PORT TOWNSEND — Port of Port Townsend executives have discussed the possibility of leasing port space to U.S. Customs and Border Protection, a commissioner said last week after a group protested the idea.
Port commissioner Chairman Dave Thompson said port executives have discussed with the federal General Services Administration the prospect of leasing about 1,200 square feet of office space around Port Townsend, including at the port offices at Point Hudson.
Thompson said the office would house a U.S. Customs agent but could be used periodically by Border Patrol agents to use computers or phones.
Five Port Townsend-area residents who are members of a group called Border Patrol Free told port commissioners Wednesday that they are opposed to a larger Border Patrol presence on the North Olympic Peninsula and urged the commissioners not to lease port space for Border Patrol use.
“Much as the port may need the money, we don’t need to sell out this cheaply,” said Jim Buckley, Border Patrol Free supporter.
“I recommend that the port commission not rent space to the Border Patrol and absolutely not rent to the Border Patrol without a full public review,” he added.
The Border Patrol is the uniformed law enforcement arm of U.S. Customs and Border Protection within the Department of Homeland Security.
“One of the things on the plus side is we become a port of entry again,” said Thompson, who added that he is not personally supportive of the Border Patrol.
Blaine Sector Border Patrol spokesman Richard Sinks said Friday that he has no information about the Border Patrol office proposed in Port Townsend but may have information later.
The Border Patrol Free Network is a group of organizations and individuals who oppose Border Patrol activities inside the U.S. borders and who seek to reverse the expansion of Homeland Security on the Olympic Peninsula, said the group’s website, www.bpfree.org.
The Port Angeles Border Patrol station — headquarters for agents in both Jefferson and Clallam counties — has grown from four agents in 2006 to 25 as of August.
The station is expected to move next year to larger quarters that could accommodate up to 50 agents after Homeland Security finalizes the purchase of the Eagles Aerie 483 lodge in Port Angeles.
The Border Patrol Free Network, formed in 2008, wants elected representatives to stop checkpoints, personnel and facility expansion plans and raids; to reduce Border Patrol activities and funding; and to urge that dwindling resources instead be redirected to support critical education, health, social services and infrastructure needs.
“We are calling for a Border Patrol Free Zone to end these activities which abuse our civil liberties, target minorities, waste tax dollars, and create a climate of fear in our communities,” the group’s website says.
“The actions of the Border Patrol on our rural peninsula do not enhance border security.”
Others voicing opposition to the port lease to the Border Patrol were Port Townsend residents Kate Franco and Libby Palmer
“They are pursuing hardworking members of our communities because they cannot find any real terrorists,” Franco told the port commissioners.
“Why does our government spend many millions of dollars building it and then many more to keep it running with a full staff when we don’t have money to fund educational and health programs that actually help out the needy people instead of frightening people?”
Palmer asked why the port commissioners would consider renting the space to the Border Patrol “after almost 400 citizens of Jefferson County registered their concern about Border Patrol tactics and behavior at a public forum in Chimacum, held Nov. 3, 2008.”
“Do the port commissioners think that we’ve forgotten their concerns?” Palmer said.
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Sequim-Dungeness Valley Editor Jeff Chew can be reached at 360-681-2391 or at jeff.chew@peninsuladailynews.com.
