POINT ROBERTS, Wash. — Green card holders returning to Washington state from Canada are being questioned at the border about whether they have ever voted, and some are leaving with papers that start deportation proceedings, according to CBC News and Cascadia Daily News in September and KING 5 on Oct. 16. The cases rest on two of the strictest grounds in U.S. immigration law — unlawful voting and falsely claiming U.S. citizenship — which can cost a long-settled permanent resident their green card, with no waiver available.

The most detailed account involves Paige Adamson, a 61-year-old Canadian citizen who has lived in Point Roberts as a permanent resident for 14 years. CBC reported that border officers held her for about six hours on the night of Sept. 15 as she returned home from a birthday dinner in Canada. DHS alleges she falsely claimed U.S. citizenship to register to vote in Whatcom County and voted in Washington's 2018 general election. Adamson denies the allegation: she told CBC she never voted in a federal election and does not remember voting in a state one, and she told KING 5 she knew she was not allowed to vote. Her hearing in Seattle immigration court is set for November, Cascadia Daily News reported.

Her lawyer's account suggests she may not be alone. Blaine immigration attorney Len Saunders told KING 5 he has recently come across several Canadian permanent residents facing similar accusations. He said some were signed up at licensing offices without being asked about citizenship, and others received registration cards in the mail after renewing a driver's licence. Washington election officials say an accidental registration by itself is not a crime, and Saunders said people in that situation used to be able to cancel the registration, explain the error and move on. 'None of these people thought they were breaking the law,' he told KING 5.

The allegations in Adamson's case remain allegations — DHS has not proved them in court, and she has no criminal record in either country, according to the reporting. But the legal stakes explain the fear at northern border crossings: under the Immigration and Nationality Act, a false claim to citizenship and unlawful voting are among the few grounds that can make even a decades-long permanent resident deportable regardless of intent, lawyers say.

For Punjabi and other immigrant families who cross the Canada-U.S. border regularly — including green card holders visiting family in British Columbia — the reports are a warning to check voter-registration status carefully and to seek legal advice before travelling if a registration was ever created in error. Sources: CBC News, Cascadia Daily News, KING 5 (Oct. 16).