FRONT PAGE

Border talk major concern at voters AGM

By Meg Olson

If there was ever any question border policies matter if you live in Point Roberts, this year’s annual general meeting of the local voters’ association should put it to rest.

Local U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) port director Mary Riggle and Blaine NEXUS office supervisor Bob Bayne were the invited speakers at the March 26 event, and they faced a full house at the Gulf Road community center. Questions generally fell into three recurring themes: Frustration with the NEXUS program, frustration with long lines, and frustration with silly or inappropriate questions from CBP.

“We are the sheepdog, like it or not we are here, literally to protect your lives,” Bayne said at the conclusion of an allegory in which the public were the sheep, wary of the sheepdog but happy to have him around if the wolf showed up.

Bayne said officers and supervisors made every effort to keep traffic moving swiftly, but were then sometimes criticized for not being friendly. “We try our best to meet you with a pleasant greeting, keep it short and move you along,” he said. “If an officer appears short or surly it’s for a reason. We don’t want long lines.”

With Peace Arch undergoing some “growing pains,” Bayne said managers were developing strategies to keep traffic moving, such as separate lanes for travelers with scannable documents like passports and enhanced drivers licenses. “There is a lot of pressure for solutions and these are things being discussed.”

With NEXUS applications being processed through a global enrollment system, Bayne said he had limited authority if people were denied. “If you receive a letter saying you were denied there’s not a lot I can do,” he said. “This is a dual country program so if you have any Canadian problems, you’re not going to get in. DUI? Not going to get in. If back in the day you might have walked along the beach and the border patrol stopped you they are not overturning those. Zero-tolerance program.”

Bayne said however that anyone who had information they felt countered the basis of the denial they could bring him documentation and he could send that and a recommendation to the central NEXUS processing office in Vermont.

With U.S. and Canadian NEXUS decisions being made on their respective sides of the border, and at centralized locations, audience members wondered how they could ask questions or effect change. “How does this joint entity decide anything?” asked Ruby White.

At the inception of the program, local managers were making more decisions, Bayne said. “It started locally but then it grew and it grew and it grew,” Today there is less local decision making but the collaboration is still working,” he said. “We have regular conference call discussions.”

White suggested the system needed some “common sense” changes to the rules, such as a statute of limitations for minor infractions. “Suppose the wolf just got drunk in 1971 and took some grapes through the PACE lane?” she speculated, going back to Bayne’s sheepdog allegory. “If you’re convicted of murder you get an appeal. Not with NEXUS.”

This is a trusted traveler program and I’m just preaching what the program is saying,” Bayne answered. He suggested people who wanted the program changed speak to their congressional delegation.

In the case of revoked cards, Bayne said he had more leeway and encouraged several audience members who had lost their cards to come and talk to him at his Blaine office. “I have helped numerous people get their cards back,” he said.

White also said she felt it inappropriate for officers to ask her overly probing questions about her destination, which she especially encountered when she re-entered the U.S. at the Peace Arch, and Bayne agreed it was, especially if she was traveling in the NEXUS lane.

“If you feel at any time these probing questions are pointless describe it to the duty supervisor,” he said. “Some officers do need to learn these questions are not beneficial. Many of our officers are new.”

“If you feel an officer is unprofessional and you feel you aren’t getting anywhere with the supervisor, ask for a comment card,” Riggle added.

Riggle and Bayne both vigorously denied suggestions by audience members that they were being “watched,” and that officers were entering information about them in the computer system that led to more frequent inspections.

“Every time you’re inspected we put it in that you were and what we did and did not find. Every record is scrutinized by a supervisor. People have been fired at this port for doing things they weren’t supposed to with computer records,” Bayne said. “That’s really zero-tolerance.”

Following almost two hours of border discussion members of the association heard from Greg Hoover, representing supporters of the Hoover/Nass Proposal to mitigate the impact of Deltaport expansion. “The port at Deltaport will expand to 5,000 trucks a day compared to 1,200,” he said. “The trains will double and of course the ships. How that will affect you is air pollution. You have the right to complain and we’d appreciate any ruckus you can raise.”

Association member Mary Miller described their ongoing efforts to get Governor Christine Gregoire’s office involved. “We need to make some noise,” she said.