Northern Border Sector Hit with Over 19,000 Illegal Crossings Last Year, More Than Last 17 Years Combined

The number of illegal immigrants apprehended while crossing a 295-mile-long section of the northern border between the U.S. and Canada has skyrocketed to more than 19,000 this past fiscal year, according to Border Patrol.

Border Patrol agents in the Swanton Sector caught at least 19,222 illegal immigrants hailing from 97 different countries since the start of fiscal year 2024 on October 1 last year, Robert Garcia, the Border Patrol chief for Swanton, revealed on Wednesday. The latest number is higher than the last 17 fiscal years combined.

At least 6,295 illegal immigrants were caught crossing that area in fiscal year 2023, and 1,065 subjects were apprehended the prior year. For comparison, the lowest number of apprehensions along the northern-border sector in the 17-year timespan amounted to 291 in fiscal year 2016.

The Swanton Sector covers 205 miles of land from New Hampshire to northern New York and includes 92 miles along the St. Lawrence River, which separates the U.S. from Canada.

President Joe Biden’s executive order imposing asylum restrictions for illegal crossings only applies to the southern border, failing to ease pressure at the northern border. Biden signed the order in June to crack down on the record number of illegal crossings at the U.S.-Mexico border.

It previously stipulated the asylum-access restrictions when official border crossings hit 2,500 per day. For the restrictions to be lifted, the daily numbers were required to average below 1,500 per day for seven consecutive days.

The Biden administration unveiled new rules on Monday, ordering that the daily numbers have to stay below 1,500 daily encounters for nearly a month before the restrictions can be lifted. The changes went into effect on Tuesday, making it tougher for immigrants to apply for asylum in the U.S.

Though the southern border remains relatively overwhelmed, the number of illegal crossings has decreased since the executive action went into effect. Border Patrol encountered about 54,000 illegal immigrants last month, according to reports of early federal data — down from more than 83,500 encounters in June. Customs and Border Protection has yet to release its official monthly update for September.

While the northern border experiences lower numbers than its southern counterpart, Border Patrol has fewer agents and fewer barriers up north, making it harder for the federal agency to adequately deal with the recent surge.