(The Center Square) – Illegal border crossings and apprehensions continue at the northern border, which saw unprecedented numbers during the Biden administration.
Overall, illegal entries are down but with more Border Patrol agents in the field, they are apprehending more between ports of entry.
In Maine, Border Patrol apprehensions hit a 24-year high in fiscal 2025. The fiscal year goes from Oct.1 through Sept. 30.
In the first six months of the year, Maine Border Patrol agents apprehended 113 illegal border crossers coming through Canada from 16 countries, The Center Square reported.
As of Oct.1, that number increased to 725 coming through Canada from 46 countries, according to U.S. Custom and Border Protection data.
CBP and Border Patrol officers are tasked with securing the U.S.-Canada border in Maine in CBP’s Houlton Sector. The Houlton Sector covers 611 miles of shared international land border between Maine and Canada and more than 3,500 miles of coast patrolled by U.S. federal agents.
Houlton Sector Border Patrol arrests last year surpassed their previous record of 685 apprehensions in 2001, its Chief Border Patrol Agent Derrick Stamper said.
“This is about more than numbers; it’s about safeguarding national security. Every apprehension disrupts potential threats, from human smuggling networks to individuals with illicit intentions, ensuring that Maine’s communities and the entire United States remain safe from those seeking to exploit our borders,” Stamper said.
Despite Border Patrol record apprehensions, they apprehend a fraction of illegal border crossers coming from Canada compared to CBP officers stationed at ports of entry and in field offices, according to CBP data.
In fiscal 2025, a total of 6,719 illegal border crossers were reported in Maine; 725 apprehended by Border Patrol agents.
The overall number is a dramatic drop from the record high of 23,495 apprehended in fiscal 2024, according to CBP data.
In fiscal 2023, at the height of the border crisis, a record 19,768 were apprehended in Maine in fiscal 2023, according to CBP data.
The sector, and the northern border, have never seen these numbers prior to the Biden administration, according to CBP data.
Houlton Sector agents, along with others in 14 northern border states, apprehended a record nearly 701,000 in fiscal years 2022 through the first three months of fiscal 2025, The Center Square reported.
The greatest number of illegal border crossers being apprehended in Maine – as has been the case nationwide – are single adults. The next greatest number are individuals claiming to be in a family unit (FMUA), followed by unaccompanied alien children (UACs).
A record 16,544 single adult illegal border crossers were apprehended in Maine in fiscal 2024; 13,902 were arrested in fiscal 2023. The data excludes gotaways, those who illegally enter between ports of entry to evade capture.
The greatest number of FMUAs were also apprehended in Maine in fiscal 2024 of 6,881, followed by 5,738 in fiscal 2023. The greatest number of UACs apprehended in Maine totaled 112 in fiscal 2023, according to the data.
The Houlton Sector reports an 80% decrease in illegal crossings between ports of entry along the U.S.-Canada border in Maine and “no known ‘gotaways’ since January.
“This milestone was achieved through strategic resource allocation to vulnerable areas, improved infrastructure, enhanced enforcement posture, and prioritizing frontline operations that place agents in enforcement roles,” Stamper said. He also attributes intelligence-sharing and operational partnerships enabling Border Patrol agents “to identify and apprehend criminal aliens.”
In the past year, Maine Border Patrol agents have apprehended MS-13 and Tren de Aragua members, designated as foreign terrorist organizations, and those with Interpol Red notices.
By July of this year, Border Patrol agents had arrested MS-13 members and a Salvadoran wanted by Interpol for aggravated murder in El Salvador, The Center Square reported.
Separately, Maine residents have been the victims of fraud perpetrated by an elaborate Chinese-Canadian fraud and money laundering scheme, The Center Square reported.
