With so much emphasis on the porous U.S.-Mexico border and the treacherous, illegal journey millions of migrants have made into the country since President Joe Biden was inaugurated, it is worth noting that a significant amount of illegal immigration also takes place along the northern border with Canada.
According to a new report, a gang led by undocumented migrants from Guatemala and Colombia has been in operation in New Jersey, where would-be immigrants pay $6,000 each to be smuggled from Canada into the U.S.
Although the gang’s founders were initially taken into custody by immigration agents, they were later released, thus emboldening them to make a profit by facilitating a pathway for others to illegally enter the country, according to court filings referenced in an exclusive Daily Mail article this week.
Rather than focus their criminal enterprise on the southern border, which has remained largely unsecured throughout the Biden administration, the gang has allegedly turned its attention to the north. In fact, the interest in addressing the southern border crisis has arguably made it easier for criminals to exploit weaknesses along the U.S.-Canada border.
As City University of New york Graduate Center immigration studies professor Philip Kasinitz explained: “With the huge asylum-seeker concentrations and with all of those people crossing the border and with the huge increase in the amount of enforcement that is going on on the southern border, it is probably, if you have an option, a lot easier to try to get in without inspection across the Canadian border.”
Two founders of the gang have reportedly been re-arrested, but their alleged actions are highlighted in data showing that more than 10,000 individuals were caught illegally crossing into the U.S. from Canada last year. That number is about five times higher than in 2022 and, as with much higher figures recorded along the southern border, does not reflect the migrants who were able to avoid detection.
The OTHER border crisis: New Jersey-based smuggling gang run by illegal immigrants has helped dozens sneak into US from CANADA for $6,000 a head – amid 500% surge in crossings at northern frontier https://t.co/Onlg6tGtv0 pic.twitter.com/wIQ0Q8UFI7
— Daily Mail Online (@MailOnline) February 4, 2024
Reports indicate a third gang leader who has not yet been located and arrested is believed to still be facilitating the human trafficking operation.
