No date given to reopen Canadian NEXUS centers

Canada and the U.S. are in discussions regarding the reopening of Canadian NEXUS enrollment centers, according to Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA) senior spokesperson Rebecca Purdy; however, no projected date of reopening was offered by the Ottawa, Ontario-based media representative.

While the U.S. enrollment centers reopened for applicant interviews on April 19, the Canadian offices have remained closed since the beginning of the pandemic. Local border officers on both sides of the line have unofficially attributed the continuing closure to the inability of U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) officers to be armed while serving in the Canadian centers. Despite being specifically asked if that was the reason, Purdy merely replied that “the CBSA and the U.S. CBP are working together to mitigate the impact on members caused by the extended closures of the [Canadian] enrollment centers.”

Prior to the shutdown, Canada had 12 processing centers, mostly at international airports. Blaine immigration attorney Len Saunders told The Northern Light that he has talked to officers on both sides of the border and was told the issue is Canada’s refusal to allow U.S. officers to be armed.

A U.S./Canada Preclearance agreement that went into effect in 2019 authorized U.S. officers working in Canadian airports and other ports performing immigration and customs duties in preclearance areas to carry guns wherever CBSA officers carry guns. However, as CBSA officers are not allowed to carry guns in those areas, neither are U.S. officers. The agreement also allowed U.S. officers to conduct strip searches when necessary.

In an earlier interview, Purdy said there was a backlog of 270,000 applicants who have submitted NEXUS applications and are awaiting interviews. Purdy was unable to provide additional detail regarding the number of U.S. versus Canadian applicants awaiting interviews but provided statistics on current NEXUS members:

• 75 percent – Canadian citizens

• 3 percent – Canadian permanent

residents

• 20 percent – U.S. citizens

• 2 percent – U.S. permanent

residents

Previous analysis indicates that 70 percent of Canadian members reside in B.C. and Ontario.

Purdy said that there was no backlog in processing applications and that the backlog was just in conducting the interviews. She added that the CBSA and CBP assess eligibility independently and that the CBSA service standard to complete risk analysis is 30 days with that standard being met 95 percent of the time.

“The time it takes to risk assess an individual application depends on several factors. If there are no eligibility concerns or missing information on file, an application takes roughly 20 minutes to complete. If there are concerns to assess or information required from the applicant, it can take up to 30 days or longer,” Purdy said.

Asked if the agency had beefed up its staffing on account of the backlog, Purdy replied, “Now that the U.S. enrollment centers are opened, we are committed to maintaining the same staffing level at those [enrollment centers] as before the pandemic.” In other words, no increase in staffing is expected.

Similar queries made to the local CBP media representative were referred to CBP headquarters in Washington, D.C. and remain unanswered to date.

Of the 12 U.S. enrollment centers located in eight U.S. border states, six of them (including the Birch Bay Square office) showed no available appointments in upcoming months. Minnesota had two offices with appointments available on April 25, Maine had an appointment in June while two offices in New York and Vermont had August openings and Montana could offer interviews in December. To schedule an interview, go to bit.ly/3Ov3UP1.