Border crossings from Canada into upstate New York, New Hampshire and Vermont reached a record number last year, as migrants take advantage of understaffing and the lack of fencing at the northern border.
More than 12,200 migrants were apprehended crossing illegally from Canada last year, a 240% surge from the year before, when only 3,578 were arrested, US Customs and Border Protection data show.
Much of the illegal crossings — about 70% — occurred along the 295-mile Swanton Sector, which includes upstate New York, New Hampshire and Vermont, the data show.
In that sector, 3,100 people from 55 different countries have been apprehended since October alone — more than the total of the past four fiscal years combined, Robert Garcia, the chief patrol agent for the sector, posted on X Friday.
Experts say the migrants who make it to Mexico and can afford a $350 one-way plane ticket from Mexico City or Cancun to Montreal or Toronto are making their way south to cross the northern US border — where they are less likely to be turned away than those who cross the southern border.
The US border with Canada is much longer than the border with Mexico, and the ports of entry are often understaffed as the CBP focuses on the surge in migration at the southern border.
Additionally, there is no fencing along the northern border, much of which is simply woods and dirt paths.
“The northern border has pretty much been ignored,” New York Assemblyman Billy Jones (D-Chateaugay Lake), who represents Clinton County, told the New York Times.
He added that the federal government was “failing on immigration, and they’re failing the people that live along the border.”
In Clinton County, residents have increasingly spotted migrants walking across their fields and backyards, or lugging suitcases down back roads.
Some have sought shelter inside residents’ barns and garages to escape the cold.
Many are staying in Plattsburgh, the largest city in the county, hoping to afford a $90 bus fare into New York City, according to the newspaper.
A gas station in the city has become an unofficial meeting spot for migrants strapped for funds, and local motels are often forced to take migrants in during the winter under a rule that requires them not to turn away travelers when temperatures drop below freezing. --->READ MORE HERE
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| @USBPChiefSWB / X |
New York, Vermont and New Hampshire counties have seen a record uptick in illegal border crossings in the last quarter as more migrants are reportedly crossing into Canada to avoid detection.
As more migrants swarm the southern border, increasing numbers have turned to the less-fortified, more expansive U.S.-Canada border, the New York Times noted in a report published Sunday, detailing how U.S. officials at the northern border have recorded 191,603 encounters with people crossing into the United States last year, a 41% increase from 2022.
While most still use legal ports of entry, more than 12,200 migrants were apprehended crossing illegally from Canada in 2023, a 241% uptick from the 3,578 arrested the previous year. Canada does not require travelers from Mexico to have a visa to enter the country. As a result, the Times report said, a 295-mile strip of the border along those northeastern states known as the Swanton Sector has seen a tremendous increase.
"The record-breaking surge of illegal entries from Canada continues in Swanton Sector. A citizen’s report in Champlain, N.Y., led to the arrest of 10 Bangladesh citizens. Agents rely on the vigilance of our community. If you see something, say something! Call 1-800-689-3362," U.S. Border Patrol Swanton Sector Chief Patrol Agent Robert Garcia wrote in a social media post on Thursday.
Since Oct. 1, 2023, Swanton Sector Border Patrol Agents have apprehended more than 3,100 people from 55 countries, Garcia wrote in a prior post on X this month, noting those apprehensions in just the last quarter make up more than the total illegal crossings in fiscal 2022, 2021, 2020 and 2019 combined for the Swanton Sector.
He shared a photo that shows an early morning apprehension of four adult males from Bangladesh on Feb. 1, near Mooers, N.Y.
The Swanton Sector makes up Vermont; the Clinton, Essex, Franklin, St. Lawrence and Herkimer counties of New York; and the Coos, Grafton and Carroll counties of New Hampshire.
Border Patrol officials said 15 missions have rescued 37 migrants along the northern border since October 2022, the Times reported. --->READ MORE HERE
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