Although not at the same scale as the tide of illegal immigrants that has swamped America’s Southern Border, the number of illegal immigrants entering along the border with Canada is skyrocketing.
During the first three months of the federal fiscal year that began Oct. 1, Border Patrol agents in New York, Vermont and New Hampshire have collared more illegal immigrants coming down from Canada than in the previous fiscal years combined, according to Customs and border Protection data cited by the New York Post.
The three states are known as the “Swanton Sector.” Combined, the final three months of 2022 logged a 743 percent increase in apprehensions and encounters compared to 2021, Sector Chief Patrol Agent Robert N. Garcia said in a news release.
That was not all.
In less than four months, Swanton Sector’s apprehensions have surpassed the COMBINED two prior years (FY2021-2022). In the face of this adversity, our #BorderPatrol Agents remain steadfast in their portrayal of our ideals: Vigilance, Integrity, & Service to Country. #HonorFirst pic.twitter.com/BqVRnpbDib
— Chief Patrol Agent Robert Garcia (@USBPChiefSWB) January 24, 2023
“In less than four months, Swanton Sector’s apprehensions have surpassed the COMBINED two prior years (FY2021-2022). In the face of this adversity, our #BorderPatrol Agents remain steadfast in their portrayal of our ideals: Vigilance, Integrity, & Service to Country,” he posted on Twitter.
According to The Center Square, the sector had 441 people detained in December alone. According to the report, 135 others evaded capture, entering the country illegally. The report said those apprehended came from 19 countries.
For the sake of context, Border Patrol numbers show that there were 717,660 encounters between Border Patrol agents in the Southwest over the first three months of the 2023 fiscal year.
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But the increases are staggering even if on a smaller scale.
Border Patrol agents in the Grand Forks sector of Minnesota and North Dakota apprehended 90 people in the first quarter of the new fiscal year, a pace well ahead of the 80 detained in that sector for the entire 2021-2022 federal fiscal year, according to the Daily Mail. If that continues, illegal entries there will quadruple in this fiscal year.
“The numbers are definitely increasing back to a pre-pandemic type situation,” Kathryn Siemer, acting patrol agent in charge at Pembina, North Dakota, said, according to Global News.
“It’s a pretty well-known fact that the organizations don’t care about the loss of life. They care about people as revenue,” she said.
Garcia wrote in the CBP news release that the Swanton Sector worries about this let loose to die in the wilds of winter.
“Swanton Sector’s greatest concern in carrying out our mission of border security is the preservation of life — the lives of community residents we are sworn to protect, the lives of our Border Patrol Agents carrying out the mission day-in and day-out in the field, and the lives of the individuals, families, and children we are charged with apprehending as they attempt to circumvent legal processes for entry,” he said.
“Unfortunately, the transnational criminal organizations that stand to profit from the increased flow of human traffic care only about profits and have no concern for the welfare of those whose plight they seek to exploit for financial gain,” he said.
In New York City, a little more than 300 miles south of the border, Mayor Eric Adams has said the increase in illegal immigrants that took place last year is impacting the city, which has also been a destination for Southern Border states who bus illegal immigrants to northern cities.
“I’m not going to sugarcoat it. Every service we provide is going to be impacted by the influx of migrants in our city,” Adams has said, according to The New York Times.
