This is according to Chief Patrol Agent Robert Garcia, head of Customs and Border Protection for the Swanton Sector, which covers nearly 300 miles of the U.S.-Canada border across Clinton, Essex, Franklin, St. Lawrence and Herkimer Counties of northeastern New York; Coos, Grafton and Carroll Counties of northern New Hampshire; and all of Vermont.
In public posts Garcia made on social media, he reported that the Swanton Sector Border Patrol saw a 550 percent increase in apprehensions, with 6,925 apprehensions between Oct. 1, 2022 to Sept. 30, 2023, the end of the fiscal year. (Related: Over 70,000 "special interest aliens" from countries that promote or protect TERRORISM have entered the U.S. since 2021.)
In the previous fiscal year – from Oct. 1, 2021 to Sept. 30, 2022 – the Swanton Sector only saw a little over 1,000 apprehensions by Border Patrol.
Garcia noted that the 6,925 apprehensions recorded in the previous fiscal year came from 79 different countries, with the most common coming from Mexico, India, Venezuela, Haiti and Romania.
Garcia warned that a lot of the illegals who braved the journey across the border did so during the winter, recklessly endangering their children, including babies.
"The risk to human lives – including Border Patrol Agents – is increasing," he warned. "[This is] illegal and irresponsible."
Border security along northern border remains lacking
The massive surge in apprehensions of illegals at the northern border is part of a broader surge in illegal immigration at both the northern and southern borders, although the numbers of illegals being apprehended at the southern border continue to vastly eclipse those seen at the northern border.
Through the entirety of the U.S.-Canada border, Border Patrol recorded 189,402 migrant encounters during the 2023 fiscal year. This represents a sharp increase from the approximately 27,000 encounters during the 2021 fiscal year and the 109,535 encounters during the 2022 fiscal year.
Meanwhile, at the southern border, there were more than 2.4 million recorded migrant encounters.
To respond to the surge in apprehensions and encounters at the northern border, federal authorities back in March agreed to increase the number of Border Patrol agents patrolling certain sections of the U.S.-Canada border, primarily along the northeastern U.S. border with the French-speaking Canadian province of Quebec.
But a slight increase in border agents might not be enough. The U.S.-Canada border is the longest land border in the world at over 5,500 miles long. This border only has 115 ports of entry, and the crisis at the southern border throughout the years means security along this border is largely understaffed, if at all.
Garcia recalls previously calling for volunteers when his sector of the border initially saw a spike in apprehensions, particularly due to Mexicans attempting to cross without any legal documents.
"Due to the increased numbers, stations are task saturated with processing large groups, which has contributed to gotaway events, pedestrian and vehicle incursions," said Garcia back in February.
Learn more about American border policies and incidents along the country's ports of entry at OpenBorders.news.
Watch this clip from Fox News reporting on a recent chaotic episode at the U.S.-Canada border involving a "fiery" vehicle explosion.
This video is from the News Clips channel on Brighteon.com.
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