border Archives - Northwest Public Broadcasting

Food Crisis Feared In Washington Town Isolated By Border As Only Grocery Store Teeters On Closure

By Tom Banse June 23, 2021

The nearly-deserted parking lot at the beginning of what should have been a busy May weekend explains a lot about why the only supermarket in Point Roberts, Washington, is on the verge of closure.

A local fire chief is warning of a looming "humanitarian crisis" on the peninsula of Point Roberts in northwest Washington state. It's a strange predicament brought on by a money-losing supermarket and pandemic-related restrictions on crossing the U.S.-Canada border. Read More

Ongoing Border Closure Makes Washington Enclave Of Point Roberts ‘Stir Crazy’

By Tom Banse May 21, 2021

A common sign hanging outside businesses in Point Roberts that yearn to have Canadian visitors back.

The United States and Canadian governments confirmed Thursday that pandemic border crossing restrictions will continue for at least another month to June 21. This is the fourteenth month-by-month extension of the closure of the northern border to nonessential crossings. The lengthy closure has been especially wearing on Point Roberts, a community in northwestern Washington Read More

More Than 170,000 Migrants Taken Into Custody At Southwest Border In March, Highest In 15 Years

By NPR News April 2, 2021

A group of migrants from El Salvador arrives in Roma, Texas, after crossing the Rio Grande on March 30, 2021 in Roma, Texas. CREDIT: Joe Raedle/Getty Images

More than 170,000 migrants were taken into custody at the Southwest border in March, the highest monthly total since at least 2006, according to U.S. Customs and Border Protection officials who have been briefed on the preliminary numbers but are not authorized to speak publicly. Read More

President Biden Says ‘Nothing Has Changed’ But Child Migrants Crossing Border At Higher Pace

By NPR News March 28, 2021

Graphic of unaccompanied minors crossing US-Mexico border - today and through 2014

It is true, as Biden states, that numbers often rise during the early months of the year when temperatures begin to warm. But the number of children arriving today without their parents is considerably higher than at the same time in 2019 and 2020. In fact, the number of unaccompanied children being apprehended by the Border Patrol were higher in February than they've been Read More

Couples And Families Separated By U.S.-Canada Border Closure Find Oasis At Peace Arch Park

By Tom Banse March 16, 2021

Crossing the border into Peace Arch State Park from Canada, at left, entails stepping across a ditch. CREDIT: Tom Banse/N3

This coming Sunday, March 21, will mark one year since the U.S. and Canada closed their shared border to nonessential crossings due to the pandemic. It's anybody's guess when the border might reopen for discretionary trips. In the meantime, every weekend rain or shine, Peace Arch State Park in Blaine, Washington, becomes a happening meetup point for couples and families Read More

Art Project Of Seesaws Built On U.S. Border Wall Win Prestigious Design Prize

By NPR News January 19, 2021

American and Mexican families play with a see-saw installation at the border near Ciudad Juarez, Mexico, in July of 2019. The project has been recognized by a prestigious design award. Luis Torres/AFP via Getty Images

An art project that turned the border wall at the U.S.-Mexico border into the temporary base for pink seesaws – inviting children on each side to come play together – has won the London's Design Museum award for best design of 2020. Continue Read More

U.S.-Canada Border Closure Likely To Be ‘With Us For Awhile’ As Pandemic Persists

By Tom Banse November 17, 2020

Peace Arch Park reportedly is the scene of lots of weddings this summer featuring Canadian-American couples seeking to ease their border crossing status.

The most recent extension of the U.S.-Canada border closure expires this Friday, November 21, but no one expects the restrictions to be lifted then. First implemented in March, the closure of the land and sea border to nonessential crossings have been extended monthly by mutual agreement between Ottawa and the Trump administration. Read More

U.S. Borders With Canada And Mexico Will Remain Closed At Least Another Month

By NPR News October 19, 2020

Bill Blair, Canada's public safety minister, tweeted on Monday, "We are extending non-essential travel restrictions with the United States until November 21st, 2020. Our decisions will continue to be based on the best public health advice available to keep Canadians safe." Read More

Ferry Service Boosted To Washington Town Of Point Roberts, Cut Off By U.S.-Canada Border Closure

By Tom Banse September 3, 2020

Point Roberts , Washington, on the southern tip British Columbia is stuck between a rock and a border closure during the pandemic. CREDIT: Esmy Jimenez/KUOW. Created with DataMapper

The Port of Bellingham is increasing temporary ferry service to the isolated enclave of Point Roberts, Washington. That community was largely cut off from the U.S. mainland when Canada and the U.S. closed their land border this spring to nonessential crossings to control the spread of the coronavirus. Read More

