Pingree calls on border officials to investigate Wabanaki elder’s complaint
By Kathleen Phalen Tomaselli, The County Staff
U.S. Rep. Chellie Pingree of Maine’s 1st Congressional District is calling on border officials to investigate recent complaints by a Wabanaki elder about how he and his fiancee were treated at the Houlton and Calais border crossings.
On Aug. 29, Pingree sent a letter to Rodney Scott, commissioner of U.S. Customs and Border Protection, calling for the agency to strengthen its training of border officers. The Democrat asked the agency to make an apology to the elder — David Slagger, a member of the Houlton Band of Maliseet Indians and Woodstock First Nation in New Brunswick — and improve its handling of the rights of Indigenous people at U.S. border crossings.
Slagger, who lives in Monson, has accused officials at the crossings of, among other things, handcuffing his fiancee while she was crossing to the U.S. from Canada earlier this month, taking his insulin and phone, and mistreating and confiscating sacred ceremonial items.
New Brunswick’s premier, Susan Holt, has also spoken out against the treatment of Slagger’s fiancee, who lives in the Canadian province. But the letter from Pingree, a Democrat, represents the strongest response yet by a member of Maine’s congressional delegation to Slagger’s allegations.
In a previous response to Slagger’s allegations, Ryan Brissette, a CBP spokesperson, said that border agents detained his fiancee because agents determined that she was transporting personal belongings to the U.S. with the intent of permanently relocating. Brissette did not immediately respond to a request for comment regarding Pingree’s comments.
Pingree argued the amount of personal clothing transported into the U.S. has never been a reason for detaining people at border crossings in the past, and that just a year ago it was a rare thing to hear about conflicts at Maine’s international borders.
“It just seems indicative of what is taking place with these border crossings that are no longer friendly or routine; they just seem to be designed to stir discomfort and pain,” Pingree said in an interview. “To detain a Wabanaki elder, deny him life-saving medication, and mishandle sacred items undermines the mutual respect and trust that sustain this international relationship.”
Slagger’s complaints are not the first border crossing issues to come to Pingree’s attention this year, she said. She argued that the Trump administration’s immigration and tariff policies are having “a chilling effect on our relationship between Maine and our border allies.”
In addition to meeting with Pingree, Slagger has recently contacted other members of Maine’s delegation as well as Canadian government officials.
A spokesperson for Republican U.S. Sen. Susan Collins of Maine, Blake Kernen, said her staff has been in touch with CBP officials regarding this matter. She provided no further details. The offices of U.S. Sen. Angus King, I-Maine, and 2nd District U.S. Rep. Jared Golden, D-Maine, said they don’t publicly comment on the work they do for constituents.
But Mario Moretto, a spokesperson for Golden, said “the congressman believes that our Wabanaki neighbors like Mainers should be treated with respect.”