Some state officials want to encourage erecting a border fence on private property but many obstacles exist.

A late-night shootout between Border Patrol agents and gunmen in Arizona near the Mexican border left one agent dead and four of the gunmen in custody, and authorities said they were searching today for one man who got away.

A landmark deal is at hand between Canada and the United States to form a trade and security perimeter around the continent with an eye to easing the flow of goods and people across the border, says the National Post.