
US decision to limit Canadian access to border-straddling library prompts outpouring of emotion
For more than 100 years, people in Stanstead, Quebec have been able to walk into Derby Line, Vermont to enter the border-straddling Haskell Free Library and Opera House – no passport required.
But municipal and library officials said on Friday that U.S. authorities have unilaterally decided to end the century-old unwritten agreement. Coming at a time of heightened tensions between the two countries, the decision is prompting an outpouring of emotion in communities on both sides of the border, which in places has been marked simply by flower pots.
Inside the library celebrated as a symbol of international friendship, Pauline Lussier and Chris Blais put their arms around each other's shoulders Friday as they stood on either side of the line taped down the floor marking the border. Lussier, a Canadian, and Blais, an American met for the first time that day.
'A line doesn't separate us, it never has,' said Blais, who held an American flag in her hands while Lussier held a Canadian one.
'Our kids have gone back and forth over this border without any problem at all ... this is all going to change now, and there's no reason for this,' Blais added.
Once inside the library, Canadian and American citizens have been able to mingle freely across the border line drawn on the floor – as long as they return to the proper country afterward. In 2016, then-president Barack Obama hailed the symbolic importance of the library, built in 1901. 'A resident of one of these border towns once said, 'We're two different countries, but we're like one big town,'' Obama said.
A spokesperson for U.S. Customs and Border Protection, CBP, confirmed that the divide is about to become more pronounced. Starting in the coming days, only library card holders and employees will be able to cross over from Canada to enter the building through the main door on the U.S. side.
And as of Oct. 1, no Canadians will be able to enter the library via the United States without going through the border checkpoint, though there will be exceptions for law enforcement, emergency services, mail delivery, official workers and those with disabilities.
The statement acknowledged the library as a 'unique landmark,' but said the border agency was phasing in a new approach for security reasons.
'Due to the library's location, and convenience of local populations, CBP has allowed customers of the library to access its sidewalk, without inspection, for decades,' the agency said in a statement. 'However, during that time, this area has witnessed a continued rise in illicit cross-border activity.'
It noted there have been a number of incidents in and around the library that resulted in apprehensions in recent years, including a person attempting to smuggle firearms in the past year.
Town and library officials say Canadian visitors without a library card will have to enter by a back door on the Canadian side, across a muddy stretch of grass. The library announced Friday that it was launching a GoFundMe to raise the estimated $100,000 Canadian (US$69,000) it will cost to build a sidewalk, new parking lot and wheelchair access.
Stanstead Mayor Jody Stone said the U.S. decision 'makes no sense.' However, he said the decision from U.S. President Donald Trump's administration would not affect the close bond between the communities, which share municipal services and facilities.
'No matter what this administration does, it will not change the fact that Stanstead and Derby Line are partners and friends forever,' he said.
Several residents, some in tears, gathered at the border to denounce the decision. Penny Thomas stood on the American side, holding up a sign with a maple leaf on it that said 'Keep Haskell open.'
In February, the Boston Globe reported that the U.S. Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem visited the library and repeated Trump's taunts about making Canada the 51st state as she stepped back and forth across the line that marks the border.
According to the library's website, Canadian visitors had been allowed to enter the library by the main entrance on the U.S. side. While passports or visas were not necessary, library officials had warned that U.S. Border Patrol and RCMP would monitor movements and could request to see identification.
Hashtags

Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles


NBC News
21 minutes ago
- NBC News
Trump says China tariffs will stay high after two days of talks
The U.S. will keep high tariffs on Chinese goods, President Donald Trump said Wednesday morning, touting a preliminary trade agreement that he and his Chinese counterpart, Xi Jinping, will need to approve. China will supply rare earth minerals and magnets "up front," Trump said in a post on his Truth Social platform, although he didn't clarify the exact terms. Trump also said "we are getting a total of 55% of tariffs, China is getting 10%" without explaining further. A White House official told NBC News that the 55% figure isn't new, as it reflects the 30% tariffs Trump has implemented this year in addition to pre-existing duties totaling 25%. The president's announcement came the morning after top-level U.S. and Chinese officials wrapped up two days of negotiations in London that were meant to get a trade truce, originally brokered in Geneva last month, back on track. Trump's post also went further than what Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick, one of the top U.S. negotiators in London, said about the outcome of the negotiations. 'We have reached a framework to implement the Geneva consensus and the call between the two presidents,' Lutnick told reporters Tuesday night. "I think we have the two largest economies in the world have reached a handshake for a framework." Trump added in a later Truth Social post that "President XI and I are going to work closely together to open up China to American Trade." The American negotiators on Tuesday night did not announce any major modifications to Chinese market access for U.S. companies after the conclusion of talks. Additionally, U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer said there were no further meetings planned with Chinese officials. Lutnick and Greer did not commit to releasing the "framework" agreed upon in London either. Chinese officials, likewise, said the two sides agreed in principle on a consensus regarding the Geneva agreement but did not provide any specific details. The talks in London occurred after the U.S. and China accused each other of breaching a pact reached in early May, which led to both countries lowering tariffs by 115%. Part of that agreement was easing export restrictions on rare earth minerals and metals that are critical for everyday products such as batteries and automobile production.

