PORT ANGELES — Armed with whistles to bring attention to whistle-blower Christian Sanchez, demonstrators will picket the construction site of the North Olympic Peninsula’s new Border Patrol headquarters at 110 S. Penn St. from noon to 1 p.m. Monday.
“We are going to blow the whistle on them,” said Lois Danks, organizer of Stop the Checkpoints, which is sponsoring the demonstration.
True to that theme, the demonstration is going under the moniker “Whistle a Halt to Border Patrol Expansion and Waste.”
Sanchez, a Border Patrol agent based in Port Angeles, alleged July 29 that the Port Angeles Border Patrol station, which covers Clallam and Jefferson counties, is an overstaffed “black hole” where more than 40 agents have little to do.
“We want to respond as soon as possible and support Sanchez in his whistle-blowing and keep the issue out there,” Danks said.
The Border Patrol is now based at 138 W. First St. at the Richard B. Anderson Federal Building, a facility intended for four agents, a number that has grown to more than 40, according to Sanchez.
A new headquarters that can house up to 50 agents is being built where the former Eagles Aerie 483 used to be, two miles east of downtown, in a $5.7 million construction project.
“This is not needed, it’s not wanted, and it’s a waste of money,” Danks said.
“It’s just a military presence in our community. We feel more threatened by the Border Patrol being around here than anything that is coming across the border right now.”
Stop the Checkpoints has also criticized the Border Patrol for making random stops of drivers to check for identification.
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Senior Staff Writer Paul Gottlieb can be reached at 360-417-3536 or at paul.gottlieb@peninsuladailynews.com.