Rep. Dicks: citizens intimidated by Border Patrol

U.S. Rep. Norm Dicks says federal Border Patrol agents assigned to the state's border with Canada should focus on terrorism and smugglers - and "treat people nicely" at checkpoints.

His comments - made in an interview with the Peninsula Daily News - come after the Border Patrol has faced criticism for setting up roadblocks miles inland, on Olympic Peninsula highways in northwest Washington. Most of the people who have been arrested at those roadblocks have been illegal immigrants.

Border Patrol checkpoints are taken for granted along the country's border with Mexico, but "up here on the Olympic Peninsula, we don't like to think about these things," said Dicks, D-Wash.

He also said area citizens have been turned off by the "gruffness" some agents have shown.

"I hear the tone of the officers is pretty abrupt," Dicks told the newspaper. "Gruffness: that has turned people off. They need to try to treat people nicely, not try to terrify people."

The agency started operating sporadic road checkpoints earlier this year as part of its expanded mandate to secure the nation's borders. The agency has also monitored domestic ferry runs arriving at Anacortes in Skagit County.

"Border Patrol agents are highly skilled individuals, we put a lot of emphasis on integrity and professionalism," said Agent Michael Bermudez, spokesman for Border Patrol's Blaine sector.

Dicks said he hoped agents would pay more attention to the miles of shoreline, where drug runners have been known to drop off shipments.

"More of a presence on the water would be more of a deterrent for terrorists and drug dealers," Dicks said.

The roadblocks sparked small protests in Port Angeles and Forks. In Forks, people protested after it was learned that a minor and an 18-year-old - the latter a well-regarded recent high school graduate - were arrested and faced deportation.

Dicks said he would support reforming immigration laws to give young immigrants who were brought to this country by their parents a chance to gain legal status, citing the case of the high school student.

"I hope we can work those things out for people like that," Dicks said. "I hope there is a path we can work out if they're good students and haven't committed crimes."

However, Dicks added he expects immigration reform to take a backseat to the economy and health care reform in Congress.

The Border Patrol has arrested about 90 people, the vast majority of them illegal immigrants, since it started using checkpoints on several Washington state roads and ferry runs at the beginning of the year, according to agency figures.

Dicks, who represents the state's 6th Congressional District, is running for re-election against Republican challenger Doug Cloud of Gig Harbor.

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Information from: Peninsula Daily News, http://www.peninsuladailynews.com