Chris Lange, FISM News
[elfsight_social_share_buttons id=”1″]
U.S. Customs and Border Patrol leadership is calling on agents to volunteer to deploy to the Swanton sector of the northern border in response to a massive surge in illegal crossings that has “overwhelmed” agents.
Fox News obtained the memo penned by Swanton’s Chief Patrol Agent Robert Garcia who said that border agents in the sector — which covers portions of Vermont, New Hampshire, and upstate New York — reported an 846% increase in illegal crossings into the U.S. from Canada since October.
In January alone, 367 illegal crossings were reported, a number that exceeded “the previous 12 January’s — combined (344).” Garcia noted that the surge primarily consists of “large groups” of “Mexican nationals crossing into the U.S. from Canada.” As a result, border stations have become “task saturated,” which Garcia said, “is contributing to gotaways & pedestrian/vehicle incursions.” Volunteers are being asked “to be ready to deploy on March 1st.”
“Chief Garcia is a phenomenal agent … If he’s asking for help, we do know that we’ve got a problem up there,” Chris Clem, the former patrol chief for the Yuma sector in Arizona, told Fox News.
Clem said that the northern border is often neglected because the volume at the southern border is “astronomical.”
Electronic travel authorization has enabled migrants to travel “basically visa-free” from Mexico to Canada. “And then at that point, they’re coming in,” he said, adding that the Biden administration needs to make a “policy response.”
“We have to stand strong. We ought to stand firm with our partners. We need the administration to reach out to Canada, just like we need them to reach out to Mexico and hold them accountable to make sure both borders are secure,” Clem said.
California Republican Rep. Doug LaMalfa responded to the report by joining the chorus of bipartisan calls for President Biden to “close the borders.”
“The Admin is asking CBP agents to volunteer to go to our northern border’s Swanton sector, which has seen an 850% increase in illegal crossings since last October,” LaMalfa said in a tweet. “Illegal immigration is a problem no matter which border it is. @POTUS, now is the time to close the borders.”