Staff Writer
FORT FAIRFIELD – Calling the crossing at Four Falls, New Brunswick a “significant threat,” Chief Patrol Agent Joseph Mellia of the U.S. Border Patrol’s Houlton Sector said southbound traffic will eventually be prohibited.
Staff photo/Scott Mitchell Johnson
A TOWN HALL MEETING was held Monday night in Fort Fairfield giving U.S. Border Patrol officials the opportunity to discuss with community members relevant issues regarding homeland security, receive public comments and listen to concerns. Here, Chief Patrol Agent Joseph Mellia of the U.S. Border Patrol’s Houlton Sector, left, listens to a resident’s question as, from left: Steven J. Farquharson, director of field operations in Boston for the U.S. Border Patrol, and Paula D. Silsby, U.S. attorney, look on.
“Sooner, rather than later, Border Patrol agents will not allow anybody to come south,” said Mellia. “If you’re coming south, you will not be allowed into the country. If you’re coming into the U.S., you have to go through a port of entry.”
At a second town hall meeting Monday night hosted by the U.S. Border Patrol, officials spoke to more than 100 community members about the latest developments regarding homeland security.
Many in the room were members of the Aroostook Valley Country Club (AVCC) – a golf course that occupies space in both Fort Fairfield and Four Falls, New Brunswick. The parking lot and the pro shop at AVCC are located in Fort Fairfield, while the golf course and the clubhouse is located in Four Falls.
Canadian golfers and vendors typically travel the Brown Road at the Canada-U.S. border to the Russell Road, which is in the United States, to access the course. From the parking lot, golfers cross the road to play golf at the Canadian course. When finished, Canadian golfers return the same way they came and check into a Canada Border Service Agency port of entry back on the Brown Road before returning to Canada.
American golfers, however, simply drive onto the Russell Road to the American parking lot and walk back into the U.S. when finished playing.
Noting that that Border Patrol agents will be setting up on the U.S. side of the Russell Road, Mellia said he wasn’t overly concerned with the pedestrian traffic.
“All of the golfers will be inspected at the Fort Fairfield port of entry,” he said.
Some in attendance said blocking the Russell Road would impede the lives of those who live on the road.
Another name mentioned Monday night was that of Nikolaj Pederson, whose property is in New Brunswick, but the road that leads to his home is on the Maine side of the international border. For years, U.S. officials have allowed people to use the road to get to the Pedersen farm, even though there’s no border checkpoint. Typically, everyone from relatives to mail carriers, would turn down the Russell Road, briefly entering the U.S., and then turn into Pedersen’s driveway, crossing the border back into Canada. However, due to regulations, anyone wishing to see Pederson must now check in with U.S. customs in Fort Fairfield first.
As the primary federal law enforcement agency between the ports of entry, the Border Patrol’s mission is to prevent the entry of terrorists and their weapons of terrorism: to enforce the laws that protect America’s homeland by the detection, interdiction, and apprehension of those who attempt to illegally enter or smuggle any person or contraband across the nation’s sovereign borders.
Mellia said while he sympathizes with community members, times have changed.
“It’s now 2008, and the world has changed,” he said. “We can’t stick our heads in the sand. I am trying to be reasonable, but I am a law enforcement officer. I have a job to do. I’m protecting the folks in the state of Maine, not just the folks in Fort Fairfield.
“I have a lot more piece of mind knowing that no one is coming down that road,” said Mellia, “rather than not knowing who is coming down the road.”
Also attending the town hall meeting were Steven J. Farquharson, director of field operations in Boston for the U.S. Border Patrol, and Paula D. Silsby, U.S. attorney.
“I realize the frustration this post 9-11 world has created,” said Silsby. “I have to bite my tongue every time I fly. I don’t like having to take my shoes off and my coat off before I board a plane, but it’s one of the inconveniences we have to endure.
“Those of us charged with the mission of law enforcement have to be right every time; the terrorist only has to be right only once,” she said. “It’s an unfortunate inconvenience, but it’s the reality of the world that we’re living in.”
Mellia said a working group will be formed within the next two months to help come up with a “reasonable conclusion to this.”
Fort Fairfield Town Manager Dan Foster told Mellia it’s not up to the town of Fort Fairfield to find a solution to a problem the townspeople didn’t create.
“People have been using these roads for years and it hasn’t been a problem,” Foster said, noting that among his concerns is road plowing. “The reason you’re in this position is a financial one. We shouldn’t have to solve your problem. What you’re proposing doing – having agents on the Russell Road – could have an adverse impact on the people living on that road.”
Mellia said the Border Patrol has been very upfront with its plans to increase security, and hoped the working group will be able to come up with a mutually agreed upon plan.
“We have certain tools in our tool chest that we can use,” he said, “but if people don’t cooperate, it limits the number of tools we can use. We’re not doing anything in a vacuum; we want people to know what’s going on and we want to hear their concerns, but protecting the people of Maine is my first priority.”
