(The Center Square) – The busiest northern border sector saw a 550% increase in apprehensions in one fiscal year, according to new data.
Chief Border Patrol Agent Robert Garcia, who oversees the Swanton Sector, said Border Patrol agents saw “an astonishing 550% increase compared to last year by recording 6,925 apprehensions from 79 different countries between 10/01/2022 to 9/30/2023.”
This is consistent with data first reported by The Center Square of Swanton Sector Border Patrol agents apprehending more than 6,700 people from 76 countries and reporting at least 3,745 gotaways in fiscal 2023.
Gotaways is the official U.S. Customs and Border Protection term to define foreign nationals who illegally enter the U.S. and don’t turn back to Canada or Mexico. They illegally enter between ports of entry and seek to evade capture. Those in law enforcement have no idea how many there are in the U.S., or who or where they are. According to data previously published by The Center Square, they total an estimated 1.7 million since January 2021.
In a social media post, Garcia said the overwhelming majority of foreign nationals illegally entering his sector from Canada were primarily Mexican nationals (49%). The next greatest number of people came from countries from all over the world (18%), followed by Indians (14%), Venezuelans (10%), Haitians (5%), and Romanians (4%).
The majority coming through, as is the case nationwide, are single, military age men. The ones captured in person or on camera are mostly wearing camouflage, hoodies, and masks to hide their identity as they run through wooded forest to evade capture.
Garcia has long praised the relationship Border Patrol agents have with local residents, who he says have been instrumental in identifying suspicious activity.
Over the Thanksgiving weekend, residents in multiple communities reported suspicious activity, “which aided Swanton Sector agents in apprehending 71 subjects and confirming four illegal vehicle incursions,” he said, near ports of entry. These are record high numbers for a holiday weekend, according to Border Patrol data.
“If you see something, say something,” Garcia said. “Report suspicious border activity in Swanton Sector: 1-800-689-3362.”
Despite having far fewer agents and resources than sectors along the southwest border, Swanton Sector agents have been “resolute and determined to hold the line across our 295 miles of border in northeastern New York, Vermont and New Hampshire,” Garcia said.
The sector spans 295 miles of international boundary with the Canadian provinces of Quebec and Ontario, of which 203 miles is on land. The remaining 92 miles of border fall primarily along the St. Lawrence River. The sector is the first international land boundary east of the Great Lakes.
The sector includes all of Vermont, six upstate New York counties and three New Hampshire counties.
Human smuggling often occurs with the help of drivers who wait at a check point on the U.S. side to pick up people who’ve illegally crossed from Canada. Garcia posted a video of agents intercepting a human smuggling attempt in upstate New York.
What does human smuggling look like along the northern border? See it here! Our vigilant Burke, New York agents intercepted this smuggling attempt last year. If you see something, say something. Report suspicious border activity in Swanton Sector: 1-800-689-3362 pic.twitter.com/o8dWGGjWyW— Chief Patrol Agent Robert Garcia (@USBPChiefSWB) November 13, 2023
The U.S.-Canada border is the longest international border in the world totaling 5,525 miles.
Unlike the U.S.-Mexico border, there are no border walls or similar barriers separating the U.S. from Canada. Most of the northern U.S.-Canada border is demarcated by rivers, lakes, mountains, ravines and forests. In heavily trafficked areas, Border Patrol agents have erected concrete barricades and boulders to prevent human smuggling, which Garcia refers to as “impedance and denial measures.”
The barriers prevent vehicles from driving through but do not prevent foot traffic.
While many miles of the remote northern border remain unpatrolled due to a number of factors, at northern border ports of entry, CBP Office of Field Operations agents have consistently apprehended the greatest number of known or suspected terrorists (KSTs) in the U.S.
In fiscal 2023, OFO and Border Patrol agents apprehended a total of 736 KSTs nationwide – the greatest number apprehended in recorded U.S. history.
The significant majority of them – 66%, or 487– were apprehended at the northern border attempting to enter the U.S. from Canada.
