- Canadian citizen and U.S. permanent resident Paige Adamson was held nearly six hours at the Point Roberts crossing.
- Homeland Security documents allege she falsely claimed U.S. citizenship to register to vote and voted in Washington’s 2018 general election.
- A lawyer reported three similar cases in about a week and a half and estimated hundreds of Canadians could face related scrutiny.
A Canadian citizen and U.S. permanent resident, Paige Adamson, was held for nearly six hours at the Point Roberts crossing on September 15, 2026, and questioned about voting in a U.S. election. She was returning from a birthday dinner in Tsawwassen, B.C.
The questioning focused on alleged voter-registration activity in Washington state. Adamson said the first question she heard was, “Have you ever voted in a federal U.S. election?”
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Documents she provided say the Department of Homeland Security alleged she falsely claimed U.S. citizenship “for the purposes of registering to vote in Whatcom County, Washington state.” The documents also allege she voted in Washington’s 2018 general election. Those are allegations, not findings described in the material.
Adamson said officers took her into secondary inspection just after 9 p.m. and questioned her until after 2 a.m. She remained detained until nearly 3 a.m., then entered the United States after signing documents.
She said no one offered her water until around the five-hour mark. Officers also did not ask if she needed to use the bathroom.
Immigration lawyer Len Saunders, who is based in Blaine, Washington, said the case may signal a broader pattern. He said he received calls from three people in the past week and a half who described detentions and questions about voting, including Adamson.
Saunders called three near-identical situations in such a short period “unprecedented” in more than 25 years of practice. He also warned, “This is just the tip of the iceberg.”
Border officers can question permanent residents over voting records
A U.S. Customs and Border Protection spokesperson said permanent residents undergo checks against federal and state databases when they arrive at a port of entry. The agency said records that flag voting or citizenship issues can prompt extended scrutiny.
“potential unlawful voter registration, illegal voting, or a previous false claim to U.S. citizenship”
The spokesperson said those records may lead to “rigorous examination and detailed questioning.” Inspections can be “prolonged,” and the person may face formal removal proceedings.
That policy description sets out the agency’s stated process. Adamson’s account describes how a questioning session unfolded in her case, including its late-night start and the time she said she waited for water.
The allegations against her center on a claimed false representation of U.S. citizenship connected to voter registration in Whatcom County, as well as an alleged ballot in the state’s 2018 general election. The material does not describe a conviction or a final finding against her.
A second lawyer says expanded databases can surface old records
Chris Anders, another B.C. immigration lawyer, said border enforcement is “way, way stricter and tougher” than at any point in the last two decades. He said broader databases can bring old issues to officers’ attention, even when those records had not caused problems before.
Anders’s comments point to the role of record matching in border screening. In the agency’s account, permanent residents’ information is checked against both federal and state databases; records indicating possible voting or citizenship concerns can bring further questioning.
Saunders said the recent calls involved similar allegations and questioning. He described the cluster as unprecedented in his career, while cautioning that other people could face comparable scrutiny.
He estimated that hundreds of Canadians could be dealing with similar issues. That figure was his assessment, not an agency count.
Saunders says holiday travel could bring more cases to light
Saunders said the number of people affected could become clearer as more Canadians cross the border during the holidays. He linked that increase in travel to the possibility that additional cases will surface.
His warning followed the calls he said came in over the past week and a half. The three reports, including Adamson’s, involved what he characterized as near-identical circumstances.
Adamson’s detention began after 9 p.m. and continued until nearly 3 a.m. at the Point Roberts crossing, near the community where she had spent the evening.
