Latest News

  • Home
  • Global
  • Jogger Accidentally Crossed Into US From Canada, Was Detained For 2 Weeks
Jogger Accidentally Crossed Into US From Canada, Was Detained For 2 Weeks
Tuesday, June 26, 2018 IST
Jogger Accidentally Crossed Into US From Canada, Was Detained For 2 Weeks

The 19-year-old recounted that she was frightened after Border Patrol agents put her in "the caged vehicles" to transport her to a detention center.

 
 

The coast of White Rock, British Columbia, in western Canada looks to be an ideal place for a run, with its sweeping views of the Semiahmoo Bay to the west and scores of waterfront homes and seafood restaurants to the east. That's what 19-year-old Cedella Roman thought when she went jogging along the area's smooth beaches - in a southbound direction, notably - on May 21.
 
Roman, who lives in France, had been visiting her mother in nearby North Delta, British Columbia. During her run, she was admiring the scenery when she unwittingly crossed the border from Canada into the United States, Roman told the Canadian Broadcasting Corp.
 
The demarcation line between the two countries, it turns out, is only about three miles down the coast from White Rock's popular wooden pier.
 
Roman told CBC News she hadn't seen any signs indicating she was about to cross into the United States but that two U.S. Customs and Border Protection officers approached her shortly after she accidentally left Canada.
 
"An officer stopped me and started telling me I had crossed the border illegally," Roman told the news site. "I told him I had not done it on purpose, and that I didn't understand what was happening."
 
A map provided by CNN indicates that Roman would have crossed the border near the Peace Arch, a white marble monument that was erected in 1921 as "the world's first monument dedicated to Peace." The arch straddles the U.S.-Canada border and is inscribed with the words "CHILDREN OF A COMMON MOTHER" on one side and "BRETHREN DWELLING TOGETHER IN UNITY" on the other, meant to celebrate the friendship between the two North American countries.
 
Roman - who was not carrying any identification or proof of citizenship with her during her jog - told CBC News she thought the Border Patrol officers might simply let her go with a warning.
 
That was not to be the case, according to U.S. immigration officials, who confirmed the subsequent events in an email to The Washington Post.
 
Instead, the Border Patrol arrested Roman on May 21, "processed her as an expedited removal," then transferred her to the custody of Immigration and Customs Enforcement, according to ICE spokesperson Carissa Cutrell.
 
On May 22, Roman was taken to ICE's Northwest Detention Center in Tacoma, Washington, about 140 miles south of the border point where she had been arrested. She remained detained until June 5 when, after two weeks of paperwork and processing, Roman was taken back to the border "and removed to Canada," Cutrell said.
 

 
 

When asked why Roman was detained for two weeks, an ICE official indicated that Roman's status as a French citizen, rather than a Canadian one, may have lengthened the time it took to process her case.
 
"Once the U.S. Border Patrol transfers an individual to ICE custody for expedited removal to Canada, ICE must review the case and receive permission from the Canada Border Services Agency to complete the removal," an ICE official said in an email. "This can take several days, especially when the individual is a third-country national."
 
Neither Roman nor her mother, Christiane Ferne, could immediately be reached Saturday morning. Roman, however, recounted to CBC News that she was frightened after Border Patrol agents put her in "the caged vehicles" to transport her to a detention center.
 
"They asked me to remove all my personal belongings with my jewelry. They searched me everywhere," Roman told the news site. "Then I understood it was getting very serious, and I started to cry a bit."
 
Ferne decried her daughter's arrest as "a trap" and told CBC News she provided Roman's necessary travel documents to authorities immediately.
 
"It was just unfair that there was nothing, no sign at the border," Ferne told the news site. "Anybody can be caught at the border like this."
 
ICE said it received Roman's documents May 24, and that the Canadian Border Services Agency notified ICE on May 29 that "it would be willing to determine [Roman's] admissibility if she was returned to the Canadian Port of Entry near Blaine, Wash." It's unclear why Roman was not taken back to the U.S.-Canada border until June 5, nearly a week later.
 
A U.S. Customs and Border Protection representative told The Post that it was incumbent upon those traveling near the border to carry identification at all times.
 
