The U.S. Border Patrol is calling for volunteers to shift their deployment to the northern border with Canada after one sector saw an 846% increase in undocumented migrant crossings.
In an email sent to Border Patrol sector chiefs obtained by Fox News, Border Patrol Assistant Chief Juan Garcia requested help in the Swanton Sector, which covers parts of Vermont, New York, and New Hampshire.
"Due to the increased numbers, stations are task saturated with processing large groups, which has contributed to gotaway events, pedestrian and vehicle incursions," he wrote, adding that most of the migrants are "Mexican migrants with no legal documents."
"Due to the strain caused by this surge, USBP HQ is seeking volunteers from the Northern and Southern Border Sectors to temporarily detail additional personnel to [Swanton Sector] to increase detention and custody operations, transportation, and flight line security operations."
The Swanton Sector has seen an 846% increase in undocumented migrants attempting to cross the border when compared to the last fiscal year.
Since October, when the current fiscal year began, there have been more than 1,513 crossings, compared to the 1,065 migrants encountered in the entire Fiscal Year 2022. In January alone, Border Patrol agents apprehended more undocumented migrants than in the past 12 Januarys.
The Swanton Sector, which includes several rural and remote areas from mountains to swamps, expands during the winter season when small bodies of water freeze and allow people to cross over them. However, crossing this section of the border can be risky, given the sector’s sub-freezing temperatures and unpredictable storm fronts, according to Garcia.
"Unfortunately, perilous weather has done nothing to deter this traffic. Don’t risk it!" he said.
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