The inscription on the Peace Arch monument that marks the 49th parallel between B.C. and Washington state says: “May these gates never be closed.” But the U.S.-Canada border has been closed for almost three weeks to all but essential travel — and the stateside park is now closed as well.
That means couples like Laura and Josh Grzyb, who have lived apart since their marriage in November 2018 while Laura’s spousal green-card process is finalized, are prohibited from visiting each other’s countries, or even spending precious moments together, at the border.
Laura, who lived up in till recently in Delta, and Josh, who lives in their house in Bellingham, Wash., had been taking turns visiting one another on weekends. They were looking forward to moving in together after clearing the last hurdle: Laura’s final interview with U.S. immigration in Montreal on March 20.
But on March 18, U.S. President Donald Trump announced the world’s longest undefended border would close to most traffic within days, leaving the couple to determine if, as a married couple, they qualified as essential travellers.
The next day, Laura’s Montreal interview was cancelled while she was preparing for her Montreal flight.
“Panic, definitely panic,” she said, describing her reaction to the “triple whammy” of the coronavirus scare, border closure and losing her interview. “It was like a rolling ball that wouldn’t stop and it still hasn’t.”
It’s up to Laura to reschedule another interview, but there’s no online option to do so, so the couple checks daily to see if that will change. She said the anxiety most people feel over the uncertainty of the pandemic was further compounded because she was separated from her husband, their Jack Russell/rat terrier cross, their cat and their shared home.
“It’s a life that that’s unfortunately stopped for me,” she said. “Everyone’s going through anxiety and it’s just frustrating because that’s the time you want to be with your loved ones. It’s been a struggle daily.”
The couple had planned to meet in person last weekend for the first time in weeks at the border parks, the Peace Arch Historical State Park and the Peace Arch Park. But they could only trade texts because Josh was stopped by border patrol, even though the B.C. park remains open.
“I know of a lot of couples who are going through the same thing,” said Blaine immigration lawyer Len Saunders. who said the U.S. park closed March 27, four days after Washington’s governor issued a “stay-home, stay-healthy” edict.
“You are not allowed to go into the park,” said Saunders, who as recently as last week would meet clients in the park. He said on Friday he was met by U.S. border patrol at the pedestrian entrance.
“You can’t get anywhere near the Peace Arch monument,” he said.
The monument was built more than 100 years ago to mark the 100 years of peace resulting from the treaties between the U.S. and Great Britain after the end of the War of 1812. The U.S. park was opened in 1931. The B.C. park opened in 1939.
Copyright Postmedia Network Inc., 2020
