Issues → March/April 2009 → Interact → 10 Things to Do →

Yankee Classic: US/Canadian Border Crossings 25 Years Ago

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(page 6 of 6)

When aliens are caught, if they are not smugglers as well, they are guilty of crossing the border without inspection, a criminal misdemeanor, and of being here without a visa, a deportable offense. Usually they stay in jail in Plattsburg, New York, or Burlington, Vermont, for four days until a U.S. magistrate sentences them to the time they have just served. The maximum penalty, however, is six months in jail and a $500 fine. Then the District Director of the Immigration and Naturalization Service (INS) issues an "Order To Show Cause," and the aliens either agree to leave voluntarily or they are deported to their native countries. If they are smugglers, however, they have committed a felony, and the maximum sentence is two years in a federal penitentiary and a $5,000 fine.

"Most of the aliens we apprehend are not bad people," says Doug Kruhm. "Few of them are hardened criminals. They are people from impoverished areas who are seeking a better standard of living, or they are leaving their countries for political reasons. The world would be a much better place if we could improve the quality of life everywhere to the point where people would be content to stay in their own societies. But I am not so idealistic that [ see that day coming soon. Until then, I think we have to hide by some controllable and equitable system of immigration."

Agent Donald A. Peck agrees. "It can be tough work emotionally," says Peck. "Everyone you apprehend has a story, and it's usually a sad one. They're running from hunger or oppressive governments and have spent all their money in getting this far. But the law says they can't come in here, and my job is enforcing the law."