Town Hall meeting to discuss Ports of Entry hours adjustments

U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) will hold informational town hall meetings April 1, 2, and 3, 2019, in order to discuss and gain feedback on the adjustment of hours of operation at Raymond, Opheim, Scobey and Morgan ports of entry (POE) in Montana. CBP has been working with local community stakeholders to identify suggested locations for these Town Hall events. The locations have now been established. The dates and times can be found at the end of this article.

CBP will be adjusting the hours of operation at these respective ports effective April 14, 2019.

These ports of entry were identified for modification of operational hours to realign resources to historical and existing traffic volumes and workload. This adjustment will allow CBP to properly align staffing with workload. In doing so, CBP will be able to continue its mission and redirect valuable resources to ports with greater commercial and passenger volumes. This adjustment will allow CBP to maintain a reasonable level of service at these ports of entry.

The current hours of operation for the Port of Raymond are 24 hours per day, which coincide with the hours of operation at the adjacent Canadian Port of Regway, Minton, Saskatchewan. Effective April 14, 2019, the new hours of operation at Raymond will be 6 a.m. to midnight. Travelers wishing to cross into the United States between the hours of midnight and 6 a.m. may cross at Portal, North Dakota a 24-hour port of entry (108 miles). People crossing into Canada during these hours will not be affected.

The current hours of operation for the Port of Opheim are 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. September 15 – May 31 and 8 a.m. to 9 p.m. June 1 – September 14. These hours coincide with the hours of operation at the adjacent Canadian Port of West Poplar River, Rockglen, Saskatchewan. Effective April 14, 2019, the new hours of operation at Opheim will be 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. all year. Travelers wishing to cross into the United States between the hours of 6 p.m. and midnight may cross at Raymond, Montana 95 miles east of Opheim via MT -5 and MT – 248. People entering Canada will be able to do so during Canada Border Service Agency’s (CBSA’s) hours of operation.

The current hours of operation for the Port of Scobey are 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. September 15 – May 31 and 8 a.m. to 9 p.m. June 1 – September 14. These hours coincide with the hours of operation at the adjacent Canadian Port of Coronach, Saskatchewan. Effective April 14, 2019, the new hours of operation at Scobey will be 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. all year. Travelers wishing to cross into the United States between the hours of 6 p.m. and Midnight may cross at Raymond, Montana 53 miles east of Scobey via MT -5 and MT – 16. People entering Canada will be able to do so during CBSA’s hours of operation.

The current hours of operation for the Port of Morgan are 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. September 15 – May 31 and 8 a.m. to 9 p.m. June 1 – September 14. These hours coincide with the hours of operation at the adjacent Canadian Port of Monchy, Val Marie, Saskatchewan. Effective April 14, 2019, the new hours of operation at Morgan will be 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. all year. Travelers wishing to cross into the United States between the hours 6 p.m.and 9 p.m. (June 1 –September 14) may cross at Turner, Montana 130 miles west of Morgan via US-2 (US) and 63 miles via HWY-18 and HWY-37 (Canada). People entering Canada will be able to do so during CBSA’s hours of operation.

“Very low traffic volumes during these proposed hours adjustments, along with fiscal responsibility are determining factors for the adjustment of hours at these CBP Ports of Entry,” said Area Port Director Daniel Escobedo.

The following town hall meetings will occur at the specified dates and times below:

The Raymond town hall meeting will take place on April 1, 2019, at 5:30 p.m. (MDT), at the Sheridan County Civic Center, located at ­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­4262 Hwy 16 S Plentywood, MT.

The Scobey town hall meeting will take place on April 2, 2019, at noon (MDT), at the Richardson Theater located at ­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­105 First Avenue North Scobey, MT.

The Opheim town hall meeting will take place April 2, 2019, at 5:00 p.m. (MDT), at the Glasgow Sr. Citizens Center located at 328 4th Street South Glasgow, MT.

The Morgan town hall meeting will take place April 3, 2019 at 4:00 p.m. (MDT), at the Great Northern Hotel Conference Room, located at ­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­2 S 1st St E, Malta, MT.