'They're all coming': Chinese nationals arrested attempting to illegally cross into the US at the northern border
by: Sarah Akey 2024-03-01 Source: Law Enforcement Today News
While all eyes are focused on the crisis at the southern border, counties in Vermont, New Hampshire, and New York are seeing record-breaking illegal border crossings as migrants cross the Canadian border in hopes of avoiding detection.
Three Chinese nationals were recently arrested by immigration agents on the northern border as they attempted to cross illegally from Canada into Maine. U.S. Border Patrol Houlton sector issued a statement saying in part, “After noticing suspicious activity along the border, vigilant Fort Fairfield Border Patrol agents arrested three Chinese nationals attempting to use the cover of darkness to illegally enter the United States..
“A driver from New York, also a Chinese national who is already in immigration proceedings, was also arrested and suspected of attempting to further the illegal entry."
Bill Melugin with FOX News who often covers immigration at the southern border, says that Chinese nationals crossing through the northern border into Maine “is very rare.”
FOX News reported that northern border officials have seen a 41% increase in encounters with migrants crossing into the United States since 2022.
Additionally, in 2023 alone, more than 12,200 were arrested at the northern border crossing into the United States illegally. That is a 241% increase from just 3,578 arrests in 2022. In 2021, more than 450 Chinese nationals were apprehended.
Across the entirety of the U.S.-Canada border, 2022 encounters with people attempting to illegally cross the into the United States via Canada increased to more than 2,000. In 2023, that number rose to more than 24,314. And there have been more than 18,750 encounters as of January 31, 2024. For comparison, December 2023 alone saw nearly 6,000 encounters.
While officials report that most are still using legal ports of entry, there is still enough of a significant increase in illegal crossings to cause concern.