New Hampshire resident and Canadian citizen stuck in Canada after U.S. border patrol refuses reentry
Chris Landry is a legal U.S. resident and a Canadian citizen. He lives in Peterborough, New Hampshire, with his partner and five children, and is employed as a manufacturing machine operator.
On Sunday, he was stopped while trying to cross the border at Houlton, Maine. He and three of his children (two under 18 and one aged 20) were visiting his father, grandmother and extended relatives in New Brunswick. He says this is an annual trip, with returns across the N.B.-Maine border. He was born in Canada and has lived in the 'Granite State' since he was three years old, when his family moved there. But he never pursued becoming a U.S. citizen.
U.S. Customs and Border officers pulled him aside and questioned misdemeanor convictions that date back to 2004 and 2007, he told the Boston NBC News affiliate this week. Under the U.S. justice system, a person can be charged with a felony or a misdemeanor, depending on the offence and its severity. Misdemeanors are lesser offences, resulting in lesser penalties.
Landry was charged with marijuana possession and driving with a suspended licence. He was given 60-day sentences (both suspended) and fined, which he paid.
In the past, he said he would cross without issue. Border authorities would scan his green card, ask a few questions and send him on his way, Landry told New Hampshire newspaper, The Keene Sentinel.
However, after three hours at the border, the 46-year-old was told by the border authorities that he wouldn't be allowed back into the U.S. Instead, he was instructed to return to Canada and warned if he tried again to reenter the U.S., he would be immediately arrested. The only way for him to get back in would be to go before an immigration judge, Landry told NBC10 Boston from a relative's home in New Brunswick.
The CBP told NBC Boston that 'possessing a green card is a privilege, not a right, and under our nation's laws, our government has the authority to revoke a green card if our laws are broken and abused. Lawful permanent residents presenting at a U.S. port of entry with previous criminal convictions may be subject to mandatory detention and/or may be asked to provide additional documentation to be set up for an immigration hearing.'
The CBP posted the same statement on its X account on Tuesday.
As a Canadian citizen, Landry couldn't vote for president, but he says he supported Donald Trump. Now he blames the Trump administration's crackdown on immigration for his dilemma.
'A misdemeanor shouldn't be a deciding factor on the rest of my life,' Landry told the Sentinel. However, multiple convictions can, in some cases, be a reason not to grant a non-citizen entry to the U.S., according to U.S. federal law.
After being contacted by Landry, New Hampshire Democratic Senator Maggie Hassan released a statement to the Sentinel: 'Helping constituents navigate federal agencies and processes is a core function of Senator Hassan's office. We can confirm that Mr. Landry reached out to our office and our constituent services team has been in touch with him. We won't have any additional comment on specific details as is our general policy around ongoing constituent matters.' (The statement was not posted to Senator Hassan's official website or her X account.)
This is not the first time a New England resident has faced trouble reentering the U.S. from eastern Canada. In April, a New Hampshire real estate attorney said he was returning home when he was detained at the border without explanation.
Bachir Atallah and his wife, Jessica Fakhri, were travelling back from a quick family trip when they say U.S. Customs and Border Protection stopped them while reentering via the Quebec-Vermont border.
They had been visiting Canada for the weekend, but 'on the way back, I was treated like a criminal,' Atallah told NBC Boston.
Atallah received his legal training in Maine, founded his own law firm and speaks English, French, Arabic and Russian. He has been a U.S. citizen for 10 years.
The U.S. Customs and Border Protection defended its actions by calling Atallah's account 'blatantly false and sensationalized.'
What lawyers are advising Canadians to do to minimize risk of scrutiny at the U.S. border
What are your rights at the U.S. border? Can phones or laptops be searched?
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