Some travellers who were returning to Canada from the United States over the weekend said that an additional checkpoint was set up at the a B.C.-U.S. border crossing.
Drivers trying to cross back to Canada at B.C.’s Peace Arch said their vehicles were searched as they were pulled aside by U.S. Border and Customs Protection agents, delaying their trip,
. The Peace Arch crossing is located in Surrey, B.C. on the Canadian side. The American side is located in Blaine, Washington.
One B.C. resident, who only wanted to be identified by her first name, Leslie, told Global News she thought she made a mistake when she first saw the checkpoint on Friday morning. She had crossed the border for groceries and to get lunch with her husband. When they approached the crossing with their vehicle to return home, they were forced to stop “a couple hundred metres south” of the Canadian border due to the traffic building up.
“I don’t want to call it a blockade but… they were stopping people and I held up our Nexus cards and the U.S. customs agent waved us through but as I passed, because our windows are down, he said, ‘Let’s stop and check the next one,’” she said.
The searches on other vehicles made her “very, very uncomfortable.”
The X account for DriveBC, a mobile app by the BC Ministry of Transportation and Transit, showed that there were major delays for travellers going from the U.S. to Canada at the Peace Arch crossing on May 1.
In a post on X, it said the delays were due to “ongoing (Customs and Border Protection) operations). A photo from a traffic camera showed a lineup of cars waiting to get into Canada.
🇺🇸➡️🇨🇦 Continue to expect major northbound delays approaching the #PeaceArch & #PacificHwy crossings due to ongoing @CBP operations. #I5 #SR543 #BCHwy99 #BCHwy15
🇨🇦➡️🇺🇸Southbound volumes are light. #Blaine #SurreyBC @wsdot_north @wsdot_traffic @CBPNorthwest pic.twitter.com/UQiaVu0kFl
— DriveBC (@DriveBC) May 2, 2025
In response to a question on X about what was occurring at the border on May 1,
: “Unclear exactly what’s going on. US Customs has been conducting an operation throughout the afternoon.”
“These inspections are a vital tool in apprehending wanted individuals, as well as in seizing a variety of contraband, which ultimately makes our community safer,” according to a statement from the U.S. Customs and Border Protection to Global News.
National Post has reached out to the agency for comment.
According to immigration lawyer Rosanna Berardi, putting up such a checkpoint is completely legal.
“U.S. Customs and Border Protection legally operates interior checkpoints up to 100 miles inside the United States from any land or coastal border, including near the U.S.-Canada border. This authority is based on federal regulations established in 1953 and upheld by the Supreme Court in
United States v. Martinez-Fuerte (1976
), which allows brief stops and questioning of travellers without individualized suspicion,” she said in an emailed statement to National Post on Tuesday.
“At these checkpoints, CBP officers may ask about immigration status and refer travellers for secondary inspection if necessary, but more invasive searches require probable cause or consent. Checkpoints are a longstanding law enforcement and national security tool, with dozens active along both the northern and southern borders at any time.”
She advised that Canadians should make sure they have extra time when travelling. She added that they should carry valid travel documents like passports or NEXUS cards, and answer questions clearly and respectfully.
“These practices help ensure smooth processing at checkpoints, which have been part of border enforcement for decades,” she said.
Canadians travelling to U.S. hits lowest rate since COVID amid Trump trade war: new data
The checkpoint was reportedly taken down by Sunday. However, it may have added to already heightened tensions between Canada and the U.S. amid new travel policies, people being detained at the border and others being turned away.
In February,
that all foreign nationals staying in the U.S. for more than 30 days would have to register online and get fingerprinted, per U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. Canadians were
later exempt from having to be fingerprinted
, but still have to register.
Travellers have also been detained at the border. At the Ambassador Bridge crossing, at least 213 people have been detained between January and mid-March, Democratic Rep. Rashida
Tlaib said at a press conference in April
. She said that in 90 per cent of the cases, the driver had mistakenly arrived at the crossing.
The Ambassador Bridge crossing connects Detroit, Michigan to Windsor, Ontario. It is the
busiest international crossing
in North America.
One woman ended up getting detained
after taking a wrong turn while trying to go to Costco
, it was reported in April. In another case,
a man delivering McDonald’s was detained
, and later deported, in January.
In another incident,
a French scientist was denied entry into the United States
after immigrations officers reportedly found messages criticizing President Donald Trump on his phone.
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