NIAGARA FALLS, N.Y. – Today, U.S. Border Patrol Buffalo Sector conducted a groundbreaking ceremony commemorating the beginning of construction on a new Niagara Falls Border Patrol Station.
The 31,000-square-foot facility is scheduled for completion in December 2024 and is designed to accommodate 50 Border Patrol agents and support staff.
The keynote speakers for the event were U.S. Border Patrol Chief of Law Enforcement Operations Directorate David S. BeMiller, Buffalo Sector’s Patrol Agent in Charge of the Niagara Falls Station Brady J. Waikel and Office of Facilities and Asset Management (OFAM) Assistant Commissioner Yvonne R. Medina.
Chief BeMiller began by sharing with the audience of approximately 60 guests how this agency has grown to now having 20 sectors, 135 stations and “the ability to plan, and execute, building state of the art stations like the one we are here to break ground on.”
Patrol Agent in Charge Waikel followed by talking about how the 9/11 attacks gave way to a renewed investment in manpower and expanded the station footprint. “This new building will provide the station’s agents with the needed technology, security and space to evolve and counter the threats we face,” he said.
Assistant Commissioner Medina concluded the ceremony by recognizing that the current station is obsolete and does not meet operational needs. She also acknowledged the tremendous effort it takes to keep an old station running and was confident “OFAM will do the same for the new facility.”
Niagara Falls Station is one of the oldest Border Patrol Stations in the United States. In 1920 the 18th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution was enacted and the ensuing Prohibition Era helped to clarify the need for a more organized U.S. Border Patrol. The Labor Appropriation Act of 1924 officially established the USBP for the purpose of patrolling between designated stations. The current station on Lafayette Avenue was constructed in 1964 and designed to accommodate 12 agents. The station is responsible for approximately 73 miles of the international boundary from Niagara Falls, through the Niagara Gorge, extending through the towns of Lewiston, Youngstown, paralleling Lake Ontario east to the villages of Wilson and Olcott, New York.
The Buffalo Sector is responsible for securing the maritime border between ports of entry from the Ohio/Pennsylvania border through the western portion of New York to Lily Bay. Citizens reporting suspicious activity is invaluable to the Border Patrol's mission, and we welcome community members' information to help to keep our nation's borders safe. To report suspicious activity in Buffalo Sector, please call 1-800-331-0353.
For more on Customs and Border Protection's mission at our nation's ports of entry with CBP officers and along U.S. borders with Border Patrol agents, please visit the Border Security section of the CBP website.
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