The US-Canada border, the longest in the world, remains wide open for migrants seeking to enter the country illegally and claim asylum because it is not part of the Biden administration’s latest restrictions, according to sources cited by The Post. In June alone, a record 3,600 migrants entered the US via this northern border, more than the number recorded for all of 2022.
A Border Patrol source at the northern border told The Post that “the executive order doesn’t affect us.” According to the Homeland Security data obtained by The Post, even with Biden’s asylum restrictions on the southern border, the administration allowed in more than 100,000 migrants in June.
The policy is meant to bar asylum access to migrants who enter illegally until such crossings fall below an average of 1,500 per day. However, it does offer a multitude of exceptions. Meanwhile, the northern border has become an opportune place for migrants trying to enter the US illegally in recent years due to fewer barriers and border agents. The surge in illegal crossings at the US-Mexico border has also pulled resources from the northern border, including agents who have been moved to help interview migrants caught down south via video conference calls.
The Swanton sector – which covers New York, Vermont, and New Hampshire – has seen a significant increase in the number of illegal crossings and has had migrants coming from 85 different countries since October. Between October and May across the entire northern border, agents also saw thousands of migrants coming from India and Latin America.
The Post recently got an inside look into how Americans living in the region have seen migrant smuggling operations unfolding on their properties. Local Chris Feeley, 52, told The Post that he has watched from his hunting tree-stand as migrants crossed his property openly over the last three years. Feeley said he now carries a firearm on his own property after noticing startled deer run by before two men “of Mexican descent” wearing backpacks and carrying walking sticks followed.
The region has also had more terror watchlisted individuals attempting to cross via ports of entry, with more than 198 caught between October and May – and 484 in the previous financial year, according to federal data.
