The agents are stopping vessels in a rich lobster fishing area known as the Gray Zone that is claimed by both the United States and Canada. The agents are stopping vessels in a ample lobster fishing area known as the Gray Zone that is claimed by both the United States and Canada.
Twenty-one canadian vessels and an unknown issue of american boats have been questioned by Border Patrol since October 2017 with no immigration arrests, said Stephanie Malin, a Customs and Border Protection spokeswoman .
Maine fishermen report being stopped and asked for identification, and some boats have reportedly been boarded by Border Patrol agents. canadian fishermen, meanwhile, say the stops are occurring in international waters and Border Patrol agents shouldn ’ deoxythymidine monophosphate be boarding their vessels .
John Drouin, a Maine lobsterman from Cutler and president of the Lobster Zone A Council, said Border Patrol has been cruising the Down East coast from Cutler to Jonesport. He was stopped two weeks ago in Cutler Harbor and asked for identification, and his son has been stopped and boarded about 6 miles offshore, Drouin said. By now, most of the local lobstermen have been questioned by Border Patrol, he said .
In 40 years of fishing off Maine, it ’ s the first base time he can remember Border Patrol operating offshore like this, Drouin said .
“ I personally haven ’ thymine seen Border Patrol in the past, ” he said .
Any vessel that does not stop when ordered to by Border Patrol agents can be criminally charged, Malin said .
SPOKESWOMAN CALLS PATROLS ROUTINE
Border Patrol is the uniform law enforcement outgrowth of Customs and Border Protection, which is region of the Department of Homeland Security. Increasing security along the nation ’ s borders has been a focus of the Trump administration .
The stops have been inconvenient, Drouin said, but he doesn ’ triiodothyronine feel harassed. however, he hasn ’ t been able to get a good solution for the sudden uptick in patrols .
“ I tried to ask them ; they are tight-lipped. They are not going to tell me what is going on, ” he said .
Kristan Porter, another Cutler lobsterman and president of the Maine Lobstermen ’ s Association, said he hasn ’ t been stopped by Border Patrol so far, but most of the 25 or 30 lobstermen in town have .
“ They ’ ve been identical cordial, ” he said. “ We ’ ve seen them in the past, but not on this scale. I don ’ thyroxine know what the cope is, if it is doing this area now and another area late. ”
The recent patrols are separate of the Border Patrol ’ s routine operations, Malin said in an e-mail reception to questions .
“ Houlton Sector Border Patrol has conducted operations in the past in this area and will continue to conduct operations in the waters off the coast of Maine in jurisdictional waters of the United States, ” she said. The representation was conducting regular patrol operations in June to enforce immigration laws and other violations of federal law, Malin said .
She would not say how retentive the operation lasted or if it is ongoing. She said the agency did not have statistics on how many U.S. vessels have been stopped in Maine this year or in the by five years, and would not say how many vessels and personnel were involved in offshore Border Patrol operations or where precisely agents are patrolling. Customs and Border Protection has its own boats and aircraft .
federal jurisprudence gives Border Patrol the authority to stop, search and examine any vehicle entering the U.S., including those in a maritime environment, Malin said. The agency ’ randomness authority extends to the borders of the U.S., including the sphere around Machias Seal Island claimed by the U.S. and Canada, she noted .
The U.S. State Department did not respond to questions about U.S. territorial claims on Machias Seal Island and the Gray Zone .
ACLU CALLS PRACTICES ‘TROUBLESOME’
Border Patrol besides has recently increased enforcement operations on major New England highways, including a day-long barrier on Interstate 95 near Lincoln in June and regular immigration checks of passengers at the Bangor bus station .
It is distressing that Border Patrol has obviously extended its operations to offshore areas in Maine, said Zachary Heiden, legal director for the American Civil Liberties Union of Maine .
“ Customs and Border Protection seems engaged in such a wide variety of troublesome practices, and they are not particularly forthcoming about what they are doing and why they are doing it, which is troubling, ” Heiden said. “ We are concerned that they are out of master. ”
The ACLU has sued the Department of Homeland Security to obtain records relating to Border Patrol operations in northerly New England, including bus station and highway checkpoints .
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Federal presence leaves some Mainers wary
“ We are very committed to the mind that law enforcement should not be stopping and questioning people unless they have a good rationality to, ” Heiden said. “ They shouldn ’ t just be in the business of stopping people at random who are not suspected of doing anything incorrectly, whether that is on our roads or our water system. ”
The Border Patrol operations came to light this week when fishermen from New Brunswick ’ s Grand Manan Island told news program organizations that they had been stopped in canadian waters by U.S. Border Patrol and questioned about illegal immigrants .
Laurence Cook, chair of the lobster committee of the Grand Manan Fishermen ’ mho Association, told the Globe and Mail newspaper that in the past two weeks at least 10 canadian vessels were stopped by Border Patrol around Machias Seal Island in the Gray Zone .
“ There ’ s been a spot of a mistake there somewhere, ” Cook told the newspaper. “ They ’ rhenium in international waters, so Border Patrol shouldn ’ metric ton be boarding canadian vessels. ”
AMERICANS, CANADIANS FISH AREA JOINTLY
In a written affirmation, the fisherman ’ sulfur association said American and canadian fishermen have jointly fished the 102-square-mile area for years .
“ We understand that a few Grand Manan fishermen were approached by United States Border Patrol during the calendar month of June. Our agreement is that this was share of a even exercise conducted along the U.S. marine boundary line, ” the association said .
A representative for the association did not respond to an interview request Thursday .
The canadian government is investigating incidents that occurred in canadian waters and engaging U.S. agencies involved in the matter, John Babcock, a spokesman for Global Affairs Canada, said in an e-mail .
“ Canada ’ s reign over the Machias Seal Island and the surrounding waters is long-standing and has a strong foundation garment in international law, ” Babcock said. “ Until the matter of the limit is resolved, we will continue to take hardheaded steps with the U.S. to ensure that the sphere is well-managed. ”
Malin, the Customs and Border Protection spokeswoman, said Border Patrol does not board canadian vessels without consent or probable campaign .
The quarrel over the Gray Zone around Machias Seal Island dates to the menstruation after the american Revolution. The canadian Coast Guard maintains a man beacon on the island, but American and canadian fishermen prowl the rich lobster areas nearby. tension over fishing rights in the area can get heated when the price of lobster is high, leading to threats and accusations of line-cutting and other sabotage .
Peter McGuire can be contacted at 791-6325 or at :
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