23 January 2013: New Port of Entry Facility Opens at Whitlash, Montana
U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) today announced the opening of the new land border port of entry at Whitlash. The Port of Whitlash, on Whitlash Road (County Road 409), adjoins the Canadian Port of Aden on Highway #880 South, Aden, Alberta. Operational hours are from 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. (Mountain Time), daily.
This new border facility—funded as part of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (ARRA)—replaces the previous outdated facility, strengthens security and facilitates the flow of legal travel and trade along the northern border.
"The Whitlash POE is the centralized location for processing vehicle exports in the Great Falls Area Port. This allows for consistency in the exporting process for the exporters using the Montana and Idaho Ports of Entry. The new facility features cutting-edge inspection technologies that both strengthen security and expedite inspections," said Great Falls Area Port Director Daniel Escobedo. "This facility supports current inspection requirements and will be adaptable for CBP’s future border security and trade facilitation needs."
The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) continues to invest additional personnel and technology along the northern border–deploying more than 2,200 Border Patrol agents and nearly 3,800 CBP officers throughout the region to manage the flow of people and goods through ports of entry and designated border crossings.
CBP continues to deploy state-of-the-art technology along the northern border, including thermal camera systems, Mobile Surveillance Systems, and Remote Video Surveillance Systems. Additionally, CBP unmanned aircraft currently patrol nearly 950 miles along the northern border from Washington to Minnesota, and approximately 200 miles along the northern border in New York and Lake Ontario.