In response to growing encounters of illegals crossing into the United States from Canada, the U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) has reportedly assigned 25 extra Border Patrol agents to a busy area of the northeast border.
According to NBC News, some of the agents temporarily reassigned to the northern border were formerly stationed on the southern border. They are now covering the Swanton Sector of the U.S.-Canada border, which encompasses some 24,000 square miles and includes all of the state of Vermont and parts of New York and New Hampshire.
A recent CBP news release, covering the sector’s encounters and apprehensions, claimed that “January’s total surpassed the preceding January apprehensions for the past 12 years combined (Total: 344.) Prior to January, Swanton Sector experienced an uninterrupted 7-month streak of sustained encounter increases — part of an upward trend dating back to the beginning of FY22.” CBP data for the 2022–23 fiscal year to date shows an “approximate 846% increase in encounters” in the sector compared to the same period last year. There have been 55,736 encounters along the whole northern border during the first four months of this fiscal year, according to CBP stats, a marked increase compared to 109, 535 for all of last year.
The growing number of illegals attempting to cross the frigid border in the middle of winter are doing so at great risk, with area temperatures reaching -4 degrees Fahrenheit. As with the U.S.-Mexico border, some illegals who are crossing from Canada are coming in family groups with young children. A family recently stopped by the CBP in the region was carrying an eight-month-old baby. NBC shared that the CBP posted a picture on “Facebook showing a man and woman carrying the baby and a 2-year-old in their arms through snow and ice in the dark of night.”
In December 2022, the CBP reported that “Border Patrol Agents led search-and-rescue efforts, providing life-saving aid in separate incidents occurring in Newport, VT, and Burke, NY. These incidents demonstrate BP Agents’ priority to preserve life, even at the risk of jeopardizing their own safety. “
The CBP release stated:
“As we progress deeper into winter and continue to address the ongoing pace of illicit cross-border traffic, the level of concern for the lives and welfare of our Border Patrol Agents and those we are encountering — particularly vulnerable populations — continues to climb,” said Swanton Sector Chief Patrol Agent Robert N. Garcia. “It cannot be stressed enough: not only is it unlawful to circumvent legal means of entry into the United States, but it is extremely dangerous, particularly in adverse weather conditions, which our Swanton Sector has in incredible abundance,” he added.
One reason for the increase in illegal crossings along our northern border is the growing number of Mexican nationals avoiding Title 42 restrictions and taking their chances, hoping for better success than they might have coming through any southern border crossing.
NBC shared:
Those migrants who can afford the $350 one-way plane ticket from Mexico City or Cancun to Montreal or Toronto and then cross the northern U.S. border are less likely to be turned back because of Title 42 than migrants at the southern border. On a per capita basis, the Border Patrol invokes Title 42 to block migrants from claiming asylum less frequently at the northern border than at the southern border.
Despite the risks associated with illegally crossing the northern border in the middle of winter, some illegals choose to pay smugglers to assist their entry into the United States this way. One smuggler was arrested last year along the Swanton Sector by Border Patrol after he attempted to smuggle six Indian illegals into New York. The Indian illegals survived their ordeal and were treated for hypothermia after the boat they were in began to sink in the near-freezing waters. Breitbart reported that the smuggler pleaded guilty and was sentenced last week “to 60 months in prison for conspiracy to commit alien smuggling, and three counts of alien smuggling.”
Even with the rare prosecution of the recent illegal-alien smuggling case, the border crisis continues to grow, affecting all points of entry into the United States. CBP data shows that nearly five million illegals have entered the nation since President Biden took office.
The growing influx of illegals coming into the United States from Canada is just another glaring example that Congress must act soon to protect the country from invasion, stopping Biden and his administration from ignoring their sworn constitutional duties to protect and secure our borders and the nation’s sovereignty.
