PORT ANGELES — Staff members from the North Olympic Peninsula’s congressional delegation plan to meet this month with the U.S. Border Patrol’s top supervisor for the Blaine sector to discuss a sore point among some Peninsula residents: stepped-up Border Patrol activities in Clallam and Jefferson counties.
John C. Bates, chief of the Blaine Border Patrol Sector, was unaware of any such plans as of Friday, said spokesman Richard Sinks, though he said Bates is “of course” open to meeting with congressional staff members.
George Behan, spokesman for 6th District U.S. Rep. Norm Dicks, said staffers want to review with Bates the staffing and mission of the agency in Clallam and Jefferson counties.
“Very obviously, there are concerns on the Peninsula,” Behan said.
“We want to get an update on the current activities and future plans, including the concern that the Border Patrol office in the area could be overstaffed,” he continued.
“We obviously would be asking [the Border Patrol’s] purposes and how that fits into the mission.”
Behan said the meeting would be held by Aug 31.
Staff members for U.S. Sens. Maria Cantwell and Patty Murray will be invited to the meeting, Behan said, adding that he expects representatives of one or both senators to attend.
The Blaine sector covers Alaska, Oregon and the western half of Washington, including the North Olympic Peninsula.
Dicks’ constituency includes Clallam and Jefferson counties, and his staff is planning the get-together.
A date and location for the meeting, which is being arranged by Dicks’ staff, have not been set, but a rough agenda has, Behan said.
Behan said he will ask Bates how many agents staff the Port Angeles station and may ask for arrest data but said information may not be made public — if he even gets answers.
U.S. Customs and Border Protection, the Border Patrol’s parent agency, has refused a Freedom of Information Act request for current agent staffing numbers and arrest data from the Peninsula Daily News, citing national security concerns.
The agent staff grew from four in 2006 to 24 by April 29, 2009. Two weeks ago, Border Patrol Agent Christian Sanchez of Port Angeles said there are more than 40 agents stationed in Port Angeles.
He made the assertion, and several allegations against the Border Patrol, in a statement he read during a Government Accountability project panel discussion in Washington, D.C., on July 29, titled “Making Whistleblowing Work.”
Sanchez claimed the Port Angeles station was a “black hole” staffed by more than 40 agents “with no purpose, no mission.”
The Port Angeles Border Patrol station will relocate by April 14 from downtown Port Angeles to a new, $5.7 million headquarters with room for up to 50 agents at 110 S. Penn St., about two miles east of downtown.
The meeting being arranged by Dicks’ staff represents a change of course for Dicks, the ranking member on the House Appropriations Committee on Defense and a congressman deeply involved in homeland security issues, Behan said.
Customs and Border Protection is part of the federal Department of Homeland Security.
Four days after Sanchez made his allegations, Behan referred to Sanchez’s situation as “a personnel matter” and said it was unlikely the congressman would get involved.
Behan said then that Sanchez was represented by counsel and may file legal action, so it made more sense to “await the results.”
On Wednesday, Behan said the last time Dicks’ staff met with Border Patrol supervisors for the North Olympic Peninsula was in 2008, adding that community sentiment on Border Patrol activities has turned negative among some residents.
Border Patrol agents are active throughout Clallam and Jefferson counties and often assist law enforcement on traffic stops with backup and translation help.
Behan said the agency’s “main target is terrorism.”
Port Angeles Border Patrol station supervisor Jose Romero told the Forks City Council on Monday that the agency’s mission is multi-pronged.
“When we talk about partnerships, it’s not just about finding illegal immigrants,” Romero said then.
“It’s not just about finding terrorists. But we also deal with narcotics. That’s part of our authority. It’s any type of contraband.”
Agents were assisting the U.S. Forest Service during a traffic stop May 14 when 43-year-old Benjamin Roldan Salinas ran away and jumped into the Sol-Duc River.
The West End Hispanic community engaged in a massive search for Roldan Salinas before his body was discovered four miles downstream June 4.
Border Patrol agents also have stopped drivers and boarded public buses on the North Olympic Peninsula to ask for identification in searches for illegal immigrants.
“We see a lot of anger in the community about some of these activities, and we don’t know enough about the purposes and the plans [of the Border Patrol], and thus we need to have more information,” Behan said.
“That’s one of the reasons why we’re doing this.
“But another is we need to have an ongoing dialogue with the federal agency on the Peninsula because the congressman is representing the Peninsula.”
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Senior Staff Writer Paul Gottlieb can be reached at 360-417-3536 or at paul.gottlieb@peninsuladailynews.com.
