Only one road leads from the Olympic Peninsula. Highway 101 is a relatively empty roadway that can take drivers to the Pacific Ocean. Often, it is only kayakers, surfers, logging truckers, and an occasional curious driver that will make their way up Highway 101 to this northwestern corner of the US. Yet the US Border Patrol has suddenly taken an interest in this coastline border, and is setting up patrols to watch the area.

According to the New York Times, Border Patrol cars hardly ever visited the Olympic Peninsula before this. They might stop from time to time to assist with traffic stops conducted by the police, but that's about it. Every once and awhile, the Border Patrol might question Mexican workers who work in a warehouse in this location, or confront suspicious individuals. But critics can't understand why the Border Patrol would become so interested in guarding this highway that connects America with Canada.

The news reports that the federal government has tightened their Border Patrols in the north since the terrorist attacks of 9/11. On the Olympic Peninsula, there were originally 4 guards who would periodically check driver's licenses. Now, there are about 40 Border Patrol officials roaming the Highway 101 to catch anyone who is trying to enter the country illegally. The government intends to build an office in Port Angeles that can house up to 50 officers and will be protected by razor wire fences. The Border Patrol says that they want to address all potential terrorist attacks and smuggling threats that are coming from Canada. As well, people speculate that the Border Patrol intends to catch illegal immigrants who are trying to enter from Mexico by coming up and around the US.

One resident of Forks, Washington says that everyone is leaving the little northwestern town. Residents believe that the border control measures are intimidating and they want to get out. Several hundred immigrants live in Forks and pick salal, a shrub that has beautiful branches used in flower arrangements and florist companies around the nation. Now, the Border Patrol has begun investigating the town and deporting families who don't have the proper documentation. Schools are losing enrollment as many Latino students are sent back to their country of origin.

The town of Forks has seen other repercussions. The local grocery store no longer has a Saturday rush. In the recent months, salal pickers would come to the local Thriftway after getting paid on Saturdays to buy their weekly groceries. Now, many of the regular weekend customers have been detained or deported. As well, many of the mobile home parks in Forks are now half-empty. The mayor of Forks says that he believes that the mass exodus of Latinos has occurred within the past few months. As soon as Border Patrol infiltrated the little town and surrounding places near the border, the families started leaving.

In April, the American Civil Liberties Union and the Northwest Immigrant Rights project filed a lawsuit against the Border Patrol. They believed that the patrols were stopping residents without just cause and were racially profiling their suspects. The Northwest Immigrant Rights Project has also filed another lawsuit that claims Border Patrol agents because they were hiring other law enforcement to translate their interrogations into Spanish for suspects. The Border Patrol is required to know Spanish, so this was a breach of professionalism. A senior at Forks High School told the New York Times that the soccer team is often worried about the Border Patrol when they travel to away games on the school bus. While the government hopes that there new northwestern focus will do good, others believe that it will incriminate dozens of immigrants in northern Washington. Contact an immigration lawyer if you run into trouble with the law in the Washington region.