In 1871, the port of Emerson was established as the first land border customs station in Canada. It was created to protect and ultimately collect duty for trade with the Hudson's Bay Companytrading post that was attacked in a Fenian Raid, and subsequently liberated by the U.S. Cavalry earlier that year. Though no longer active, the original customs building in Emerson still stands today. For many years, there were two roads entering Canada at Emerson: the popular Jefferson Highway entered from Noyes, Minnesota, and the Meridian Highway entered from Pembina, North Dakota. All Canada-bound traffic was directed to the brick customs building in downtown Emerson, which has since been converted into the Emerson Health Centre. In the mid-1950s, Canada built separate inspection stations at the border on both roads. The crossing across from Pembina was called "West Lynne"—the name of the small village that had been absorbed by the Town of Emerson in 1883—while the larger crossing across from Noyes was known as "Emerson East." The modern Pembina-West Lynne border crossing opened in 1964 while I-29 was under construction. The facilities on the former U.S. Route 81 a short distance to the east were closed and subsequently demolished a few years later. Following the reconfiguration of PTH 75 and PTH 29 in 1985, most U.S.-bound traffic was diverted to the Pembina crossing. Also located near this crossing is Fort Dufferin, a former Canadian police post and base of the North American Boundary Commission, which surveyed and marked the international border as defined in the Treaty of 1818. During the 1870s, Fort Dufferin also served as a customs and immigration for steamboats entering Canada via the Red River.
Recent History
The Canadian and American governments closed the Emerson East and Noyes border stations in 2003 and 2006, respectively, and merged rail inspection operations with the ports at West Lynne and Pembina. The West Lynne border station was renamed Emerson following the closure of Emerson East in 2003. Both countries underwent an extensive expansion project, starting in 2017, providing significant upgrades to their facilities, as well as road infrastructure at the Pembina-Emerson Crossing. This was the first renovation project for the U.S. POE since 1996 and for the Canadian POE since 1999.
Illegal immigration
The number of persons crossing the border illegally into Canada through the Emerson-Pembina-Noyes area has increased significantly following U.S. President Donald Trump's Protecting the Nation from Foreign Terrorist Entry into the United Statesexecutive order in January 2017. However, the port had begun to see a considerable increase of irregular migration as of early 2016, prior to the election of Trump. The increased levels of asylum seekers trying to enter Canada at the Pembina-Emerson and former Noyes-Emerson border crossings and other regions along the international border have garnered international media attention, resulting in the Canadian government renegotiating the Safe Third Country Agreement with the U.S. government. The majority of recent irregular migration has been by migrants from African nationsseeking asylum in Canada to avoid potential deportation from the U.S. Although persons claiming refugee status are not permitted to migrate to Canada from the U.S. under the two countries' Safe Third Country Agreement, asylum seekers who have crossed the border illegally in some cases have been allowed to stay in Canada while their applications are processed. The practice of crossing the border illegally is not without danger, especially during the cold prairie winter. On December 24, 2016, two Ghanaian men successfully made it across the border by walking several miles along the Red River in sub-zero temperatures. However, both suffered severe frostbite that required amputation of their fingers. In May 2017, a 57-year old Ghanaian asylum seeker died of hypothermia while attempting to cross into Canada via the closed Emerson-Noyes border crossing.
