Press Releases

Responding to a call from Congresswoman Suzan DelBene and local residents to the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) to take actions to reduce wait times and increase border crossing capacity at all five ports of entry in Whatcom County, CBP announced that it will begin extending the Point Roberts border crossing NEXUS lane hours during the peak summer travel season. This increase in border crossing capacity will benefit residents of Point Roberts who frequently travel to and from the U.S. mainland by keeping the NEXUS lanes operational through Labor Day for an additional two hours until 9 p.m. 

DelBene issued the following statement regarding today’s CBP announcement:

“This is good news for the residents and local economy of Point Roberts. Delays at our border crossings are not merely a minor inconvenience, they hurt businesses in Whatcom County and significantly diminish the quality of life for people in the community. I appreciate CBP’s quick response, and with today’s announcement, residents and other travelers coming to Point Roberts will now be able to utilize NEXUS lanes later into the evening hours. This is a positive development, but there is still more to do, and I will continue to work with CBP to make sure that every effort is made to keep wait-times to a minimum at all five border crossings in Whatcom County throughout the peak summer travel season.”    

Located about 20 miles south of Vancouver, B.C., Point Roberts is a 4.9 square-mile exclave that is part of the mainland United States but is physically disconnected from it. Traveling to Point Roberts requires a 14-mile boat trip from the border crossing at Blaine, or a drive nearly twice that far through Canada. When driving to the U.S. mainland from Point Roberts, residents must drive into Canada and then cross the border again to get back into the U.S. In June, Point Roberts residents submitted a petition to CBP officials and DelBene calling for NEXUS lane hours to be extended because of the unacceptable wait times at the Point Roberts border crossing.

The NEXUS program permits trusted American and Canadian travelers to cross the border more efficiently. Participation in the program grew to 917,000 individuals by the end of 2013, and current Point Roberts NEXUS enrollment statistics indicate an active enrollee population of approximately 80% of the 1,500 residents. In Fiscal Year 2013, there were nearly 400,000 crossings in the NEXUS lane alone at the Point Roberts Port of Entry, which underscores the vital importance of the program to the Point Roberts community.