The northern border of the United States saw a dramatic surge in migrant apprehensions in March 2023, raising serious questions about the security and sovereignty of the United States and its relationship with Canada. The Swanton Sector, which covers Vermont, New Hampshire, and part of New York, recorded approximately 700 migrant arrests in March, a staggering 1000 percent increase from the same month last year when only 61 migrants were apprehended.
The Swanton Sector also reported about 350 known got-aways, bringing the total number of illegal border crossers in March to over 1,000. This is a 67 percent increase from February 2023, when 418 migrants were apprehended and 200 got-aways were recorded.
The unprecedented influx of migrants at the northern border poses significant challenges for the Border Patrol agents and local authorities. Swanton Sector Chief Patrol Agent Robert Garcia warned about the dangers of illegally crossing the border from Canada, especially in the harsh winter conditions. In late March, Canadian police recovered the bodies of eight migrants, including two young children, who drowned while attempting to cross the St. Lawrence River from Quebec into New York. The police are still looking for Casey Oakes, a suspected smuggler who is believed to be involved in the tragic incident.
The Swanton Sector has already surpassed its previous record of migrant apprehensions for a fiscal year, which was set in 2004 with 2,701 arrests. In the first six months of Fiscal Year 2023, the sector has taken more than 2,600 migrants into custody and registered more than 1,500 got-aways. This is nearly equal to the total number of border crossers in the previous four years combined.
The northern border crisis is a microcosm of the situation at the southern border, where more than 171,000 migrants were apprehended in March 2023, the highest number in a single month since 2006. The Biden administration has faced–but largely ignored–intense criticism for its handling of the border surge and its lack of transparency and accountability.
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