BY JEFF CHUDZINSKINorth Country This Week

Governor Kathy Hochul is calling on the Department of Homeland Security to restore full service to multiple ports of entry that recently saw hours of operation cut backs.

Though no ports of entry in St. Lawrence County were affected, Hochul said the cut backs to 12 and 16-hour schedules run contrary to the state's needs at this time.

Hochul addressed a letter to Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas on Nov. 27, calling into question the department's choice to scale back the hours of operation for four ports of entry that typically had 24/7 service.

“I have previously raised my concerns in meetings with the Biden-Harris Administration, and write to once again request the Department of Homeland Security immediately direct staffing and resources to expand enforcement activities along the U.S.-Canada border, and in light of this weeks actions I ask you to immediately reverse the decision to suspend 24/7 staffing along our northern border at critical locations," she wrote.

Hochul pointed to the rising number of illegal border crossings this year as a primary concern, saying it should warrant "a firmer response."

She said the historically lax policies regarding the northern border are also to blame in this case.

Hochul pointed to "long-standing immigration policies of the U.S. and Canada" as a primary reason the northern border has become an "increasingly popular route for non-citizens seeking entry into the U.S."

According to Customs and Border Protection figures, over 19,385 illegal migrants from 97 countries were apprehended in the Swanton Sector, setting a new one-year record.

The sector covers the State of Vermont; Clinton, Essex, Franklin, St. Lawrence and Herkimer counties of New York; and Coos, Grafton and Carroll counties of New Hampshire.

No other sector was even close, with only two other sectors breaking 1,000 total apprehensions during fiscal year 2024, which runs from October 1, 2023 to Sept. 30, 2024.

Hochul also pointed to the lower than expected number of Border Patrol agents in the sector,  noting that funding is available for 338 agents but only 260 positions have been filled.

She said the border would require 728 agents to "carry out sufficient enforcement for elevated levels of border crossings" as have been seen in recent months.

Winter crossings also pose an increased risk for agents and migrants alike, with a number of attempts ending in fatalities the last two years.

In February 2023 a Mexican man died just after entering the United States through Vermont.

Nine further fatalities occurred in March 2023 after a boat capsized near the Akwesasne Mohawk Reservation, resulting in nine drowning deaths.

Those migrants, from India and Romania, were being smuggled into the U.S. as part of a larger scale operation, Border Patrol officials said at the time.

In her letter, Hochul was critical of federal officials who shot down a bipartisan effort to pass legislation that would have directed more federal resources to the northern border and would have led to changes in border security policies.

“Had it passed, states like New York would have greater resources to handle the influx of migrants nationwide. Despite it not passing, New York still needs to expand enforcement at the northern border today," she said.

The request for further assistance from federal authorities comes months after North Country state representatives and law enforcement officers called on the state and federal governments to do more to combat the flow of migrants.

During a press conference on Sept. 26 on the steps of the St. Lawrence County Complex, St. Lawrence County Sheriff Rick Engle, State Senator Dan Stec and Assembly members Scott Gray and Ken Blankenbush addressed the border crisis, including the Green Light Law.

Stec says the number of people coming through Swanton illegally far exceeds the next closest sector on the northern border.

“They have only had around 1,100 in the same timeframe. The Swanton Sector has seen more apprehensions than two sectors on the southern border now. One is in Texas, the other is in California. This is a very serious, growing problem,” Stec said Sept. 26.