More bad news for border security, and New Hampshire Democrats hoping the issue will go away by Election Day: Illegal crossings in the border region that includes the Granite State hit a new record in April.
“Another record-breaking milestone in northern border history!” reports Chief U.S. Border Patrol Agent Robert Garcia, who oversees the Swanton Sector.
“Swanton Sector continues to encounter an unprecedented number of undocumented migrants, with well over 1,400 apprehensions in the month of April, surpassing the total number of apprehensions of FY 21 and FY 22 combined.”
And, Garcia adds, “In the week of Aril 28th – May 4th [alone], we apprehended 492 undocumented migrants transcending the total number of apprehensions for all FY21.”
The Swanton Sector includes the Vermont border, as well as Clinton, Essex, Franklin, St. Lawrence and Herkimer counties in New York; and Coos, Grafton and Carroll counties in New Hampshire.
For Gov. Chris Sununu, the new numbers are vindication of his commitment to addressing illegal crossings along New Hampshire’s northern border.
“Clearly, this is a growing issue at the northern border, and clearly the people who have tried to thwart our efforts to provide support and resources to address that issue have been proven outlandishly wrong,” Sununu said Wednesday.
“They’re the ones trying to play a political game, but the data doesn’t lie, the numbers don’t lie. And the numbers just keep growing.”
Increased illegal immigration from Canada to the U.S. is not news.
The U.S. Border Patrol reported last September that “apprehensions have topped 6,700 in less than one year—surpassing 11 prior years combined.”
The Border Patrol at the time also reported having caught more than 170 “known or suspected terrorists illegally entering the United States from Mexico or Canada over the previous 12 months, finishing out the government’s fiscal year with the highest number in national history.”
And CBP data show that in fiscal years 2022 and 2023, encounters with people in the Terror Screening Data Set — aka the “Terror Watch List” — have been five to six times higher at the border with Canada than with Mexico.
Still, New Hampshire Democrats in Concord and in Washington, D.C. have uniformly opposed state efforts to shore up the northern border. When Sununu announced the Northern Border Alliance Task Force last October, Executive Councilor Cinde Warmington opposed both the project and its $1.4 million price tag.
Former Manchester Mayor Joyce Craig has declined to respond to questions about the Northern Border Alliance Task Force or what state policies — if any — she would enact to address the illegal immigration issue.
Meanwhile, the state Democratic Party continues to insist the issue of illegal immigration and border security is a political ploy inspired by GOP racism. Granite State Democrats have compared support for increased immigration enforcement to Nazi Germany’s treatment of Jews, and state party chair Ray Buckley calls it “fascist fearmongering” and “thinly-veiled racism.”
And Democratic allies like the ACLU continue to argue, even as illegal crossings set new records, that Republican efforts to stem the tide are unnecessary, because of the lack of data showing the Swanton Sector crossings are happening along New Hampshire’s portion of the U.S.-Canada border.
Both GOP candidates for governor — former U.S. Senator Kelly Ayotte and former state Senate President Chuck Morse — have said they will continue the Northern Border Alliance Task Force. And unlike their Democratic counterparts, they both oppose allowing sanctuary policies in the Granite State.
“Visiting the Northern Border, I have seen first-hand that Joe Biden’s dangerous open-border policies have made our country, and New Hampshire, less safe,” Ayotte said. “As governor, I will work with law enforcement to improve our security at our northern border, specifically fixing the current communication issues facing law enforcement in the region to ensure that state and local departments can communicate across agencies and with federal authorities.
“The urgent issues on our borders are dangerous and demand immediate action. We must re-establish law and order, stop the reckless policies of the Biden administration, and put our country first. The solution is simple: secure the borders, deport illegal immigrants, and never allow sanctuary cities in New Hampshire.”
Morse also touted his visits to the northern border, while highlighting what he says is a point of differentiation with Ayotte.
“I’ve consistently sounded the alarm about this looming crisis, and the latest statistics, as reported by Chief U.S. Border Patrol Agent Robert Garcia, underscore the severity of the situation,” Morse said.
“Weak stances on immigration, such as Kelly Ayotte’s vote for Amnesty, or the Democrats’ calls for sanctuary cities, only exacerbate the issue. We cannot afford to dismiss the urgency of this matter. We must prioritize the safety and security of our communities. As governor, I am committed to implementing comprehensive immigration policies that uphold the rule of law and protect the interests of all Granite Staters.”
