Gates Split Border Community, Unite It In Disdain

Construction has begun on the U.S.-Canada line on a pair of steel gates that are meant to cut down on smuggling but are splitting up a border community.

Border officials say the gates in Derby Line, Vt., and Stanstead, Quebec, are needed to stem the tide of smugglers and illegal immigrants who take advantage of unguarded streets that cross the border and through both communities.

Just last week an international con man was arrested on the U.S. side.

But locals say the barriers mark another degree of chill in the post-9/11 world and are a sad reminder of the need for security.