Coronavirus Closed The Border. This Bellingham – BC Couple Was Stuck On Opposite Sides

By NWPB News June 14, 2020

Ryan Hamilton and Savannah Koop had planned to marry on May 8, and then the border closing due to the pandemic changed their plans. CREDIT: Eilis O'Neill /KUOW

When COVID-19 caused border closures, a woman from British Columbia and her fiancé in Washington were unable to see each other — not even for their wedding. Continue Reading Coronavirus Closed The Border. This Bellingham Read More

U.S. – Canada Border Restrictions Extended Another 30 Days

By NPR News April 18, 2020

Customs officers stand beside a sign saying the U.S. border is closed in Lansdowne, Ontario, on March 22. The United States agreed with Mexico and Canada to restrict nonessential travel because of the new coronavirus, outbreak. CREDIT: Lars Hagberg/AFP via Getty Images

The U.S. and Canada have agreed to keep their shared border closed for nonessential travel to prevent the spread of the novel coronavirus. The decision extends a partial ban implemented last month. Continue Reading U.S. – Canada Border Read More

Acting Head Of Customs and Border Protection Says New Asylum Rule In ‘Pilot’ Phase

By NPR News July 18, 2019

Acting Chief of Customs and Border Protection Mark Morgan says he doesn't expect the asylum rule announced this week to be in place for very long. Shuran Huang/NPR

"Although the new federal regulation allows us to apply that all 2,000 miles along the Southwest border, we're not going to do that," Mark Morgan told NPR. Continue Reading Acting Head Of Customs and Border Protection Says New Read More

Watchdogs Cite Lax Medical And Mental Health Treatment Of ICE Detainees

By NPR News April 13, 2019

A guard escorts a detained immigrant from his "segregation cell" back into the general population at the Adelanto Detention Facility in November 2013. Today the privately run ICE facility in Adelanto, Calif., houses nearly 2,000 men and women and has come under sharp criticism by the California attorney general and other investigators for health and safety problems. CREDIT: John Moore/Getty Images

LISTEN BY SARAH VARNEY It’s Saturday morning and the women of the Contreras family are busy in Montclair, Calif., making pupusas, tamales and tacos. They’re working to replace the income… Continue Reading Watchdogs Read More

FACT CHECK: President Trump Wrongly States Obama Administration Had Child Separation Policy

By NPR News April 9, 2019

President Trump repeated his false claim that the Obama administration had a policy of separating families at the border. Evan Vucci/AP

Speaking to reporters Tuesday, President Trump restated an earlier falsehood in which he blamed the Obama administration for a policy the Trump administration in fact started. Continue Reading FACT CHECK: President Read More

President Trump Speaks On Border Security, With Response And Fact Checks

By NWPB News January 8, 2019

President Trump speaks about the $1.3 trillion spending bill that he signed, despite an earlier veto threat. CREDIT: NICHOLAS KAMM

President Trump is addressing the nation about border security tonight, Tuesday, Jan. 8, beginning at 6 p.m. PT. Continue Reading President Trump Speaks On Border Security, With Response And Fact ChecksRead More

Partial Government Shut Down Is On Over Stalemate On U.S.-Mexico Border Funding

By NPR News December 22, 2018

The House and Senate convened at noon Saturday, but no votes were scheduled and many lawmakers have already left town. CREDIT: Saul Loeb/AFP/Getty Images

The House and Senate convened at noon Saturday. Congress is looking for a way forward. But President Trump maintains that any bill has to include money for his wall, a demand Democrats still reject. Continue Reading Read More

Congress Poised To Punt On Government Spending Fight Over Border Wall

By NPR News December 3, 2018

The U.S. flag flies at half-staff in honor of former President George H.W. Bush outside the Capitol in Washington, D.C., Monday. Top Hill leaders planned on a stopgap funding bill to avoid a partial shutdown at the end of the week. CREDIT: Alex Edelman/AFP/Getty Images

After the death of former President George H.W. Bush top Hill leaders decided to prepare a two-week funding bill to postpone a fight over President Trump's demand for $5 billion for a border wall. Continue Reading Congress Poised To Punt Read More

A Journalist’s Journey, Guided By Curiosity For Her Father’s Illness

By PBS Newshour August 14, 2018

Jean Guerrero’s "Crux" is the odyssey of a daughter in search of herself as she comes to terms with her own mentally ill father. Amna Nawaz talks with the author, who is also a journalist for KPBS, about how she told her own family’s story. Continue Read More