The United States Chamber of
Commerce submitted a report, published it yesterday and just
talked generally about legitimate concerns about security, but
also the need to deploy technology and risk management techniques
so that we can reach our goal of securing the border, but without
jeopardizing the commercial activity and, frankly, creating
problems for the communities and people and companies on either
side of the border that had been adversely affected because of
the slowdown in activity.
I had an interesting conversation yesterday with Governor
Hull of Arizona and her counterpart, Governor Martinez from
Chihuahua. And, obviously, they both view the area, the border
area, as a region and they both commented -- and I think
—actually it was Governor Martinez reminded me of the tripling of
commerce, but we still have the same number of points of entry
and exit.
So, clearly, they understand, I think it's been pretty clear
that security is a new dimension that prior to September llth
that certainly there is a heightened sense that we need to do
something more and something different, but we can't do it at the
expense -- try to avoid doing it at the expense of commercial
activity and jobs, and the economic interdependence of families
and communities and employers along the border region.
So that is the purpose of the visit. I will be meeting
with, as I said before, President Fox and my counterpart,
Secretary Creel, and some of the national security people.
Q Governor, is the goal with Mexico to strike a similar
deal to the one that you made with Canada on global security? Or
are the issues just too different there that you can't really
duplicate them?
GOVERNOR RIDGE: The accord we have with Canada is a good
starting point, because it fundamentally deals with the issues of
security and commerce. But as the President continues to remind
me every time we talk about Mexico and my visit, is that there
are other dimensions to this border that add certain complexities
to it and they are the issues that we have been working in a
collaborative way with our Mexican counterparts prior to
September llth, and that is the whole question of immigration and
the whole question of drug interdiction.
So I think the Canadian accord is a good starting point. As
a matter of fact, we have shared that with Mexican authorities,
and I recall in the last discussion I had with the Canadian

000220
government, one of the Secretary -- one of Deputy Prime
Minister Manley's -- maybe it was the ambassador, the Canadian
ambassador to the United States actually put in a good word,
mentioned that it's a good place for us to start. Because we've
really framed the issues around security and commerce.
Obviously, we want to add -- we don't have to add it, they've
been working on immigration and drug interdiction before. So
it's a good place to start.
Q I have a two-part question. If you care to comment on
the news report that came out yesterday, they found yet another
drug tunnel along the border between California and Mexico, and
how that aggravates the border security issue? And number two,
the INS signed a memorandum of understanding with the National
Guard, I believe, and whereas they're going to be helping them
out in the Border Patrol.
And is there a fear that this may -- that this may worsen
the image that the U.S. is militarizing the border? And that
never sat well with the Mexican officials. And I was wondering
if you would care to comment about those two things.
GOVERNOR RIDGE: That wouldn't sit well with me, the second
part of your question. I think, because of the relationship we
have and continue to develop and enhance every day with our
friends in Mexico, the last thing we want to do is militarize the
borders between friends. We want them open, we want them
mutually beneficial. And that is simply a temporary measure.
The President's budget reflects a commitment to building up
additional capacity within the INS, within Customs, so that the
National Guard's presence in support of that mission will be
temporary. Among allies and friends, you don't have militarized
borders. And again, that's just an ad hoc response to an
immediate need for personnel, but a temporary one.
I viewed the report yesterday -- in one way, it's
troubling, because it was a fairly sophisticated operation with
tracks and lights, and obviously it created a capacity to move
huge volumes of drugs. But I -- so in that sense, it's
troubling because it existed. I think the good news is that,
since we have tremendous -- I think we had a very good working
relationship with law enforcement in Mexico prior to September
10th. But subsequent to the atrocities of September llth, I
think it has been significantly enhanced. And I think that the
work the Mexican law enforcement community did together with us
speaks very positively to the kind of mutually beneficial
relationship that continues to evolve as we deal with trying to
establish a rule of law along that border.
So the bad news is that the tunnel existed, and God only
knows how many hundreds of lives were affected by the illegal
drugs that poured through that tunnel. The good news is that it

