Northern Border Sees 114% Increase in Illegal Alien Encounters in First Four Months of FY 2024
Much focus has been on illegal border crossings at the U.S. southern border with Mexico, which has seen record numbers since President Joe Biden took office. But officials are sounding the alarm about what’s happening at the northern border.
The Swanton, Vermont, sector is by far the busiest on the northern U.S. border with Canada. It covers New Hampshire and Vermont, plus five counties in eastern New York.
Fiscal year 2023 saw Swanton Sector agents arrest around 7,000 people trying to cross the border illegally. To put it in perspective, that is more than the previous 12 years combined.
Looking at the northern border in its entirety, the Border Patrol apprehended 4,772 people between ports of entry through the first four months of fiscal year 2024. That’s up from 2,229 apprehensions in the first four months of fiscal year 2023, a 114% increase.
Based on the current numbers, arrests at the northern border are on track to break last year’s record, which concerns Border Patrol agents and lawmakers.
Residents in Swanton have turned to packing pistols and having Border Patrol on speed dial because they see the uptick in human smuggling.
If human smuggling wasn’t scary enough, terrorist suspect encounters at the northern border far outpace the southern border. So far, in fiscal year 2024, 127 known or suspected terrorists have been encountered at and between ports of entry at the northern border.
Lawmakers also pointed out, “CBP has seized nearly double the amount of fentanyl — the leading cause of death for Americans aged 18-45 — in the first four months of FY 2024 than it did throughout the entirety of FY23 at the Northern Border.”
Several factors are driving the surge in crossings at the northern border.
Only recently, Canada required Mexicans and some other nations to have travel visas to fly to that country. The lax requirements meant someone could book a cheap flight to Canada as a tourist and then cross the unsecured border with the United States.
The northern border has no man-made physical barriers, making it easy for people to walk across. CBS News pointed out that when they toured the border, at one point, the only barrier was a small creek that a person could easily wade across. Thick vegetation provides good cover for illegal crossers compared to the more open landscape on the southern border.
Due to the surge at the southern border, CBP has pulled some resources off the northern border and redirected them down south.
Under the Biden administration’s catch-and-release policy, a flight to Canada and then a walk across the border is more appealing than a treacherous journey through the Darien Gap and up through Mexico. Migrants know the weak points on the border and target them.
Human smuggling is exploding at the northern border, with smugglers using social media to advertise services. It is also a quicker journey to New York City from the northern border than the southern border.
Further, Texas seems to be successfully deterring people from crossing there, while the northern border (and other southwest states) sees a significant uptick in crossings.
Action must be taken. A group of 22 lawmakers sent a letter to Department of Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas calling on him to address the situation at the northern border.
However, Biden and Mayorkas have shown no interest in dealing with this dire situation. They have actively decided not to secure the border and have failed the residents in these northern border states who now must deal with the consequences of the mess.
This is the state of our northern border and no leader in the United States should be okay with it. Action could be taken immediately to help stop the flow. Biden and Mayorkas could end catch-and-release. They could crack down on sanctuary cities like New York City, which would diminish the incentive to cross at a closer location. President Biden should also work with Canada to find ways to partner in reducing illegal crossings.
For now, Biden and Mayorkas continue the policies that created this crisis in the first place. And as the weather gets warmer, things will undoubtedly get worse.