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  4. Border Patrol Agents Thwart Illegal Entry Attempt in Northern Vermont

Border Patrol Agents Thwart Illegal Entry Attempt in Northern Vermont

Release Date
Tue, 02/27/2018

DERBY LINE, Vt. – U.S. Border Patrol agents from the Newport Station apprehended five Romanian citizens as they attempted to illegally enter the United States in Derby Line, Vermont on Monday.

During the early morning hours of February 26, the Tactical Communications Center of the Swanton Border Sector received a report that a sedan had crossed the international border by driving across the lawn of the Haskell Free Library in Derby Line, Vermont. The Haskell Free Library was deliberately built on the border of Canada and the United States in 1904.

The vehicle traveled east on Caswell Avenue past an agent in his marked Border Patrol vehicle and drove onto the on-ramp onto the southbound lanes of Interstate 91. The agent followed the vehicle and performed a vehicle stop, where he saw that the vehicle contained three adults and two children. During questioning, the three adults in the vehicle admitted that they were citizens of Romania and that they did not possess any immigration documentation allowing them to enter or remain in the United States.

Agents arrested the three adults and transported the vehicle occupants to the Newport Border Patrol Station for records checks and processing. Birth certificates found during a search indicated that two of the adults were the parents of the children. The search also revealed that all five had recently legally entered Canada, under Canada’s visa waiver program. Romanians are exempt from obtaining a visa prior to entering Canada.

Agents fined the driver $5,000 for illegally entering the United States in a vehicle at a place not designated as a border crossing point in violation of 19 USC 1433. After processing, agents turned over all five illegal aliens over to U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) Office of Enforcement and Removal Operations (ERO) for removal proceedings.

“This arrest is a great example of the vigilance our Border Patrol agents display on a daily basis,” said Newport Station Patrol Agent in Charge Richard Ross. “I’m proud of the work that agents perform every day to keep our border secure and our country safe.”

The Swanton Sector is responsible for securing the land border between ports of entry in Vermont, New Hampshire and northeastern New York. The coordination with assistance of citizens is invaluable to the Border Patrol's border security mission and we welcome community members' help to keep our nation’s borders safe. Please report suspicious activity at 1-800-689-3362.

For more on Customs and Border Protection’s mission at our nation’s ports of entry with CBP officers and along U.S. borders with Border Patrol agents, please visit the Border Security section of the CBP website.

Last Modified: Feb 03, 2021