000221
shows that collaboration between friends, the sharing of
information, has enormous potential for positive benefit.
Q Are you concerned that would-be terrorists could form
alliances with drug couriers, smugglers, and use things like
those tunnels? I mean, does that heighten the security problems
on the border?
GOVERNOR RIDGE: We talk a lot about weapons of mass
destruction, and always included in that litany are chemicals.
And in a very insidious, destructive way, this is -- and I
happen to believe that many terrorist organizations get
substantial financial support through drug trafficking. So, in a
sense, the terrorist connection -- not the al Qaeda, but the
terrorist connection -- it is a form of chemical warfare. The
most troubling aspect of this form of chemical warfare is we're
paying for our own self-destruction.
And so I think the -- I don't think it complicates the
relationship. I think both countries understand that they have a
role t© be mutually supportive, to do everything humanly and
technologically possible to reduce drug trafficking along the
border.
Again, I viewed yesterday's announcement as a positive
development.
Q Do you know how many National Guardsmen are along the
border, or how many will be on the border?
GOVERNOR RIDGE: No. But I'll bet I get you a very specific
number before the end of the next hour or two. Customs and INS
has had the request in for a couple months. We worked out the
protocol with the Department of Defense.
And I want to reiterate, the President has made it very
clear, and everybody in the administration understands, that this
is a temporary adjustment to a new reality. We needed more
agents on the border, until we get them hired and trained and
deployed. But this is a temporary measure, and I'll get you a
specific number.
Q And the same for Canada, I assume, too, right? Because
there's about 800 or something
Q Governor, the tunnel was found in Mexicali. Last week,
a Mexican paper there, La Cronica, reported on the blatant
operation of human smuggling there. What do you expect in terms
of cooperation from the Mexican law enforcement authorities to
interdict the smuggling of human beings across the border?
GOVERNOR RIDGE: Well, you are probably aware that there has
been a law enforcement plenary that has been working for years
with our law enforcement community -- FBI, DEA and the like.

000222
And I guess the expectation would be -that to every extent
possible, we accelerate the work that we've done that helped us
discover this tunnel.
Again, that is -- that's not a static part of our
relationship, it's a very dynamic part. There's this ongoing
effort within these agencies to continue to improve
communication, to work together to interdict drug shipments. So
I can't add anything to that, other than there will be -- I'm
fairly confident that as the relationship continues to improve,
there will be requests made on both sides that we enhance our
work, and hopefully both sides will be amenable to it.

NON-RESPONSIVE
MATERIAL

Q Governor, you talked about the need to do something new

and something different about the border security -issue, without
jeopardizing the economy. What specific ideas are you thinking
would be new and different that wouldn't jeopardize the economy?
GOVERNOR RIDGE: Here's where using at least some of our
discussions in the Canadian approach I think has some merit. I
believe that technology -- first of all, you should know that
Messrs. Zigler and Bonner, INS and Customs, are on the trip with
me, along with folks from Treasury, the Department of State and
the like.
And while we're going to put more human assets at the
border, as we take a look at a smart border arrangement with our
friends in Mexico, it will be looking at different kinds of
technology that we can apply to people who transverse the border
on a regular basis, and cargo. And some of the effort with
regard to the commerce is to work out protocols where it can be
cleared away from the border.

000223
 I mean, the challenge at airports, the challenge at borders,
the challenge generally when it comes to security, is try to
identify your no-risk traffic or low-risk traffic. And within
that risk-management structure, then you can take most of your
personnel and most of your technology, and screen and scrutinize
those people or that traffic about which you have no information.
So that's the approach that is under discussion with the
Mexicans, and the same approach with the Canadians.
Q Specifically the smart cards for people and checking
cargo away from the border for
GOVERNOR RIDGE: Yes. Those are the kinds of discussions
that we've had in a very generic way with the Mexican government.
Obviously we try to build a concept -- a consensus around the
kind of technology that we would like to use. I mean, they are
very open-minded about this. We've had general discussions about
it. Hopefully we can have more specific discussions about the
kind of technology and where it would be deployed. As we've done
up in Canada,^ we both -- we've got a couple pilots running up
there, to see what's the best technology that we can deploy. And
hopefully we'll be able to reach some agreement, or at least
accelerate that discussion.
I'll give you a good example. I mean, first of all, you've
got -- it's very similar to the Canadian border in many
respects. You have several points of entrance and exit, but you
have really only a few significant choke points, where you really
have bottlenecks. What is it, San Ysidro, north of -- south of
San Diego, they get about 60 million going across that area
annually, and they've got like 20 million vehicles. Good lord,
we ought to be able to figure out something better than the
existing system.
And again, to the extent that the President has said, the
vision of homeland security should be not only where you decide
to invest to make America more secure, but if the strategic
investment can add or double or triple value, let's make it.
Well, I think the deployment of technology at our southern border
will certainly enhance security. But if we reach a consensus
with the Mexican government as to where and what we deploy, both
in terms of people and commerce, we'll have enhanced security,
sure. But we will have accelerated and improved our economic
relationship, so you get double or triple value with a strategic
investment like that.

