America’s border crisis has expanded from the south to the north as reports have shown a 743 percent increase in illegal immigration from Canada. According to the Daily Mail, asylum seekers are battling several feet of snow and deadly cold temperatures with the goal of making it into the United States.
The Daily Mail reports that in fiscal year 2022, there were 80 encounters at the Grand Forks Sector, which covers Minnesota and North Dakota, but fiscal year 2023 has already surpassed that figure. From October 2022 to December 2022, there were 90 encounters at the northern border crossing. The Swanton Sector, which covers Vermont, New York, and New Hampshire has also seen a dramatic increase in migrants in the last few months with border patrol reporting an astounding 441 apprehensions at the sector in just December alone.
Heading into the harshest months of the winter, the increase in migrant crossings is concerning, especially as the frigid temperatures and snow covered ground have already claimed lives. One family of four was found frozen to death just north of the United States border in temperatures that dipped 40 degrees Fahrenheit below zero.
Migrants making their way through Canada continue to set their sights on the United States noting that they believe the experience will be easier. The Daily Mail reports that many are being driven out of Canada due to “increasing barriers on migrants” who believe they have a better chance of “working without papers” in the United States.
Still, the journey is not an easy one as many people face threats from criminals while traveling to the border in addition to the challenging weather.
Robert Garcia, the chief patrol agent for the Swanton Sector, explained that the “Swanton Sector’s greatest concern in carrying out our mission of border security is the preservation of life – the lives of community residents we are sworn to protect, the lives of our Border Patrol Agents carrying out the mission day-in and day-out in the field, and the lives of the individuals, families, and children we are charged with apprehending as they attempt to circumvent legal processes for entry.”
“Unfortunately, the transnational criminal organizations that stand to profit from the increased flow of human traffic care only about profits and have no concern for the welfare of those whose plight they seek to exploit for financial gain,” Garcia added.
Growing concerns on the northern border of the United States is adding to an already frightening situation as the southern border is severely overwhelmed with illegal entries. County supervisors and border patrol agents on the southern border are eager to show the Biden administration the dangerous circumstances threatening their communities and the residents living in them, but the trips the administration have finally made to the border were manipulated to not represent the harsh reality.