Security chief calls for 'fast lane' across border

MEXICO CITY -- Homeland Security Director Tom Ridge said he expects the United States and Mexico to reach an agreement creating a "fast lane" of preapproved travelers across the their common border, easing delays caused by heightened security after Sept. 11.

Wrapping up two days of meetings Tuesday in Mexico City, Ridge said the way the United States' southern border is managed is "outdated." He added that officials were making progress on a border security accord with Mexico similar to one reached with Canada in December.

"I think we are going to reach an agreement," he said.

Heavy traffic at border crossings has hurt businesses both in Mexico and the United States, and Ridge called for a new plan that would use technology to clear goods in factories, rail yards and seaports instead of waiting until they reach the border.

He said customs officials were also looking at the possibility of screening and pre-approving cargo and people, giving them a "fast lane" across the border.

"Once you've got the no-risk and the low-risk set aside, then you can direct your human and your technology resources to the cargo and the people that you know nothing about," he said.

Still, Ridge said Mexico's drug and migrant smugglers created challenges that would be difficult to overcome.

"We cannot guarantee a foolproof system," he said.

After meeting with Mexican President Vicente Fox, Interior Secretary Santiago Creel and Foreign Secretary Jorge Castaneda, Ridge was scheduled to tour the Bridge of the Americas border crossing in El Paso, Texas, on Wednesday.

President Bush is scheduled to continue discussions on the border security plan with Fox during the U.N. International Conference on Financing for Development later this month in Monterrey.

Commerce has tripled along the U.S.-Mexican border since the start of the North American Free Trade Agreement in 1994, and Ridge said both Mexico and the United States aren't happy with how the border is managed today.

"This is not only an opportunity to secure our border, but we ought to view it as an opportunity to facilitate and enhance the commercial integration between the two countries," he said. "If we come up with the right, smart, 21st century accord, we will advance both interests."

He said he will continue to push for consolidating agencies that manage the border -- like customs and immigration services -- despite strong opposition in Washington.

Ridge said Fox's government has been responsive to U.S. needs, sharing "unprecedented" amounts of information with its American counterparts.

At a news conference with Ridge, Creel said Mexico would continue to cooperate with the United States to "unite efforts on this side of the Rio Grande." Fox also pledged even greater cooperation in the future.