Illegal Border Crossings Increase In Western New York

Illegal immigration is a hot topic in America. Whether it's the migrant crisis that is happening all over the country or thousands of people entering the country illegally, just about any time you turn on the news, you're guaranteed to hear something about it.

For the most part, those of us who live along the world's longest undefended international border haven't had to worry about this. While people enter the country illegally all over the United States, it is mostly seen as a problem for the southern border. However, officials are beginning to ring the alarm in Western New York as U.S. Customs and Border Protection has advised they're seeing an uptick in illegal border crossings along the Niagara River.

According to a report from WBKW-TV, who spoke with officials from CBP, law enforcement officials are seeing a noticeable increase in the number of people who are trying to enter America illegally by crossing over the US-Canadian border.

Over the last few months, federal officials have made several arrests in at least 3 different incidents of people trying to cross the Niagara River illegally.

Human smuggling always has a facilitator involved... There's somebody there that’s coordinating it, bringing people in, because the people that are being smuggled are not locals they’re not from here — generally from other countries. They’re paying money and being brought to the river, given a raft and being told where and how to cross and those smugglers, they don’t care about those people.
-Brady Waikel, U.S. Customs and Border Protection Patrol Agent in Charge

While officials have seen an increase, it's important to note that things are not at a level where the public needs to fear; however, they urge people to pay attention and to say something if they see something.

We've never seen that kind of frequency but you know, to their credit border patrol and their intelligence meetings and our meetings with them, they have predicted that this would possibly happen...
-Frank Previte, Chief of Police in Lewiston, New York

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