Houlton Sector Border Patrol agents apprehended 20 Romanian migrants who rushed a border crossing from Canada into Main on Tuesday. The migrants illegally crossed the border in four human smuggling vehicles.
Agents patrolling the border near Hodgdon, Maine, received information about four vehicles crossing the international boundary between Canada and the United States on November 21. Agents responded to the area and encountered the four vehicles on Lincoln Road.
The drivers of the four vehicles stopped when the agents activated their emergency lights.
The agents conducted an immigration interview and identified all 20 occupants of the vehicles as Romanian nationals without documentation to be in the United States.
Agents reported the group consisted of ten adults and ten juveniles. Two of the Romanian migrants were identified as members of transnational criminal organizations. Agents processed the two for Expedited Removal Proceedings, officials stated.
“This incident is indicative of an overall rise in apprehensions witnessed here in Houlton Sector,” said Acting Chief Patrol Agent in Charge Dennis Harmon. “In the last three Octobers (combined), Houlton Sector encountered a total of 33 individuals. In fiscal year 2024 alone, we’ve encountered 53. While this increase poses challenges to Border Patrol resources, it does not dissuade the great work done by our dedicated Agents here in Houlton Sector.”
Officials did not disclose the status of the other 18 Romanian apprehended migrants.
The surge on the northern border continues to hit the neighboring Swanton Sector. In October, Swanton Sector agents apprehended 1,074 migrants. This is more than were apprehended in all of FY 22 (1,065 migrants).
During FY 23, Swanton Sector agents apprehended nearly 7,000 migrants. This is more than the previous nine years combined, according to Swanton Sector Chief Patrol Agent Robert Garcia.
Bob Price is the Breitbart Texas-Border team’s associate editor and senior news contributor. He is an original member of the Breitbart Texas team. Price is a regular panelist on Fox 26 Houston’s What’s Your Point? Sunday-morning talk show. Follow him on Twitter @BobPriceBBTX.