US border officials are concerned about the phenomenal increase in the number of illegal migrants crossing the border from Canada to the United States at Estrie.
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In late January, a migrant of Mexican origin was spotted suffering from hypothermia near the covered bridge in the Mansonville sector. The latter attempted to enter the United States through the forest.
This case would not be an isolated case. Citizens have noticed an increasing presence of people of foreign origin seeking illegal entry in recent months. US border services also confirm that migrant interceptions are increasing.
On January 9, a Colombian couple carrying two children, ages 2 and 8 months, desperately tried to make their way through the woods at the end of Chemin du Pont-Couvert to North Troy, Vermont.
“Despite the established winter, we continue to see a significant increase in illegal entry into the United States. These vulnerable people, sometimes families with young children, are putting their lives and those of our officers at risk,” Border Patrol Agent Robert N. Garcia said in a statement.
In January alone, the Swanton office, which serves the border between Saint-Armand in Montérégie and Stanhope in Estrie, made 367 arrests for illegal entry, exceeding the total for a month of January or 344 arrests in the previous 12 years. .
According to US authorities, the majority of migrants intercepted are of Mexican origin. Some have already been deported from the United States for the first time.
Between October 1 and January 31, the number of arrests by the United States Customs and Border Protection (US Border Patrol) increased by more than 846% compared to the same period last year.
They were 334 in October, 445 in November and 441 in December.
This phenomenon worries the authorities, especially since these people are not usually dressed for the rigors of winter.
“It is not only illegal to circumvent legal means of entry into the United States, but it is also extremely dangerous, especially in adverse weather conditions,” the agency official said.
This was notably the case for a person of Haitian origin who was still rescued in North Troy, south of Potton, on December 3 while in a state of hypothermia.