By Bethany Blankley | The Center Square

Border Patrol agents in the Swanton Sector, which includes all of Vermont, continue to apprehend and report record numbers of foreign nationals evading law enforcement after flying to Canada to illegally enter the U.S. between ports of entry at the northern border.

In January, the sector saw record-breaking numbers despite area temperatures reaching between -4 and -22 degrees Fahrenheit, Swanton Sector Chief Agent Robert Garcia said.

“Our Border Patrol Agents apprehended 367 subjects in January — MORE than 12 preceding years of January totals COMBINED,” totaling 344, he said.

“Prior to January, Swanton Sector experienced an uninterrupted 7-month streak of sustained encounter increases — part of an upward trend dating back to the beginning of FY22,” he said.

Fiscal year to date, from Oct. 1, 2022, to Jan. 31, 2023, Swanton Sector encounters increased by 846% from the previous fiscal year during the same time frame, he said.

The publicly reported numbers are lower than the preliminary data reported in U.S. Customs and Border Patrol’s internal system obtained by The Center Square from a Border Patrol agent. In December, 441 foreign nationals were apprehended, according to data; 135 were reported as gotaways and 14 turned back to Canada. Gotaways are those who intentionally enter the U.S. illegally between ports of entry and evade law enforcement.

In January, agents apprehended 420 illegal foreign nationals, reported 244 gotaways, and 11 who turned back to Canada, according to the preliminary data. It excludes Office of Field Operations data and only includes numbers reported by Border Patrol agents.

The Swanton Sector has led the northern border in illicit border crossings over the last year, with agents apprehending people coming from at least 19 countries, Garcia has previously said.

The sector encompasses 24,000 square miles, which in addition to all of Vermont’s border, includes six upstate New York counties and three New Hampshire counties. It spans 295 miles of international boundary with the Canadian provinces of Quebec and Ontario, of which 203 miles is on land. The remaining 92 miles of border fall primarily along the St. Lawrence River. The sector is the first international land boundary east of the Great Lakes.

From Oct. 1 to Dec. 31, 2022, agents saw a 743% increase in apprehensions and encounters compared to the same period last year, Garcia said. That percentage has only increased.

Fiscal 2023 total apprehensions and encounters have already surpassed fiscal 2022 and fiscal 2021 combined, Garcia said, consistent with an announcement he made last month.

Despite sub-freezing temperatures, Swanton Sector continues encountering family groups with young children — including infants — he said.

On Feb. 7, he announced that “despite regional temps dropping to -22 last week,” Border Patrol agents patrolling Ogdensburg, New York, to Beecher Falls, Vermont, apprehended 105 people from eight countries. He also published a picture of a “snow-covered group” apprehended near Champlain, New York.

On Feb. 3, he published a photo on Twitter of a family “illegally crossing the border with children,” including an 8-month-old and 2-year-old. They were being carried in the snow in Newport, Vermont, he said, adding, “The risk of hypothermia is high in vulnerable populations.”

In freezing temps, our #BorderPatrol Agents continue to encounter families illegally crossing the border with children, like this recent event involving an 8-month & 2-year-old in Newport, VT. The risk of hypothermia is high in vulnerable populations. @USBPChief @CBPTroyMiller pic.twitter.com/7ifBSdAD1i

— Chief Patrol Agent Robert Garcia (@USBPChiefSWB) February 3, 2023

On Jan. 31, he reported another dangerous crossing. “Undeterred by hazardous weather: despite recent snowstorms, illegal border crossings have continued into the harshest North Country months,” he said. In one 72-hour period, agents “braved the weather and apprehended 29 subjects from Mexico, Guatemala, Ecuador, and Romania,” he said.

Last December, agents led search-and-rescue efforts and provided life-saving aid in Newport, Vermont, and Burke, New York, demonstrating their “priority to preserve life, even at the risk of jeopardizing their own safety,” Garcia said.

He also published photos of footprints in snow on social media, showing where people entered the U.S. illegally in Franklin and West Berkshire, Vermont. Describing them as “well-worn paths,” he said, “the disturbance and damage to pristine North Country environments caused by careless and ILLEGAL cross-border traffic diminishes the safety and natural beauty of our homeland — not to mention private property.”

“As we progress deeper into winter and continue to address the ongoing pace of illicit cross-border traffic, the level of concern for the lives and welfare of our Border Patrol Agents and those we are encountering — particularly vulnerable populations — continues to climb,” Garcia warned. “It cannot be stressed enough: not only is it unlawful to circumvent legal means of entry into the United States, but it is extremely dangerous, particularly in adverse weather conditions, which our Swanton Sector has in incredible abundance.”