US-Canada border patrol tells residents to watch out for illegal immigrants with criminal records: report

Residents living near the United States-Canada border in Vermont have been told to watch out for illegal immigrants with criminal records amid an increase in crossings via unofficial ports of entry.

Customs and Border Patrol agents urged locals to carry a firearm just in case, noting that while the vast majority of undocumented newcomers are peaceful and simply in search of a better life in the US, there will be some who have a propensity for violence.

According to the New York Post, most of the illegal crossings from Canada into the United States occur in the Swanton Sector, a 295-mile section spanning northeastern New York, Vermont, and New Hampshire.

Those living in the sector's namesake, a small town in Vermont, have seen first-hand just how bad the problem has gotten, with many opting to take it upon themselves to assist law enforcement efforts.

Chris Feeley, 52, is among those who have come face to face with illegal immigration taking place in his own backyard.

In an interview with the Post, he explained that he's "got the CBP guys on speed dial," and that they know him by name as he often calls in to report sightings.

An avid hunter, Feeley spends a fair amount of his time either in the woods near his house or in a perch on a nearby farm 250 yards from the border, and has recently started arming himself with a smaller gun in case he encounters a criminal and things get out of hand.

"The Border Patrol actually told us, 'You guys might want to put a pistol in your backpack'," he said, "because nine out of 10 of them are just here for a better life, but there's that one guy that's got a rap sheet."

There were more illegal immigrants apprehended in the Swanton Sector in Fiscal Year 2023 than in all the years of the past decade combined, and earlier this month, two Illegal immigrants were arrested for running a human smuggling operation in the area.