The U.S. northern border is seeing an unprecedented surge of illegal crossings, as the Swanton Sector — covering New York, Vermont and New Hampshire — reports nearly 20,000 arrests in fiscal year 2024 alone. This spike, vastly exceeding totals from the past 17 years combined, has raised alarm among border security officials and critics of the Biden-Harris administration’s immigration policies.
Chief Patrol Agent Robert Garcia revealed that the individuals detained at the border come from 97 different countries, further highlighting the global nature of the U.S. immigration crisis. The significant jump in arrests at the northern border follows a period of relatively low activity, with only 6,925 apprehensions in fiscal year 2023 and 1,065 in 2022.
Historically, the northern border has seen far fewer illegal crossings compared to the southern border. However, the numbers under the Biden-Harris administration show that this is changing. Critics argue that the administration’s focus on addressing the southern border has left the northern border vulnerable, allowing illegal crossings to rise unchecked.
The Swanton Sector’s data stands in stark contrast to previous years under President Donald Trump, when illegal crossings from Canada rarely exceeded 1,000 arrests per year. The surge is seen by many as another example of the administration’s failure to secure U.S. borders, which they argue endangers national security and strains law enforcement resources.
While the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has made efforts to expedite asylum processes for those crossing from Canada, the effectiveness of these measures remains unclear. As the crisis grows, many are calling for stronger enforcement and a reassessment of the Biden-Harris administration’s immigration policies, which have been blamed for creating a magnet for illegal immigrants across both borders.
