Border crossings from Canada into upstate New York, New Hampshire and Vermont reached a record number last year, as migrants take advantage of understaffing and the lack of fencing at the northern border.
More than 12,200 migrants were apprehended crossing illegally from Canada last year, more than double the number from the year before, when only 3,578 were arrested, US Customs and Border Protection data show.
Much of the illegal crossings — about 70% — occurred along the 295-mile Swanton Sector, which includes upstate New York, New Hampshire and Vermont, the data show.
In that sector, 3,100 people from 55 different countries have been apprehended since October alone — more than the total of the past four fiscal years combined, Robert Garcia, the chief patrol agent for the sector, posted on X Friday.
Experts say the migrants who make it to Mexico and can afford a $350 one-way plane ticket from Mexico City or Cancun to Montreal or Toronto are making their way south to cross the northern US border — where they are less likely to be turned away than those who cross the southern border.
The US border with Canada is much longer than the border with Mexico, and the ports of entry are often understaffed as the CBP focuses on the surge in migration at the southern border.
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