CBC is reporting that a French woman spent two weeks in an American detention centre after accidentally stepping foot on U.S. soil near the Peace Arch border crossing last month.
Cedella Roman, 19, who was visiting her mother in North Delta, said she was jogging along the Semiahmoo Bay waterfront and inadvertently crossed the Douglas (Peace Arch) port of entry on May 21.
At the end of her jog, Roman turned around and headed back to Canada when she was apprehended by two U.S. border patrol officers, she told CBC B次元官网网址.
B次元官网网址淎n officer stopped me and started telling me I had crossed the border illegally,B次元官网网址� she said. B次元官网网址淚 told him I had not done it on purpose and that I didnB次元官网网址檛 understand what was happening.
U.S. Customs and Border Protection (USCBP) officers told her that she had entered illegally,
An USCBP spokesperson told Friday that the agency cannot provide information on the case due to the privacy act, but did offer a statement on behalf of the service.
B次元官网网址淚f 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,B次元官网网址� the statement said.
B次元官网网址淚t 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. Additionally, itB次元官网网址檚 important for people traveling near the border to carry identification at all times, so that agents or officers can easily verify their identity.B次元官网网址�
After Roman was detained, she was reportedly transported to Tacoma Northwest Detention Centre, a facility operated by the Department of Homeland Security.
B次元官网网址淭hey put me in the caged vehicles and brought me into their facility,B次元官网网址� she said. B次元官网网址淭hey asked me to remove all my personal belongings with my jewellery, they searched me everywhere.B次元官网网址�
When RomanB次元官网网址檚 mother Christiane Fern learned of her daughterB次元官网网址檚 incarceration, she collaborated with Immigration Canada to co-ordinate the release of her daughter.
Roman was held in custody for two weeks before immigration officials on both sides of the border confirmed she was allowed back into Canada. She was then transferred back into B.C..
B次元官网网址淚t was just unfair that there was nothing, no sign at the border,B次元官网网址� Ferne, who visited her daughter several times while she was detained, told CBC. B次元官网网址淚tB次元官网网址檚 like a trapB次元官网网址� anybody can be caught up at the border like this.B次元官网网址�
Roman was reportedly discharged from the detention centre June 6.
Roman has yet to respond to a PAN request for comment.
