Lewiston police chief says tariff threats had ‘positive result’ on border

LEWISTON, N.Y. (WIVB) — Local authorities said on Wednesday that the responsibility of patrolling the border will be shared more evenly between them and Canadian authorities.

For Lewiston Police Chief Frank Previte, the recent tariff threat by President Donald Trump wouldn’t have had an effect on his department, but the border support that has resulted from them, according to him, most certainly will.

“I guess it was a good bargaining chip because it worked and there is no tariffs and we’re still getting a result, a positive result, at least for us,” Previte said.

This week, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced Canada would spend over $1 billion to reinforce the border with new helicopters, technology and personnel — a plan that was first released last fall.

“I think the northern border has been kind of forgotten in some respects,” Previte said. “I know that in the past, it does seem that the resources on our side have been a little bit more plentiful and focused, so it is good to see that at least on the other side as well.”

The Canadian government said that nearly 10,000 frontline personnel will be monitoring the border 24/7.

Previte said this is a great step, after a record number of illegal crossings took place over the last year.

“I think it was like a month and a half where it was upwards of 10 that we were up to already,” Previte said. “A lot of the residents were alarmed about some of the things that were going on here, so I think that kind of influx will help. People don’t forget that it wasn’t too long ago that we were having an issue with people crossing.”

Canada also now joins the U.S. in categorizing cartels as a terrorist organization and is also working to appoint a fentanyl czar. Previte said this makes sharing information about possible threats between the two countries faster.

“Anything that affects the border patrol affects us. It’s absolutely going to help intelligence and joint operations,” Previte said. “We do joint operations with them, we have regular meetings and intel briefings that we’re involved with them, so that’s going to open another door for us.”

Previte said the next steps for the Lewiston Police Department is to meet with border patrol and other local law enforcement in the next few weeks to talk about how local operations may change with the added resources.

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Dillon Morello is a reporter from Pittsburgh who has been part of the News 4 team since September of 2023. See more of his work here and follow him on Twitter.

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