The US’s northern border saw a record number of illegal crossings last year, as migrants found it easier to enter through Canada, new US Customs and Border data shows.
Over 12,000 migrants were stopped illegally crossing the Canadian border last year, an increase of 240 per cent from the previous year, where 3,579 people had been arrested.
Many of the illegal crossings - around 70 per cent - occurred along a 295-mile stretch of the border along northern New York, Vermont and New Hampshire known as the Swanton Sector.
In a social media post, Robert Garcia, the chief patrol agent for the sector, said that 3,100 people from 55 different countries had been apprehended.
The US’s northern border saw a record number of illegal crossings last year
Twitter/Getty
Including a recent photo of an early morning apprehension of four adult males from Bangladesh near Mooers, New York, he wrote: “The record-breaking surge of illegal entries from Canada continues in Swanton Sector.”
He added that a “citizen’s report in Champlain, NY, led to the arrest of 10 Bangladesh citizens”.
Many of those crossing illegally are Mexicans, who can fly to Canada without a visa to avoid the cartels patrolling their home countries.
Clinton County, a rural swatch of towns has become one of the main passageways for migrants, frightening some locals.
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Robert Garcia, the chief patrol agent for the sector, said that 3,100 people from 55 different countries had been apprehended
US Border Patrol
At least a dozen migrants have died attempting to cross the icy border in the past two years, after getting stranded in the woods or succumbing to hypothermia.
The US border with Canada extends far longer than its border with Mexico, meaning many points of entry are often understaffed and many places have no fencing.
“The northern border has pretty much been ignored,” New York Assemblyman Billy Jones 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.”
Many residents have noted migrants walking across their fields and seeking shelter in their barns from the cold
Getty
Many residents have noted migrants walking across their fields, with some seeking shelter from the cold in locals’ barns.
In a statement to the newspaper, a Customs and Border Protection spokeswoman said the US. has formed a close working relationship with Canada “to facilitate lawful crossings through ports of entry and to counter irregular migration, including in the Swanton Sector.”
She said the agency “continuously adjusts to shifting trends while continuing to call on Congress to provide the resources and personnel necessary to sustain and improve our border security along all our borders”.
Canada is now reportedly considering implementing visa requirements for Mexicans. It comes after Quebec's leader urged Prime Minister Justin Trudeau last month to help decrease the number of refugees into the province, saying they were close to “breaking point”.