For most of its history, it was possible to freely cross the border via Roxham Road, since it largely carried local traffic. Canada established a small customs station just north of the border; the U.S. never followed suit, leaving Roxham an uncontrolled border crossing, even after Canada closed its customs station in the 1950s. That ended when Canadian authorities decided, out of concerns that the terrorist killings at the 1972 Munich Olympics could also occur at the upcoming 1976 Summer Olympics in Montreal, roughly 60 km (37 mi) north of the border, to barricade all the uncontrolled land border crossings between Quebec and New York, as well as the neighboring U.S. state of Vermont. Since then Roxham has officially been a dead end in both directions at the border.
The former customs station, now a private house, is located on the east side of Roxham 60 m (200 ft) north of the border.[14] The road continues, still two lanes but with some striping and no shoulders,[15] with a posted speed limit of 30 km/h (19 mph)[c] due north, through similar woodlands interrupted by a few fields for 750 metres (2,460 ft) to its first intersection, with Chemin Fisher on the west.[17] Just south of it, an old sign tells northbound motorists that it is 5 miles (8.0 km) to Champlain this way, and Hemmingford 10 miles (16 km) along Fisher.[18]
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Differences in the way the U.S. and Canada treat those who cross their borders unofficially also make the latter country attractive to refugees. University of Toronto law professor Audrey Macklin, who specializes in Canadian immigration law, notes that American federal law makes any crossing by an alien at anywhere other than an official crossing point, or under the direction of immigration officials, a criminal offense with fines and imprisonment as possible punishments. In Canada, while such a border crossing can carry similar penalties it is only an administrative violation of the federal Immigration and Refugee Protection Regulations, and then only if the defendant has not reported to a customs station "without delay" or did not intend to. "Since almost all irregular border crossers enter in the presence of the RCMP," writes Macklin, "and the RCMP immediately detain and transfer them to a CBSA officer at a nearby port of entry for examination, these border crossers have not violated ... the Immigration and Refugee Protection Regulations".[58] 2ff7e9595c
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