Governor Sununu Asks Biden Administration For Help and Cooperation in Securing Northern Border

New Hampshire Governor Chris Sununu appealed in a March 13 letter to the Biden administration for financial assistance and the authority to use state resources and personnel to help and work with U.S. Border Patrol (BP) to stop illegal immigration into the country from Canada.

Sununu’s request for money would allow him to train officers of state law enforcement to be able to work in partnership with BP personnel to improve border security.

The 51-mile New Hampshire-Canada Border is part of federally-designated Swanton Sector. It covers 24,000 square miles and includes five New York counties as well as all of Vermont.

BP provides law enforcement support and monitors the sector.

“While the recent announcement that 25 additional border control agents will be stationed in the Swanton Sector is a good first step, more can and should be done in collaboration with state and local authorities, to address the alarming rise in border crossings,” Sununu wrote in the March 13th letter addressed to Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas at Department of Homeland Security, DHS.

Presidential Rebuff

Sununu said in the letter, that New Hampshire tried for security along the northern border over the past months but was rebuffed by the Biden administration. He also mentioned that the administration reduced funding that could be used for border control efforts.

The governor stated that the administration should be dissolved. “truly believes that securing the border is a priority, I hope you will partner with … New Hampshire to make it a reality.”

Mayorkas was also informed by Sununu that New Hampshire is willing to pay for additional border security duties if the federal government won’t.

“In my budget proposal this year, I have put forward $1.4 million toward the creation of a Northern Border Alliance Program,” Sununu wrote “If enacted, this program will establish a task force of state, county, and local law enforcement to patrol the roads, highways, and state forest land along the border … “

The governor stated that the security of the border is a public safety measure. There are many areas in the region that are forested and difficult for agents to navigate. This puts illegal immigrants at risk.

He spoke of a Mexican illegal immigrant who had died in February in Swanton Sector.

He fell unconscious in Vermont on the night of February 19th, just a mile beyond the border. He was taken by Border Patrol agents to a hospital where he was declared dead.

“As your department acknowledged, due to the cold weather, rough terrain, and ill-equipped individuals, your agents have been required to administer emergency medical aid to those individuals who have crossed the border illegally,” Sununu wrote

North: Growing Problems

A U.S Border Patrol report documents a dramatic rise in interventions with illegal immigrants in the Swanton Sector.

BP data indicated that the agency experienced a drop in activity from Oct. 1, 20,22, to Jan. 31, 2020. “an approximate 846 percent increase in encounters and apprehensions compared to the same period in FY22.”

“Despite sub-freezing temperatures, Swanton Sector continues encountering family groups with young children, including infants, illegally crossing from Canada into the United States,” The BP report agrees.

“In December 2022, Border Patrol Agents led search-and-rescue efforts, providing life-saving aid in separate incidents occurring in Newport, Vermont, and Burke, New York state.

“These incidents are a clear indication of BP Agents’ commitment to life preservation, even if that means putting themselves at risk.”