DSC_0032 2 copy

US Border Patrol, Port Angeles, WA-

Jan 2018 update:

The local paper in Port Angeles has upgraded their web format once again. Several stories from their news archives are no longer viewable. Some stories are viewable in the new format. Unfortunately, comments have been stripped away. Might be a good time for some updated reporting.

 

No land border with Canada.

Several commenters have taken issue with this statement. Maybe sharing no land border with Canada helps to explain why so few USBP arrests happen here.

 

Urban legend: The US Border Patrol stopped the Millennium Bomber at Port Angeles-

Ahmed Ressam was captured at the traditional port of entry at Port Angeles by Customs Inspectors wearing blue uniforms- not by Border Patrol Agents wearing green uniforms.

Pre-911 staffing & infrastructure levels got the job done. How many US Border Patrol agents were stationed at Port Angeles in 1999?

 

Two total cross-border arrests.

No cross-border USBP arrest has happened here in more than 8 years:

No arrests linked to the US/Canada border since May 31st, 2010.

 

Still no justification provided by elected officials or the US Border Patrol for an upgrade in staff requiring a new, $11.9 million, 50 agent facility.

March 2017-

“The Port Angeles Border Patrol Station was staffed with 42 agents as of 2013 with a coverage area that includes Clallam and Jefferson counties. The contingent had grown from four agents in 2006.”

“The new, $11.9 million Border Patrol station, which can hold 50 agents, was built in 2013.”

 

Port Angeles USBP station- grand opening:

“Jones asked a Peninsula Daily News reporter to interview only Border Patrol personnel selected by the agency and to confine interviews of selected personnel to topics concerning the station’s opening.”

No topics to be discussed unless pre-approved by the agency in question.

 

If you run a government operation- these are the reporters you want to see on interview day:

 

Heroin-

Question for newspeople:

What role do 1,200-horsepower Border Patrol Interceptor boats play in keeping heroin away from the Puget Sound area?

2011-

“… their main interaction with the boating public: Boarding boats and checking for ID, getting a “vibe,” as Jeff P. called it, for what’s up.”

2013-

Heroin epidemic gripping Port Angeles

2015-

Port Angeles residents fed up with heroin problem

2017-

“Residents who filled the Port Angeles City Council chambers and lobby Tuesday night said they were fed up with the heroin epidemic in Clallam County and asked what is being done to stop opioid abuse and what they can do to help.”

2019-

“Jail staff are now using medication to help addicts detox from heroin while in custody.”

Frequent updates here.

 

Newspeople,

Why did the Blaine Sector Weekly US Border Patrol blotter go extinct?

Has the Port Angeles Border Patrol been able to intercept any inbound heroin?

When is the last time the Port Angeles Border Patrol made an arrest of any kind?

Any arrests connected to the US/Canada border?

Any arrests connected to a Homeland Security mission?

Are fraudulent overtime claims still the norm at Port Angeles?

Border Patrol whistleblower pays price for refusing overtime pay

 

Arrest statistics are secret:

US Border Patrol, Port Angeles, WA-

Aug 2010-

A US Border Patrol spokesperson tells the press:

“Border Patrol spokeswoman Jenny Burke said Monday that the agency will not release any information on the number of arrests made by agents who work out of the Port Angeles station, the names of those arrested, what they were arrested for and the disposition of their cases”

“The number of arrests for Port Angeles’ or any other station is “law enforcement-sensitive,” Burke said.”

“The names of those arrested and other facts about them are not available for release under the 1974 Privacy Act, she said.”

Aug 2011-

“In March, Supervisory Border Patrol Agent Richard Sinks declined to release statistics on apprehensions or detainments made by the Port Angeles station.”

“Disclosure of the arrest statistics from the Port Angeles station would provide those interested in crossing our borders illegally with information that could aid their strategic targeting of potentially vulnerable areas along the border,” he said in an e-mail. “To maintain operational security these numbers will not be provided.”

March 2017-

“…the Border Patrol does not provide apprehension statistics and staffing levels for individual Border Patrol stations.”

 

Denied FOIA requests-

“The Border Patrol has refused repeated requests by the Peninsula Daily News — including those made under the Freedom of Information Act — for arrest totals for the Port Angeles station, which covers a territory that includes Clallam and Jefferson counties.”

 

Local USBP whistleblower investigation results in further suppression of information.

“terms are confidential.” 

More here.

A proper investigation will reveal the truth- where is the report?

Border Patrol whistleblower pays price for refusing overtime pay

 

Suspicionless checkpoints ended on the Olympic Peninsula in 2008. Suspicionless bus boardings ended in October, 2011.

If Olympic Peninsula USBP operations are being downsized, why have local USBP personnel numbers been upsized?

 

If one thing could change to make this situation better, it would be for the US Border Patrol to develop a working relationship with the press.

More here:

A working relationship with the press

 

Related-

Puget Sound Coastal Patrol Boats

The Press & the Port Angeles Border Patrol

Positive Examples in Law Enforcement

Heavily fortified small town unable to keep heroin out

Struggling to Defend the Border Patrol

Discuss on facebook here:

Local reporters will not question the US Border Patrol at Port Angeles?

 

 

Photo- Hood Canal scene