Penny Thomas of Newport City listens to speakers during a press conference outside the Haskell Free Library and Opera House in Derby Line on Friday, March 21, after U.S. Customs and Border Enforcement announced new regulations for Canadian patrons who visit the library that straddles the internation al border between the United States and Canada. Photo by Glenn Russell/VTDigger.DERBY LINE — Local Canadian officials hosted a press conference Friday to condemn the U.S. government’s decision to limit Canadians’ access to an iconic library and theater that straddles the northern border in Vermont.U.S. Customs and Border Protection said Friday afternoon that beginning Monday, the agency would be restricting Canadian access to the entrance of the Haskell Free Library and Opera House, which is on U.S. soil, attributing the decision to safety concerns. Staff and library card holders are allowed to access the entrance until October, when limitations are expected to become even more stringent, the agency said.“The goal of this phased rollout is to provide members the opportunity to obtain the necessary travel documentation without negatively impacting library operations,” Ryan Brissette, a spokesperson for U.S. Customs and Border Protection said in a written statement. “On October 1, 2025, all visitors from Canada wishing to use the front entrance will be required to present themselves at a port of entry to enter the library from the United States,” with some exceptions provided for handicapped access and emergencies, he wrote. First opened in 1904, the library and opera house is situated between Derby Line and Stanstead, Quebec. For more than 120 years, the library has enjoyed a unique status as a neutral space, where those in Canada can enter U.S. territory to use the space without first going through customs. The building is a heritage site and has long been considered a symbol of the close relationship between the two nations.On Tuesday, however, U.S. Customs and Border Protection informed library staff that the longstanding arrangement was over, according to Sylvie Budreau, president of Haskell’s board of trustees. “No matter what this administration does, it will not change the fact that Stanstead and Derby Line are friends and partners forever,” said Stanstead Mayor Jody Stone said at the press event. “Without borders you wouldn’t even know that we are two separate communities. According to Budreau, U.S. Customs and Border Protection had similarly moved to restrict access from the Canadian side of the border in 2022 but ultimately agreed to let the operation run as usual.“They have more support now,” she said.The library plans to open a service entrance on the northern side of the building for Canadian patrons to use, which they hope to renovate in the coming months, Budreau said.Within the library, it would be “business as usual,” she said, and there are no plans to restrict patrons’ movement within the library, which is bisected by a line of tape representing the international border. Dozens of people from both sides of the border gathered outside the building Friday to watch the press conference and protest the decision. Among them was Clement Jacques, a lifelong Stanstead resident who said he was “not comfortable at all” with the change. Wearing a bright red hat that read “Canada is Not for Sale,” Jacques said he was a library card holder and had been coming to Haskell for decades.“This building is used by both countries,” he said angrily. The announcement came just weeks after U.S. Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem visited the library, as first reported by VTDigger, during a whirlwind trip to Vermont following the death of U.S. Customs and Border Patrol agent David Maland.During that visit, Budreau said, Noam crossed back and forth over the line of tape on the floor that represents the international border while saying, “U.S.A number one” and calling Canada “the 51st state,” echoing a common taunt from President Donald Trump.Since then, tensions between the two nations have continued to soar as Trump continues to wage an on-again off-again trade war against Canada while suggesting that the U.S. should annex the country. Still, Canadian officials at Friday’s press conference were eager to reaffirm the close ties between the two nations. “The Haskell Free Library & Opera House is a testament to the amazing relationship between our two communities,” said Marie-Claude Bibeau, who represents the Compton-Stanstead district in Canada’s House of Commons. Earlier this week, Bibeau joined Sen. Peter Welch, D-Vt. at a roundtable discussion in Newport, where she denounced Trump’s controversial tariffs on Canadian goods. “Our border community is strong and this will only further our strength and our ties,” Bibeau said Friday. Read the story on VTDigger here: US to restrict Canadian access to historic Vermont library straddling northern border. ...read more read less