NORWAY – A South American exchange teacher was still upset Wednesday morning after a visit from the U.S. Border Patrol the previous evening.

Marissa Carate, 34, of Lima, Peru, has been teaching at the Poland Regional High School since September through a teacher exchange program.

She said after hailing her on Main Street and asking directions to the police station at 6:30 p.m., two Border Patrol agents came to her apartment in downtown Norway at 8 p.m. Tuesday.

Carate said they told her they wanted to check her passport. She said as she went to get it they asked if they could come in because of the cold weather.

She let them in and realized she had never seen any identification. She said the patch on their shoulders said “Border Patrol.”

Carate said she knew what the word “border” meant, but was unsure about “patrol.”

“They saw my passport and said I was illegal,” Carate said. “They wanted to see my pink form. I said the U.S. department doesn’t use this paper anymore.”

Carate said she went to the American Embassy in Peru before coming to Maine and it had changed the color of the pink identification form to white.

“They didn’t know what they were looking for,” Carate said. “For the first five minutes they were trying to convince me I was illegal. They said, ‘Mam, you are illegal. Who else do you have hiding in there?’

“I’m a professor in Peru. I am a professional and they are treating me this way,” she said. “I don’t feel safe now.”

Carate said she told the agents that they were making her nervous and that she was upset.

“They said it was their job and apologized and left,” Carate said.

Attempts to reach the Border Patrol for comment were unsuccessful.

Norway Police Sgt. Robert Federico said the Border Patrol had contacted him about a week ago saying they wanted to contact a woman who worked for a cleaning service.

“They told me they had contact with her in Lewiston and that she needed to take care of some paperwork,” Federico said. “They knew one of the places she worked was Norway.”

Carate called 911 after the incident and Norway police officer Scott Laliberte went to her apartment.

She said Laliberte treated her nicely and was able to calm her down a bit.

“I had a really bad headache. I couldn’t sleep,” Carate said. “And I’m upset today.”

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