"If an individual enters the United States at a location other than an official port of entry and without inspection by a Customs and Border Protection officer, they have illegally entered the United States and will be processed accordingly," a Border Patrol spokesperson said in an email. "It is the responsibility of an individual traveling in the vicinity of an international border to maintain awareness of their surroundings and their location at all times to ensure they do not illegally cross the border."

 
 
 
 
 

Related Topics

 
 
 

Trending News & Articles

 Article
'Worse than prison': A rare look inside China's detention camps to 'brainwash' Muslims

ALMATY: Hour upon hour, day upon day, Omir Bekali and other detainees in far western China's new indoctrination camps had to disavow the...

Recently posted . 207K views . 1 min read
 

 Article
What The Shape Of Your Belly Button Says About Your Health

If you have payed attention to the belly buttons of people on the beach or the members of your family, you have probably noticed that they have different shapes and...

Recently posted . 10K views . 2 min read
 

 Article
New ‘Langya’ virus hits China as 35 people found infected: How deadly is it?

The Langya henipavirus has a place with a similar group of infections, including Nipah, which is known to kill up to 3/4 of people in extreme cases.

Recently posted . 5K views . 1 min read
 

 Article
Queen Elizabeth Dies At 96: The New Royal Line Of Succession

Queen's death: The eldest of her four children, Charles, Prince of Wales, who at 73 was the oldest heir apparent in British history, became king immediately...

Recently posted . 5K views . 1 min read
 

 
 

More in Global

 Article
Bitcoin could soar as high as $64,000 next year, investment research firm Fundstrat predicts

• "We believe the current path of hash power growth supports a BTC price of about $36,000 by 2019 year end, with a ...

Recently posted. 801 views . 3 min read
 

 Article
From Start To Now: How Did The Bitcoin Revolution Begin?

Most people will have heard of Bitcoin by now, especially since it made its mainstream breakthrough just several years ago. Since then, Bitcoin has been a hot topic...

Recently posted. 629 views . 2 min read
 

 Article
‘Don’t assume you are Ok’: Amazon owner Jeff Bezos’s selfie leak triggers alarm for Billionaires

Its executive protection program is run by an ex-Secret Service agent, according to her LinkedIn profile.

Recently posted. 871 views . 0 min read
 

 Video
Unique architecture



Recently posted . 818 views
 

 Video
Chick makes the ultimate leap of faith



Recently posted . 1K views
 

 Photo
Top 10 Pictures That Shocked The World



Recently posted . 2K views
 

 Reviews
Leaseweb hosting review



Recently posted . 3K views . 67 min read
 

 Article
Hillary Clinton reads from controversial Trump book ‘Fire and Fury’ at the Grammys

  In a pre-taped sketch, Hillary Clinton read an excerpt from the book about Trump’s eating habits.

Recently posted. 603 views . 0 min read
 

 Article
5 Programming Languages In Fintech That’ll Earn You The Fattest Paycheck

The Indian banking sector has embraced emerging technologies that are disrupting the financial landscape. Leading Indian banks such as SBI, HDFC, Axis Bank, Yes B...

Recently posted. 915 views . 5 min read
 

 
 
 

   Prashnavali

  Thought of the Day

“Success means doing the best we can with what we have. Success is the doing, not the getting; in the trying, not the triumph. Success is a personal standard, reaching for the highest that is in us, becoming all that we can be.”
Anonymous

Be the first one to comment on this story

Close
Post Comment
Shibu Chandran
2 hours ago

Serving political interests in another person's illness is the lowest form of human value. A 70+ y old lady has cancer.

November 28, 2016 05:00 IST
Shibu Chandran
2 hours ago

Serving political interests in another person's illness is the lowest form of human value. A 70+ y old lady has cancer.

November 28, 2016 05:00 IST
Shibu Chandran
2 hours ago

Serving political interests in another person's illness is the lowest form of human value. A 70+ y old lady has cancer.

November 28, 2016 05:00 IST
Shibu Chandran
2 hours ago

Serving political interests in another person's illness is the lowest form of human value. A 70+ y old lady has cancer.

November 28, 2016 05:00 IST


ads
Back To Top