Feds deny Burgum’s request to restore border crossing hours

By JAMES MacPHERSON
Associated Press

BISMARCK, N.D. (AP) — The U.S. Customs and Border Protection won’t restore hours of operation to pre-pandemic levels at some entry ports in North Dakota, despite pressure from Gov. Doug Burgum. In a letter Friday to the agency and the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, Burgum said a reduction in hours at several North Dakota port crossings along the U.S.-Canadian border “causes significant hardship on the movement of citizens, goods and tourists between our two nations.” In a statement to The Associated Press, the agencies say longer opening hours cannot be justified because of the shrinking volume of traffic at the border crossings — a decline that began even before the pandemic.