The Trump Administration’s Next Big Target Is ... a Library on the Canada-U.S. Border?
Sometimes, the biggest stories in an infirm republic happen in the smallest places.
The Haskell Free Library & Opera House was long one of those quirky, delightful New England stories beloved by many of my more obnoxiously provincial fellow citizens, and the associate producers on the Funky Anomalies Network. It’s been literally straddling the border between Derby Line, Vermont and Stanstead, Quebec since it opened 1904. It was the friendliest spot on the world’s friendliest border. People drove for hours on both sides to browse books internationally without the necessity of passports. Then, of course, this country elected Trump again. From The New York Times:
For decades, Canadians left Canadian soil and walked down an open sidewalk next to the library to reach its main entrance, located on the U.S. side—no passports required. But the United States announced in March that it would bar Canadians from directly accessing the library, saying that the library’s open border policy has led to cases of smuggling and other security concerns.
Smuggling? Canadian matrons stashing blood diamonds in their handbags when they drop by to pick up the latest from Mary Higgins Clark? Dope-running hockey moms desperate for good coffee before Saturday ice-time with the kids? Justin Trudeau sneaking a copy of The Art Of The Deal back across the border under his Carhartt?
Starting in October, all Canadians wishing to use the main entrance will first have to go to a nearby U.S. border crossing, passport in hand, and officially enter the United States. Canadians who are not Haskell library cardholders have already been banned from using the open sidewalk into the library. A new sign warns that if they do, they “will be arrested and face prosecution and/or removal from the United States.” Most Canadians are now entering through a previously unused back door.
Anyway, the library’s imminent transformation was heralded by the descent of the harpies.
The crackdown at the library and opera house followed a visit in January by Kristi Noem, the U.S. Secretary of Homeland Security. The U.S. authorities had been pressing to restrict access to the Haskell in recent years, even suggesting that Canadians and Americans take turns visiting it, library officials said. Inside the library, Ms. Noem and her entourage stood on the south side of the black tape while facing the library staff on the other side. U.S. officials described illicit cross-border episodes involving the library, while library officials argued that they had beefed up security.
All of a sudden, Ms. Noem stepped over the tape and back a couple of times, saying, “51st state, U.S.,” as her entourage giggled, said library officials, who were left speechless.
Noem and her gnomes certainly have their eyes on the sparrow—probably as hors d’oeuvres. But the library has its defenders. The duck-boot auxiliary is not be trifled with idly.
esquire
