Outcome for British family detained by U.S. at border unusual: lawyer

VANCOUVER (NEWS 1130) – A British family that had been vacationing in Metro Vancouver is now in their second week in U.S. border custody waiting for a deportation ride home.

Four adults and three children crossed into the United States from near Vancouver, saying they mistakenly crossed the border while out on a drive. U.S. border officials, however, say the crossing was deliberate, as two family members had previously been denied entry.

Don't know if you've seen the story about the British family stopped nearly two weeks ago when they drove across the US border near Abbottsford. Their lawyer has said it was accidental. US Customs says it wasn't. Regardless – Canada wouldn't take them back here. @NEWS1130 pic.twitter.com/RFpDdjSXpK

— LizaYuzda (@LizaYuzda) October 16, 2019

Now, an immigration lawyer says unintentional crossings aren’t unusual, but this outcome is.

Len Saunders says he often hears of U.S. Border Control finding people one the wrong side of the border, but the difference here is nationality; Canadians found passing the B.C. border are usually pointed back home. But with foreigners, even Canada won’t take them back.

“Normally, they ask questions later. They take you into custody, and the problem is, because they’re British, it’s up to the Canadians whether they’re allowed to go back in, and quite often the Canadians say no,” he says.

“They’re concerned if someone has illegally entered the United States they’ve now violated U.S. immigration laws, and why would they want them to re-enter Canada?”

What makes him most suspicious, Saunders says, is the US saying some members of the family were denied entry at an official border crossing earlier the day they were picked up on a road in Washington State. 4/

— LizaYuzda (@LizaYuzda) October 16, 2019

In this case, Saunders finds it suspicious that some individuals in the vehicle may have been denied earlier in the day, and just happened to unintentionally cross later in the day.

However, he understands how someone could cross by mistake at the border near Vancouver, where there isn’t a wall to signal the border’s edge, just a ditch.

Saunders says even if you're just sent back north, your name and info are recorded and you are noted as a violator of US Immigration law. Also as far as Canadians just being sent north – if you are looking like you're up to no good (smuggling ppl or drugs) you'll be stopped 7/.

— LizaYuzda (@LizaYuzda) October 16, 2019

He says there are cases where someone may be jogging or walking their dog near the border and go too far south, just to find requests for a Nexus pass denied years later over the unintentional crossing.

A lawyer for the family detained says they passed into Washington state while trying to avoid hitting an animal, and have since been “treated like criminals” by the U.S. border agents, staying in unsanitary immigration facilities awaiting deportation. An infant and two-year-old twins are among those detained.

The lawyer has lodged a formal complaint with the U.S. Department of Homeland Security’s inspector general and civil rights office.