Western Telegraph
an hour ago
- Western Telegraph
Trump says US will get magnets and rare earth minerals in China trade deal
In return, Mr Trump said the US will provide China 'what was agreed to', including allowing Chinese students to attend American colleges and universities. Several global brands are among dozens of companies at risk of using forced labour through their Chinese supply chains because they use critical minerals or buy minerals-based products sourced from the far-western Xinjiang region of China, an international rights group said on Wednesday. The report by the Netherlands-based Global Rights Compliance says companies including Avon, Walmart, Nescafe, Coca-Cola and paint supplier Sherwin-Williams may be linked to titanium sourced from Xinjiang, where rights groups allege the Chinese government runs coercive labour practices targeting predominantly Muslim Uyghurs and other Turkic minorities. Hotan, in western China's Xinjiang region (Andy Wong/AP) The report found 77 Chinese suppliers in the titanium, lithium, beryllium and magnesium industries operating in Xinjiang. It said the suppliers are at risk of participating in the Chinese government's 'labour transfer programmes,' in which Uyghurs are forced to work in factories as part of a long-standing campaign of assimilation and mass detention. Commercial paints, thermos cups and components for the aerospace, auto and defence industries are among products sold internationally that can trace their supply chains to minerals from Xinjiang, the report said. It said that companies must review their supply chains. 'Mineral mining and processing in (Xinjiang) rely in part on the state's forced labour programmes for Uyghurs and other Turkic people in the region,' the report said. The report came as China and the United States, the world's two largest economies, said that they have agreed on a framework to get their trade negotiations back on track after a series of disputes that threatened to derail them. The two sides on Tuesday wrapped up two days of talks in London that appeared to focus on finding a way to resolve disputes over mineral and technology exports that had shaken a fragile truce on trade reached in Geneva last month. Asked about the report, the Chinese Foreign Ministry said that 'no-one has ever been forcibly transferred in China's Xinjiang under work programmes'. 'The so-called allegation of forced labour in China's Xinjiang region is nothing but a lie concocted by certain anti-China forces. We urge the relevant organisation to stop interfering in China's internal affairs and undermining Xinjiang's prosperity and stability under the guise of human rights,' ministry spokesperson Lin Jian said. The named companies did not immediately comment on the report. A UN report from 2022 found China may have committed crimes against humanity in Xinjiang, where more than one million Uyghurs are estimated to have been arbitrarily detained as part of measures that the Chinese government said were intended to target terrorism and separatism. The Chinese government has rejected the UN claims and defended its actions in Xinjiang as fighting terror and ensuring stability. In 2021, then-US president Joe Biden signed a law to block imports from the Xinjiang region unless businesses can prove the items were made without forced labour. The law initially targeted solar products, tomatoes, cotton and apparel, but the US government recently added new sectors for enforcement, including aluminium and seafood. Many of China's major minerals corporations have invested in the exploration and mining of lithium, a key component for electric vehicle batteries, in Xinjiang, Global Rights Compliance said. Xinjiang is also China's top source of beryllium, a mineral used for aerospace, defence and telecommunications, its report said. A recent report by the International Energy Agency said that the world's sources of critical minerals are increasingly concentrated in a few countries, notably China, which is also a leading refining and processing base for lithium, cobalt, graphite and other minerals.


The Independent
an hour ago
- The Independent
Trump says Trade War ‘deal with China is done' and he and Xi agree on minerals: ‘FULL MAGNETS'
From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging. At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story. The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it. Your support makes all the difference.