What's behind the record number of illegal crossings at the U.S.-Canada border?
BEECHER FALLS, Vt. - In the last year, U.S. Border Patrol agents said they have arrested record numbers of migrants trying to cross the northern border of the United States, many of them through the remote crossroads where Canada meets New Hampshire, Vermont, and New York.
"It was a flood we had never seen before. It was an exponential shift, something we were not expecting and it just hit us hard," said Erik Lavallee, the Border Patrol Agent in Charge of the U.S. Border Patrol Beecher Falls Station in Vermont.
Lavallee works in what the Border Patrol calls the Swanton Sector, 295 miles of tough and varying border terrain across the five eastern counties of New York, all of Vermont, and all of New Hampshire. It is a remote area will rolling fields soaked with melted snow, streams, and forests.
In his nearly two decades in the sector, Lavallee said he has never experienced this kind of migrant surge.
"Startling" number of northern border crossings
In fiscal year 2023, Swanton Sector agents arrested roughly 7,000 migrants trying to cross the border illegally. That is more than the previous 12 years combined.
The number still pales compared to the thousands who cross the southern border daily but Lavallee said it is startling.
"We understand completely that the northern border issues versus the southern border issues are apples and oranges. However, that being said, having been up in this sector for almost 20 years, I have never seen anything like it," Lavallee said.
Who is crossing the northern border?
Border Patrol said they have arrested individuals from 66 different countries, including India, Bangladesh, Haiti, and Venezuela. Roughly 49 percent of those arrested came from Mexico.
During a WBZ-TV tour of the northern border, we saw Lavallee and Border Patrol agents arrest a Lithuanian national who tried to cross through the woods abutting a pond that straddles the border between Vermont and Canada.
Lavallee said most of the migrants they are seeing are men traveling without families, although the Border Patrol does still see family units. He said many are involved in human smuggling.
"We know there are multiple organizations that are utilizing Canada to smuggle individuals into the United States," Lavallee said.
Terror watchlist apprehensions
The Border Patrol covering the northern border is also seeing people on the terror watchlist. In fiscal year 2023, Border Patrol apprehended 564 people on the terror watchlist. Of them, 484 were encountered on the northern border. Another 103 were found crossing through the north in fiscal year 2024.
Why the surge in numbers?
The questions are - why here and why now? Lavallee said one of the reasons is Canadian foreign policy. Up until recently, Canada did not require Mexicans and some other foreign nationals to have travel visas to fly to the country, only requiring an electronic authorization form.
"For a very minimal fee, they would be able to enter the country as a tourist," Lavallee said. "Some folks, utilizing the ETA program, were being arrested here in the United States for illegal entry within 24 hours of their landing in Canada."
Canada reversed course at the end of February, announcing new requirements for electronic travel authorization and a visa requirement for Mexican citizens. Lavallee also said some of the migrants he is encountering have a different strategy for entering the country than those coming to the southern border.
"Here, we're not seeing the same prevalence of individuals requesting either asylum or wanting to be caught. The people here that we're seeing for the most part, they're trying to find that seam. They're trying to find that vulnerability and come into the United States without detection," Lavallee said.
Challenges at the northern border
The northern border, itself, presents unique challenges. During WBZ's visit to the border, we saw no physical barriers on the border. At one point, the border was marked by a stream, easily wadable at some points during the year.
The Border Patrol covers the vast expanse with ground sensors, drones, and patrols. They also rely on calls from locals.
"Whether or not we see absolutely everything, I think it's hard to say any agency is a hundred percent effective," Lavallee said. "I can't know what I don't know."
What happens to those captured at the border?
Once migrants are in custody, Lavallee said they are fingerprinted and a background check is done. Then, the Border Patrol may set up a court date for them and transport them to U.S. Enforcement and Removal Operations or ERO. ERO detains some in detention centers like the Plymouth County Jail in Massachusetts or the Strafford County Jail in New Hampshire.
The ERO office for New England does not have data breaking out whether the people in its custody entered through the southern or northern border. In fiscal year 2023, ERO detained 1,423 people and removed 600 from the country. That is far less than the 7,000 arrested to the North.
Increased risks for migrants
With increased border crossings comes increased risks for migrants. In the last fiscal year, 10 migrants died while attempting to cross through the Swanton Sector.
"They included drownings, hypothermia, and just ill-preparedness for the weather," Lavallee said.
The Border Patrol has begun putting up signs in Spanish and French directing people to call 911 if they are in trouble. Lavallee said agents have also had dangerous interactions with people crossing the border illegally.
"We have seen some of the smugglers, when they're attempting to run, they're ramming Border Patrol vehicles or other law enforcement vehicles as well as actual combative and assaultive individuals," Lavallee said. "It may just be a matter of time before we face some serious repercussions and serious issues."
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