‘Have you ever voted in US election?’ 61-year-old Canadian citizen, US Green Card holder, detained at border, interrogated for 6 hours, made to sign removal order

61-year-old Canadian woman who holds a US green card was detained at the border and was asked if she had ever voted in a US election. (CBC News)

A 61-year-old Canadian citizen who has been living in the US for 14 years as a Green Card holder was detained by border officials and interrogated for hours about whether she ever voted for any US election. Paige Adamson told CBC News that she was on her way home from a birthday dinner in Tsawwassen, British Columbia, Canada, while her residence is in Point Roberts, Washington State, in the US.

Two places at the center of the issue

Point Roberts is a US territory, but it is physically cut off from the rest of Washington State by Canadian territory. So someone who lives in the United States in Point Roberts like Adamson can routinely have to cross into Canada and then re-enter the United States to go elsewhere in the region.Point Roberts is called a pene-exclave of the US state of Washington on the southernmost tip of the Tsawwassen peninsula, south of Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada.

‘Have you ever voted in a federal US election’

Adamson told the CBC News that the first question she was asked was whether she ever voted in a federal US election. She regularly crossed the border but this was the first time she was stopped and asked this question. “They immediately said, ‘Park over here and come into the office.'”Adamson said she told them that she never voted in the US but the Department of Homeland Security accused her of falsely claiming that she was a US citizen and that she voted. She was interrogated for six hours until after 2am and was made to sign documents before being admitted to the US. One of the documents CBC News reviewed said Adamson “must surrender for removal from the United States, if so ordered.”The DHS said Adamson registered to vote in Whatcom County, Washington State. She also voted in Washington State’s 2018 general election, it has been alleged. Adamson said she never voted in a federal election and did not remember ever voting in a state election but she received a ballot once and may have been registered.“I was basically treated like a criminal,” she said, recounting the experience of the interrogation. She was not offered water until around the five-hour mark and wa not asked whether she wanted to use the bathroom.