Looks like a good excuse to put guard stations on every street like this. Or a wall with armed guards. And a moat. With sharks with frickin’ laser beams. And…
A recent increase in border patrol along side streets dividing Derby Line, Vt., and Stanstead, Canada, are causing confusion and animosity between locals and border patrol agents.
The situation came to a head recently when a local man was arrested while walking down a street he said that he has walked down for years without a problem.
“I walked over to Canada on a Saturday night around quarter to nine to get a pizza,” Buzz Roy explained. Roy lives and works in Derby Line. He walked down Church Street to the nearest pizza shop, which happens to be in Canada, and said that to his surprise he was stopped by state police and told that crossing on Church Street is illegal.
“Steam was coming out of my ears from the treatment by the state cop. I felt that he had been misinformed about my ability to enter the country on Church Street. I’ve done it my entire life many many many times,” said Roy.
[...]
He will fight the fine, but said that his story speaks to larger issues. “I firmly believe that to this day … they just make up rules from day to day.” [...] He said people are scared to come here. “They come up over the hill and they don’t realize they’re in the states until they see the American customs, and then they turn around and they get hollered at.”
Paint a line.
As far as the need for warning sign, they may have one or several at the city limits. Like the “speed limit 30 mph unless otherwise posted” which is probably enough notification.
The border crap is idiotic. I think they play up the Canadian border to keep us from appearing to be unfair to Mexico. Christ, all you have to do is jump in a boat and land on you choice of thousands of miles of shore line. You give power to any agency, and you’ll end up with goons. Fucking J. Edger Hoover held the country hostage for decades. Presidents were terrified of him because he knew where the bodies were buried. Power is a hard thing to take back.
Woooow #19 for the win!
#11: Ya know, if you scroll left to the next town(?) at Beebe Road, you’ll see where the border passes through a building. Are there border guards in there checking on people who work in one country and have go to the other to use the bathroom?
There are tons of places like this on the US-Canada border and the two countries are the best of friends (except when there is hockey involved). I don’t think anyone is going to let one state police officer change it.
My brother’s old house was literally three houses away from the US border. His kids used to go back and forth all the time to play with their friends on the US side and vice versa. If fact the neighborhood kids would play “kick the can” by placing the can on the border in “no man’s land” and run madly through both countries.
Our countries will have differences from time to time like all friends do, but when I think of the relationship between our countries I think of those kids having fun together.
Whenever I’ve crossed into the US from Canada, except in Juneau Alaska, the US Side Gestapo have been total Alpha Hotels.
The Canadians have been incredulous, but polite, at worst.
I’ve crossed on both the extreme East and West Coasts.
If you are found guilty of a crime in front of a judge..something small like speeding. The person being found guilty says I am sorry…I was unaware of that street being 25mph, I will be more careful, etc. Judge gives them a light fine or probation. What if the person says yea, i knew it was 25mph but I have driven that street 25 years and I like to drive faster than that and I don’t care what the law says. Judge will give same penalty? That is the reason officers and judges have discretion. People who are trying to obey the laws but make small mistakes are not seen as a problem. People who think the laws are not meant for them are problems. They do have the right to be arrested and go through the court system for years and then prove they were right to the Supreme Court. Let this guy prove he was right.
Just put up a nice big concrete wall with razor wire on top. Everybody will get the message.
# 3 Wake up
#16 RBG
Having a building half in Canada half in USA (ref. #24). Telling them to let crotch bombers on a plane. Supplying bombs to a gang to put in the basement of the WTC in ’93. Hillary Clinton. Lots of things actually.
In fairness to Homeland Security, this seems to be a stupid cop rather than a stupid border patrol agent.
Even after 911, I once saw a woman weeding her back-yard with one foot in the US and one foot in Canada.
I loved it!
So I guess I can’t walk into Canada for cheap health care if I bring any of it back?
Try this shit in Pakistan, a predator drone would take out the whole village.
>> sargasso said, on March 17th, 2010 at 9:20 pm
>> Try this shit in Pakistan, a predator drone would take out the whole village.
… or, more likely, if your neighbor has a personal grudge against you an tells the CIA you are Al Quada.
The truth is, most of the borders in Pakistan are wide open and not clearly drawn. I’ve been near the Pak-Afghanistan border and you really have no idea which country you are in.
Pizza must be good in Canada. Who knew?
Cursor_
This one needs to be blamed solely, unequivocally, and 100% on the American government. Streets and towns like these are all over the place between the USA and Canada, and “legally” – you ARE crossing between one country and another. You MUST check in with the border crossing/immigration of the country you are visiting.
Since 911, the USA has become more of a police state when it comes to people entering the country. What once was “my father and grandfather and greatgrandfather scooted across for coffee with friends” has now become, in the eyes of Homeland Security, a threat to national security and must be stopped! Come on… I feel for this guy, but he broke the law.
There are stories all over the place about people’s houses being in Canada, but the road to their home twists and dips into the US for less than 1/4 mile. These people have been told they can’t use that anymore. Thanks to the American government. Here’s a story from New Brunswick showing how the state of Maine and the province of New Brunswick were both trying to convince the US Government to relax the rules for a bunch of golfers.
http://www.cbc.ca/canada/new-brunswick/story/2008/06/27/nb-golf-course.html
This guy scooted down the road to fill up his truck and was arrested and thrown in jail
http://www.cbc.ca/world/story/2002/11/14/jalbert_michel021113.html
So don’t go blaming the cop – did he have to be a di*k? No, but was he in the right? Technically, yes. Could it have been handled better? Who knows – this story only has one side.
Had the QPP (Quebec Provincial Police) or the Stanstead Police (not sure if they have a local force) saw this man enter Canada, he would have been arrested here for illegally entering Canada without reporting to the proper authorities. Boo Hoo. He broke the law. Suck it up.
I wish I can jail people for ticking me off. I mean, they TICK me off!
Guarantee, most of us fanatics here wouldn’t survive the second trip across the border 
I thought NAFTA would have covered this.
Once again, restrictions that do nothing to stop someone from walking or even driving across the border along probably 99% of its length that isn’t guarded.