It's Not Just the Southern Border: Illegal Crossings up 743%... in Vermont

Bob Hoge reporting for RedState 

As the crisis of illegal crossings continues unabated at the Southern Border, migrant encounters in the state of Vermont were also up a staggering 734 percent in the period of October-December 2022 compared to the same period the prior year. While the percentage rise is massive, the pace is still a trickle compared to what goes on at the Rio Grande. For instance, 441 crossers were caught trying to slip into Vermont from Canada in December 2022, while a record 251,487 were nabbed trying to cross the US-Mexico border during the same period.

Still, the dramatic rise is still concerning.

Will we soon see Fox News’ go-to reporter for all things illegal immigration, Bill Melugin, reporting in frigid Vermont temperatures in a puffy parka and huge gloves?

Robert Garcia, chief patrol agent for the Border Patrol’s Swanton Sector (which encompasses all of Vermont) tweeted:

In another tweet he pointed out that crossing from Canada in the winter is extremely dangerous:

Who’s behind this influx? It won’t surprise you to find out that the Mexican cartels are behind at least some of the flow. From Center Square:

Mexican cartels are now increasingly flying foreign nationals who arrive in Mexico from all over the world to Quebec from Mexico City, Border Patrol and law enforcement officers told The Center Square. Cartel scouts help them make their way from Canada into northern states illegally, they said. Vermont, which is seeing record-breaking illegal entries, has a population of roughly 645,545 people.

Center Square also points out that the Green Mountain State doesn’t have the infrastructure and resources that exist in places like Texas:

While Border Patrol agents in Texas are aided by state Department of Public Safety officers and local law enforcement working through Gov. Greg Abbott’s border security mission, Operation Lone Star, Vermont has no such border security operation.

Border Patrol in the area relies on citizens to report suspicious activity and its captures are often based on tips from locals. As Garcia reminds residents, “YOUR call can be the one that helps keep us all safe.”

I can’t help but wonder if some of the attempts are from people trying to escape Canada and its tyrannical President, Justin Trudeau, who has made a mockery of freedom in recent years with draconian COVID mandates, the shutting down of truckers protesting those policies, and uber-strict gun laws.

I’d want to get the heck out of there too.

As with the Southern border, these illegal Canada-U.S. crossings have tragic human consequences. What’s potentially much worse, though, is that we don’t know who slipped into our country and who wants to harm us. The folks who got captured are just a part of the picture—what about the unknown number of “gotaways?”

Biden’s border failure is one of the biggest stains on his presidency, and now it would appear that the word is out: don’t forget, you can slip in from Canada too.