US Border Patrol officials have issued a call for agents to volunteer to move to a part of the northern border that is being overwhelmed by a surge in illegal migrants entering Canada.
According to a Fox News memo, Border Patrol is seeking volunteers from both the northern and southern borders to provide support in the Swanton sector, which includes New Hampshire, Vermont and part of eastern New York.
The memo states that the Swanton sector is “experiencing an increase in illegal entry,” largely due to “Mexican migrants without legal documents to enter the United States,” and calls for volunteers from other sectors to step up enforcement.
It’s unclear when the memo was sent, but it instructs volunteers to submit their names no later than February 23 for a reallocation period to Swanton from March 1 to April 1.
Border Patrol Deputy Chief Juan E. Garcia’s memo says the redeployment supports “Operation Jagdkommando,” a reference not entirely clear from the context.
Illegal border crossings on the northern border are on the rise — with a record high of 367 arrests in Swanton, Vermont, in January alone, which is higher than in the past 12 years
Swanton Sector Chief Patrol Agent Robert N. Garcia recently said encounters in the sector are at a record high, up 846 percent
Security footage released earlier this month from the northern border shows migrants trudging through several inches of snow with their belongings after illegally crossing the border from Canada to the United States
Last week, the Swanton sector said it had seen a record number of illegal crossings in recent months, with encounters and arrests up 846 percent from October to January compared to the same period a year ago.
Agents arrested 367 people in January, mostly Mexican nationals, which they say is more than since 2011 combined.
The average annual number of encounters in the Swanton sector over the last twelve years is only 28.
Swanton Sector Chief Patrol Agent Robert N. Garcia noted that agents are encountering more family groups with young children and infants crossing the border.
He also warned migrants not to risk the journey through the cold, saying agents had to conduct at least two rescue missions in January.
“Illegal crossing of the Canada-US border in freezing temperatures continued last week when border patrol officers detained 115 people from 12 countries – mostly Mexican nationals,” he noted in a tweet with a picture of migrants walking through the snow trudge
“Unfortunately, the dangerous weather did not deter this traffic. Don’t risk it!’
Data from US Customs and Border Protection shows that as of Oct. 1, more than 80 percent of the 55,736 migrants encountered across the northern border were unaccompanied adults.
About 8,784 were family units, while another 1,178 were unaccompanied minors.
The Border Patrol’s northern sectors can be seen on a map. The Swanton Sector, which covers parts of New York, Vermont and New Hampshire, is asking for volunteer assistance
As of October 1, more than 80% of the 55,736 migrants encountered across the northern border were unaccompanied adults. About 8,784 were family units, while another 1,178 were unaccompanied minors
Swanton Sector Chief Patrol Agent Robert N. Garcia warned that freezing temperatures made the crossing extremely dangerous, especially for children
A migrant tries to cross the Canadian border into the United States
Border crossings in the north continue to soar despite cold winter temperatures recently hitting -4F – and while officials grapple with the ongoing crisis at the country’s southern border.
“As we move deeper into winter and continue to deal with the sustained pace of illegal cross-border traffic, concerns for the lives and well-being of our Border Patrol Agents and those we encounter – particularly vulnerable populations – continue to rise,” Chief Patrol said Agent Garcia.
“It cannot be overstated: Not only is it unlawful to circumvent legal means of entry into the United States, but it is extremely dangerous, especially in adverse weather conditions, which our Swanton sector has in incredible abundance,” he added in one Statement added on the record-breaking number of crossings.
Harsh winter conditions along the northern border have prompted increased search and rescue efforts recently required to provide lifesaving assistance to at least two incidents in Newport, Vermont, and Burke, New York.
The influx at the northern border appears to have coincided with a similar surge at the southern border since President Joe Biden took office.
Fiscal year 2020 encounters and arrests at the northern border totaled 32,376.
The first full year Biden was in office in fiscal 2022 saw a more than triple increase to 109,535 encounters at the northern border.
Migrants can be seen wading through deep snow along the US-Canada border in a photo shared by the Border Patrol
The border police chief said they were concerned migrants could perish as temperatures drop
So far this year, from October 2022 to January 2023, CBP has encountered 55,736 illegal border workers along the northern border.
Across the U.S. northern border with Canada, the month with the highest number of border crossings was October 2022, when 15,883 people were arrested by the CBP.
The entire southern border saw a massive drop in crossings from December 2022 to January 2023 – from a record high of 251,978 to almost 100,000 fewer with 156,274 encounters.
The deadly consequences of attempting to cross Canada were exposed a year ago when an Indian family of four was found dead north of the Grand Forks sector.
Then, in early January, a Haitian, Fritznel Richard, died north of the Swanton sector after freezing to death while trying to reach his wife in the US.
Fritznel Richard of Haiti was found dead north of the Swanton sector in January while attempting to return to his wife in the United States
“Swanton Sector’s greatest concern in fulfilling our mission of border security is the preservation of life – the life of the residents of the community we are sworn to protect, the life of our Border Patrol officers who carry out the mission day in and day out, the field and life of the individuals, families and children we are asked to detain as they attempt to circumvent legal entry procedures,” Garcia said.
“Unfortunately, the transnational criminal organizations that seek to capitalize on the rise in human trafficking only care about profit and do not care about the welfare of those whose plight they seek to exploit for financial gain.”
Kathryn Siemer, acting patrol officer in charge of the Pembina, North Dakota station — one of seven stations in the Grand Forks sector — said the sharp spike in encounters was partly due to Canada easing its COVID restrictions.
Migrants could find their way to Canada and, if unhappy with life there, try their luck in the US.
Canada’s increasing restrictions on migrants could also spur inflows into the US, said Frantz André, an immigration consultant who heads an organization that helps asylum seekers.
He told CBC that many migrants believe they may have better chances of working undocumented in the US.
Last year, a family of four died trying to enter the United States from Manitoba, including Jagdish Baldevbhai Patel, 39, Vaishaliben Jagdishkumar Patel, 37, Vihangi Jagdishkumar Patel, 11, and Dharmik Jagdishkumar Patel, three.
RCMP officers searched the area where the Patel family froze to death near Emerson, Manitoba
Meanwhile, Siemer told Global News she remains haunted by thoughts of the Indian family of four who died in freezing weather north of her sector last year.
The parents and two children trudged through waist-deep snow in a blizzard for 11 hours before dying.
Jagdish Patel, 39, and Vaishailben Patel, 37, were found dead with their children Vihangi, 11, and Dharkmik, three, in a field north of the US border on January 19, 2022, as temperatures plummeted to -40F crashed.
Steve Shand, 57, of Deltona, Fla., was charged in the human smuggling case and an investigation into the family’s death is ongoing.
The family, originally from Gujarat, is believed to have crossed into the province of Manitoba from Toronto, where they first entered Canada on January 12, 2022.