The number of apprehensions of migrants entering the U.S. illegally across the northern border in Maine’s Houlton Sector reached a new high in fiscal year 2024 (FY24), representing a six-fold increase over the number of apprehensions in 2021, according to data published this week by U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP).
Throughout FY24, from October 2023 through September 2024, CBP reported a total of 344 encounters with migrants at the U.S.-Canada border in Maine — up from 300 in FY23, and just over six times the amount of migrant apprehensions in 2021.
Border encounter data includes the apprehension and processing of migrants entering the U.S. illegally under Title 8 by Border Patrol, and under the now-expired Title 42 provision used by the Trump administration during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Migrant encounters appeared to peak at the start of the fiscal year, with roughly 50 apprehensions in both October and November 2023.
The majority of the migrants apprehended in the Houlton Sector — which encompasses the entire state, the U.S.-Canada border, as well as Maine’s coastline — were single adults.
Out of the total 344 encounters in FY24, 287 were with single adult migrants, 56 were with individuals in a family unit (FMUA), and just one was an unaccompanied child.
According to CBP data, 73 of the 344 migrants encountered in FY24 in the Houlton Sector were Ecuadorian nationals, with the other top nationalities encountered being Mexican (66), Romanian (40), Guatemalan (37), Honduran (19) and Venezuelan (12).
In November 2023, U.S. Border Patrol arrested 20 Romanian nationals who illegally crossed the U.S.-Canada border illegally in four different vehicles.
U.S. Senator from Maine Susan Collins (R) revealed in a speech on the Senate floor in December of last year that 18 out of the 20 apprehended Romanian nationals were “simply released into the local community” after processing.
Two of the 20 Romanians were held for expedited removal from the U.S. due to being positive matches with positive matches with Transnational Criminal Organized Crime.
Leadership at CBP’s Houlton Sector has changed hands multiple times this year — in February U.S. Border Patrol (USBP) Chief Jason Owens appointed former U.S.-Mexico border official Juan Bernal as the sector’s new Chief Patrol Agent (CPA), replacing Acting CPA Dennis Harmon.
CPA Juan Bernal’s time as the head of the Houlton Sector appears to have been short-lived, with the agency announcing in July that Richard Fortunato had taken over as acting CPA.
Command of the Houlton Sector appears to have changed again in early October, with the agency announcing that Jorge Chapa would be taking over as acting CPA to replace Fortunato.
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