NON-RESPONSIVE
MATERIAL
000224
 NON-RESPONSIVE
MATERIAL

Q One of the complaints was that there aren't enough

resources on this side of the border to handle that traffic as
well, specifically, the points of entry, where you talk about the
bottlenecks and how long it takes to inspect every single truck.
So -- I think the Department of Transportation said a few
months ago, a couple of months ago, that they just didn't have
what's needed to handle that inflow of Mexican trucks.
GOVERNOR RIDGE: Well, I think there's some regulatory
changes that have to occur, and, candidly, I'm not privy to the
substance of those changes. But it's important to President
Bush, it's important to President Fox, and they're trying to tee_
it up to get it done before the President visits at the end of
March.
We've also talked about discussions with -- one of the
things I need to talk to Secretary Creel about is the deployment
technology and the kind of technology, and we can perhaps have a
more specific discussion about the consensus, hopefully, we can
develop the new period of time as to where you make those
infrastructure investments.
Q Governor, what about the status of immigration across
the border, is that going to be part of the discussions,
particularly around the guest passes? Will that be brought back

GOVERNOR RIDGE: President Fox and President Bush have had,

obviously, several conversations about the many issues under the
large umbrella of immigration. And there has been a very high
level working group, with the Attorney General and his office,
and the Department of State, to try to address some of these
issues, again, with an eye toward working in collaboration with
their counterparts in Mexico, to see if between now and when the
two Presidents get together they can address that.
It was -- that whole issue was moving rather quickly up
and through September 10th. And for a lot of reasons, like a lot
of other things in this country, even though it had some momentum
prior to September, as of September llth, it lost the momentum.
But it's regained it over the past several weeks, and again, I
know this working group is keen on trying to give both Presidents
at least a partial answer to the larger problem.

000225
 NON-RESPONSIVE
MATERIAL

MS. NEELY: Just one more question, Governor.

Q Governor, how long is it going to take us to get the

GOVERNOR RIDGE: Two more. He's been waiting.

Q Okay. How long is it going to take us to

GOVERNOR RIDGE: One, two, three.

Q -- to get the personnel that we need, the additional
personnel we need? How long will it take us to get the
additional personnel that we need along the border?

GOVERNOR RIDGE: Hopefully -- the memorandums have been

signed, between all the executive departments and I'd like to
I believe the last information I had, and I will go back and
collaborate -- and confirm, excuse me -- within the next two
or three weeks.

Q Have you been able to quantify the economic loss?

GOVERNOR RIDGE: One, two, three -- four?

Q Sorry.

GOVERNOR RIDGE: You snuck in there pretty good.

No, but in the information economy in the 21st century world

where everybody is just-in-time inventory, delays are money. I

000226
mean, I'm not sure that I -- I can't give you a dollar figure
now. But if you've got trucks and cargo waiting hours, if not
half-days, and lined up, obviously, there's been an economic
slowdown in both countries dealing with the economic realities of
an international economy. That's compounded by a delay in
delivery.
I can't quantify it for you. I bet you the Chamber can, but
I can't.
Q Governor, would you want to consider an idea such as up
in Canada, with the Customs and INS maybe working on the Mexican
side of the border? I mean, is that one of the proposals that's
under consideration?
GOVERNOR RIDGE: Our Canadian counterparts know exactly
one of the reasons we sent them the accord is because at the end
of the day, I mean, with NAFTA you've got this huge region, and
we would like to have as much -- we may not have comparability
throughout the system, but as much harmony and similarity as
possible.
And so, to show our friends to the south the kind of matters
we were discussing and approaches we were taking with our friends
to the north, we showed them the accord. And part of that, in
both -- it's to the advantage of all three countries -- is
you do some of that pre-clearance away from the border, so that,
again, at the border, you have the no-risk or the low-risk; you
can focus on the people and the cargo you know nothing about.
Q So --
GOVERNOR RIDGE: You're the final one.
Q Yes, I
GOVERNOR RIDGE: Do you have a follow-up?
Q Yes, Governor. So some of the Mexican personnel, then,
also would be on our side of the border?
GOVERNOR RIDGE: Well, we need to discuss it. I mean, we
need to be as open with them about discussing new relationships
as we have been with Canada. I'm not saying that everybody's
going to run and embrace heartily these approaches -- I mean,
because you still have independent, sovereign governments, and
they have legal barriers to it. They have cultural resistance to
what -- how one entity may operate in one country may not be
exactly how that entity would operate in the other because of
history, culture, law, regulation.
We understand that, and those are the kind of issues that
these kinds of trips, you vet out and you see if you can resolve.

000227
 Q Do you credit the discovery of that tunnel to the
enhanced security along the border? And can you quantify whether
or not drug smuggling busts have gone up because of the enhanced
security on the border, just as a kind of side result of
September llth?
GOVERNOR RIDGE: Great question. And the answer I can give
you is I'll find out for you.
I mean, I do know, I do know that the agencies that deal
with their Mexican counterparts feel very good. I mean, they
felt good about the work relationship before. I think they're
very -- we appreciate the fact that our Mexican friends
understand that the dimension of security in our mihd has been
elevated dramatically after the llth. And it is probably as much
in response to that, to our concern -- and Mexican concern
about security as well. But I think the agencies would say, yes,
we had a good relationship on September 10th, but as of September
llth it got even better.

NON-RESPONSIVE
MATERIAL

000228
NON-RESPONSIVE
MATERIAL

000^29
NON-RESPONSIVE
MATERIAL

END 11:13 A . M . EST

000230