Across the border between Canada and the United States, officers from the U.S. Border Patrol apprehended nearly 2,000 people who were crossing illegally from Canada into the United States in April. Most of those were people crossing the border in the eastern part of the nation.
Here in Saskatchewan, U.S. Customs and Border Protection did not have the full data for apprehensions of people originating from this province specifically but do collect data based on the field offices on their side of the border. The two field offices dealing with illegal crossing apprehensions from this province are the Havre, Montana office, and the Grand Forks, North Dakota office.
In April, the U.S. Border Patrol reported a total of 21 encounters with another 32 in May. For the fiscal year, the U.S. is reporting 230 encounters overall, which is on pace to be over the number from the previous fiscal year.
Officials from Customs and Border Protection were not available for an interview regarding the numbers but did provide some clarification as to why the Saskatchewan area would see such a reduced number of encounters compared to Ontario, Quebec, or British Columbia.
It was pointed out the numbers are typically higher in the New York state area due to the larger population centers on both sides of the border providing access to the major centers along the Eastern Seaboard of the United States. Many of the areas along the border with Montana and North Dakota are considered remote, with migrants crossing illegally needing to travel long distances to reach major cities.