No plans for more border fence, CBP says

The U.S. Border Patrol installed a new metal cable barrier along the Canadian border between 0 Avenue and East Boundary Road near Lynden late last month, but the border fence won’t continue west toward Blaine, a spokesperson said.

“There are no plans to extend the fence or to build in other areas,” U.S. Customs and Border Protection press officer Jason Givens said in an email.

The new, 1.48-mile section of cable fence, which runs along the border at East Boundary Road from Northwood Road to Bender Road, “is designed to prevent vehicles from crossing the international boundary, either intentionally or accidentally,” said Tony Holladay, acting chief patrol agent for the Blaine Sector of the U.S. Border Patrol.

0 Avenue in B.C. runs along roads and other public infrastructure at several locations in Whatcom County, including along Peace Arch Park in Blaine.

The new barrier is in an area that sees a lot of action. It’s inside a roughly 10-mile strip that’s been the site of more than 30 illegal vehicle crossings in the past two years, Givens said. Vehicles have crossed illegally both northbound and southbound and some incidents have involved large seizures of methamphetamine.

Last October, a family from the UK made national news after steering their car southbound across the ditch separating East Boundary Road from 0 Avenue. The family said they accidentally crossed the border after swerving to avoid an animal. CBP said they crossed “slowly and deliberately,” and released surveillance footage that supported that claim. The family was deported to England after nearly two weeks in federal custody.

The International Boundary Commission, which must authorize all structures within three meters of the boundary, didn’t return a request for comment.

With the U.S./Canada border closed due to Covid-19, Americans and Canadians separated by the closure use East Boundary Road and 0 Avenue to meet and visit across the boundary ditch.