Subject: CAUS - More tightening<br/>
Date: Feb 09, 2004 @ 15:18<br/>
Author: Doug Murray (Doug Murray &lt;doug@...&gt;)<br/>
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<div id="ygrps-yiv-1083420391">Monday  »  February 9  »  2004<br/>
<br/>
Maine man faces $10,000 fine for going to church - in Quebec<br/>
U.S. Customs bureau cut program allowing certain people to cross at <br/>
closed border stops<br/>
AP<br/>
<br/>
Monday, February 09, 2004<br/>
<br/>
A resident in this remote northern Maine outpost along the Quebec <br/>
border says he&#39;s being fined $10,000 U.S. for going to church.<br/>
<br/>
Richard Albert, 52, said the U.S. Bureau of Customs and Border <br/>
Protection recently told him he faces two $5,000 fines for twice <br/>
crossing from Quebec into Maine on a Sunday, when the local border <br/>
crossing station is closed.<br/>
<br/>
Albert&#39;s home is on the Maine side of the border, right beside the U.S. <br/>
Customs office. But the church is on the Canadian side, which means he <br/>
has to cross illegally to attend church services.<br/>
<br/>
Albert, a U.S. citizen, said he&#39;s been crossing the border at his own <br/>
discretion for more than 40 years. But security has been tightened <br/>
since May, when the Bureau of Customs eliminated a program allowing <br/>
pre-approved people to cross the border when certain border stations <br/>
were closed.<br/>
<br/>
&quot;This situation, it&#39;s like having a nightmare, and you feel that Big <br/>
Brother is really controlling you and you can do nothing about it,&quot; <br/>
Albert said.<br/>
<br/>
Although a customs bureau spokesperson would not comment on specific <br/>
cases, she said people may be penalized when they attempt to cross the <br/>
border at a closed crossing or where no bureau facilities exist.<br/>
<br/>
Entry without inspection carries a $5,000 penalty, and subsequent <br/>
offences may carry fines of up to $10,000, said spokesperson Janet <br/>
Rapaport.<br/>
<br/>
The elimination of the special program creates problems for the people <br/>
who live in this settlement. Family and friends, and such amenities as <br/>
stores, churches and medical facilities are in Quebec.<br/>
<br/>
&quot;We&#39;re supposed to stay here and not move?&quot; Albert said. &quot;We&#39;re being <br/>
treated like animals here. At 9 p.m., we&#39;re locked in the barns and at <br/>
6 a.m., we&#39;re let out to pasture.&quot;<br/>
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