At a diner near the US-Canada border, a family grapples with their differing political views as Donald Trump is inaugurated for a second term. The diner, Best Friends Family, is located just a few kilometers from Roxham Road, a former unofficial border crossing that saw thousands of asylum seekers enter Canada.
Best Friends Family Diner sits at the intersection of New York and Vermont states on the border with Quebec, just a few kilometres from Roxham Road , an unofficial border crossing where thousands of asylum seekers walked into Canada before it effectively closed in 2023. Brittany Swift, who voted for Kamala Harris in the 2024 U.S.
election, sits with her father, Keith Hollman, a Trump supporter, and her 22-month-old son, Milo, at the Best Friends Family Diner, a stone's throw away from the Canadian border in Rouses Point, N.Y., on Jan. 20, 2025. (Carlos Osorio/Reuters)At a diner 230 metres from a United States border station in Rouses Point, N.Y., near Saint-Bernard-de-Lacolle, Que., a television mounted in a corner aired President Donald Trump's inauguration. Among the dozen or so patrons at Best Friends Family Diner, located at the intersection of New York and Vermont states, near the border with Quebec, few paid attention, but were happy to share their feelings on the incoming administration — which some welcomed and others did not. Brittany Swift sat with her 22-month-old Milo and her father, Keith Hollman, whose phone speakers were also broadcasting the ceremony. The family, who was on their way back from a ski vacation in Mont Tremblant, Que., has differing political views, but say they do their best to keep those from dividing them. 'We try to be accepting of each other's differences and try not to talk about it if it gets too heated,' said Swift, who lives in Grand Isle, Vt., about 50 kilometres south of the Quebec border, and who voted for Kamala Harris in the 2024 U.S. election. A drone view of the Best Friends Family Diner on the day of Donald Trump's inauguration as U.S. president in Rouses Point, N.Y. (Carlos Osorio/Reuters) While she was disappointed Harris lost, Hollman said he was 'pleased, very pleased' about Trump's win. He listed border security as one of his top issues this election, though he's always voted Republican. Donald Trump sworn in as 47th U.S. president, says 'America's decline is over' Just a few kilometres from where the family was dining is Roxham Road, an unofficial border crossing where thousands of asylum seekers walked into Canada before it effectively closed in 2023. Since then, thousands of migrants have taken the opposite route — crossing using clandestine routes into the U.S. While the amount of illegal crossings pale in comparison to the southern U.S. border with Mexico, the northern border has been getting more attention from Trump leading up to his second inauguration and prompting him to threaten tariffs on Canadian imports if Ottawa does not reinforce its border security measures. People eat breakfast at the Best Friends Family Diner. Patrons were happy to share their feelings on the incoming administration — which some welcomed and others did not. (Carlos Osorio/Reuters) Both Hollman and his daughter agreed they wanted the U.S. to keep a good relationship with Canada, though, and didn't believe tariffs would be good for either country.Soon, her mother Lina Hollman walked into the diner with their other daughter; the two had been travelling in another car.Lina Hollman also voted for Trump and said the economy and rule of law were factors for her. She said her parents had immigrated from Italy and were able to make a life for themselves and their children. 'All the things that people think about with the American dream,' she said. 'This generation, our kids, it will be the first time that they will struggle to achieve that if things keep going the way they're going.' Sitting nearby, Danielle Fogg, 34, and Adam Besaw, 36, were travelling between their home in Waterford, Maine, near Portland, and New York City. The couple voted for Trump, having changed their vote from Democrat to Republican in the latest election. They, too, said border security was a priority for them. After Roxham Road closed in 2023, many asylum seekers were stranded in northern states and ended up in Portland, Maine, overwhelming homeless services. The diner is located at the intersection of New York and Vermont states, near the border with Quebec. (Carlos Osorio/Reuters) 'It is terrible. It's out of control,' said Besaw. 'The locals who are born and raised there now become homeless because of the housing crisis and all the spaces are being given to .'Carol Behrman sipped on homemade barley soup at the bar. 'Do you really want me to give you my opinion?' asked Behrman, whose property in Alburgh, Vt., is on the border with Quebec. Behrman has seen migrants crossing into the U.S. in growing numbers for the last couple of years. But unlike many residents along the border CBC News spoke with, Behrman said the crossings do not bother her. 'It's not out of control,' she said. 'I just think people are trying to make a better life for themselves.' Behrman, who lived in Canada for 25 years, said people crossing the border illegally has been an issue for decades.
Donald Trump US-Canada Border Immigration Asylum Seekers Roxham Road Political Division Best Friends Family Diner
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