Huizenga engages with Canada to facilitate cross-border travel, commerce

U.S. Rep. Bill Huizenga (R-MI) is working with a bipartisan group of lawmakers who are engaging with Canadian legislators to address a backlog of applications for a program that allows pre-screened travelers expedited processing when entering the United States and Canada.

New applicants for the NEXUS program, the Trusted Traveler Program for the U.S.-Canada border, are required to complete in-person interviews with agents from U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) and the Canada Border Services Agency. Currently, the NEXUS program has a backlog of approximately 334,000 applications. According to CBP, as of Oct. 24, the processing time for new and renewing NEXUS applicants requiring review was 494 days.

“In an effort to return to, and eventually surpass, pre-pandemic levels of cross-border travel and economic activity, addressing the difficulties with the NEXUS program are a high priority,” Rep. Huizenga wrote in a Nov. 4 letter to the Canadian co-chairs of the Canada-United States Inter-Parliamentary Group. The letter was also signed by U.S. Rep. Brian Higgins (D-NY) and two Washington state Democrats.

Reps. Huizenga and Higgins serve as co-chairs of the Canada-United States Inter-Parliamentary Group. The group is comprised of elected leaders from both countries who are committed to advancing bilateral issues, including trade, border management, the Great Lakes, security, and economic opportunity.

The congressmen noted in the letter that for individuals with binational families, employees who work across borders, and frequent travelers, NEXUS is an essential program, but delays in processing applications have “severely diminished the program’s effectiveness.”

According to the letter, one issue that needs to be resolved is whether NEXUS service centers are subject to the preclearance agreement between the United States and Canada, specifically whether U.S. CBP officers working in Canadian NEXUS service centers have the same legal protections as officers working in preclearance locations. 

“With appreciation for the implications, sensitivities, and complex nature of these negotiations, and the sovereignty of both countries, we sincerely hope that our two nations, which share a history of policy collaboration for mutual benefit, are able to resolve outstanding questions expeditiously to reopen NEXUS enrollment centers in Canada,” the congressmen wrote.