A Salute to the Border Folks

And today, not the trash, not the garden, not the animals: it’s the border.

A little over a month ago, the border people held a meeting up here and promised us that if we would only give them a chance, they would show us that things could be better. We didn’t really have much choice about giving them a chance, I suppose. They do what they do and we respond. But the thing is, they have done better. And here is the evidence:

1. They now appear to be opening a second regular lane at the border whenever a line starts to form. That means that people without Nexus cards aren’t stuck in blocks-long lines. We came through the border in the regular lane this week midday, a Tuesday, granted, which shouldn’t involve long lines in any case, but it’s summer and it was the day before Canada Day. A holiday mid-week is a little hard to figure with respect to the border, but when we arrived, there were two regular lanes with only two cars in each and we zipped right through.

2. This isn’t really a result of the meeting in Point Roberts, but it dovetails with the above fact that is a result. The border lanes are now configured so that if you have a Nexus card, you can go through any lane. Because on occasion the Nexus lane is longer than the regular lanes, that means if you have a Nexus card, you can go into the shorter lane, which is more efficient for everybody.

3. As a result of the border meeting and the bitter complaints about Nexus cards being taken for silly or no reason, the Seattle office (a shout out here to Michelle James who is the head of this region) ordered a review of all Nexus cards that had been denied or taken from Point Roberts residents. This was announced in the newspaper on June 1. I know of at least two people who have now had their previously denied/removed Nexus cards restored. In at least one case, the person received a personal phone call making arrangements for the final interview to be conducted and a personal letter after the card was issued. Furthermore, no additional fee. I don’t know how many cards have been removed/denied or restored, but at least this is clear evidence that the CBP are not only trying to do the right thing, but are actually doing it in these cases.

So, THANKS! to Michelle James and her staff.