Forest Service: No records of illegal crossings thru BWCAW

REGIONAL— A response by the U.S. Forest Service to a Freedom of Information Act, or FOIA, request raises questions about the value of a proposed amendment to the 1964 Wilderness Act that would allow for intensive border security measures, including within the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness.
The Timberjay reported on the measure, known as the Border Lands Conservation Act, shortly after it was first introduced by Sen. Mike Lee last October. Eighth District Rep. Pete Stauber also expressed support for the change.
The bill would give the Department of Homeland Security, or DHS, the authority to build roads, border fences, observation posts, communications facilities, and fly and land aircraft across any federal lands located within 100 miles of either the Mexican or Canadian border.
At the time, critics argued that the measure was highly inappropriate in wilderness settings, particularly in the BWCAW, and questioned the need for the kind of security measures included in the bill in such a remote location, where there was little evidence of incursions of illegal immigrants crossing from Canada.
The Timberjay reached out the Forest Service at the time of its initial reporting, in hopes the agency could confirm whether illegal crossings were, in fact, an issue along the Minnesota-Ontario border.
In response to a FOIA request from the Minnesota-based environmental group CURE, the U.S. Forest Service stated in a Sept. 16, 2026, letter that agency officials could find no records of any reports of such incursions, dating back to 2000.
“There seems to be no basis for supporting this bill, at least not based on the ‘no records’ response,” stated Hudson Kingston, legal director for CURE. Kingston has also filed a FOIA request with Customs and Border Control but has yet to receive a response.
The bill remains in committee and its future remains unclear.