U.S. House Subcommittee holds special border hearing in Grand Forks
GRAND FORKS, N.D. (KVRR) – The House Judiciary Subcommittee on Immigration Integrity, Security and Enforcement held a field hearing in Grand Forks to hear North Dakota perspectives on border issues.
Witnesses testified before the subcommittee about issues surrounding the southern and northern borders, and how they are impacting the state.
Rebecca Davis, Executive Director of the Walhalla Area Chamber of Commerce spoke about the issues residents and businesses have experienced with border crossings in the area being open for limited hours.
“The border was opened back up to reduced hours, being 5 in Maida, 4 in Neche and 6 in Walhalla. ”
Davis said in an interview after the hearing that the inability for both Americans and Canadians to cross the border has left a significant impact on the region’s economy.
“With Neche and Gretna being a mile from the border, you basically cut their town in half.”
Crimes related to border crossings were also discussed during the hearing, after a Customs and Border Protection press release about a May 15th incident of suspicious border activity that led to the discovery of 65 firearms that two people had attempted to smuggle into Canada came out just prior to the hearing.
Sheriff Jesse Jahner testified that his office has struggled finding assistance from CBP for cases involving illegal migrants due to understaffing in North Dakota.
“Assistance from our federal partners when it comes to immigration and immigration enforcement has dwindled from what we, what I was used to in the past.”
He says that this could lead to his office being unable to provide adequate assistance to cases of human trafficking in the area.
“We’re always cognizant of that, because sometimes someone comes to our country and they really want to be here, and someone knowing that can really take advantage of them. And that person might not report that kind of activity, because they’re just grateful that they’re here in the country.”
Sheriff Jahner said he hopes the hearing will lead to improved cooperation with federal agencies.
