Report urges more local input on borders

DETROIT, July 13 (UPI) -- Local Michigan and Canadian officials should be empowered to ease congestion caused by tighter U.S. border crossing restrictions, a report says.

An examination of problems along the U.S.-Canadian border commissioned by the Washington think tank the Brookings Institution concludes the United States' "one-size-fits-all" security policies for its southern and northern borders fails to take Michigan's unique circumstances into account, The Detroit Free Press reported Monday.

It calls for more flexibility for local officials in Michigan, which has the busiest U.S. border crossing in the country in Detroit and is dependent on the smooth flow of traffic into and out of Canada for its economic well being, the newspaper said.

Long lines and delays at the border are harming both nations economically, Chris Sands of the Hudson Institute said in the report.

"The unfortunate reality is that the border today remains a source of considerable user frustration and economic drag," Sands wrote.