The head of U.S. Border Patrol operations in Maine’s Houlton sector, which covers encompasses the entire state, coastline and U.S.-Canada border, warned against illegal northern border crossings in a statement issued last week, citing harsh and dangerous winter conditions.
“The winter season poses some serious dangers in the State of Maine,” said Chief Patrol Agent Juan Bernal in a video posted to X on Friday. “For anyone attempting to cross the U.S. border illegally, just be aware that you’re putting yourself in a very dangerous and harsh situation.”
“The State of Maine has heavily forested areas, with mountainous terrain, streams, rivers and lakes, all of which pose very unique concerns,” Bernal said. “Thin ice, blinding wind storms, can make the situation even more dangerous. Sub-zero temperatures can cause hypothermia in a matter of minutes.”
“If you’re being by your smuggler that it is safe to enter the country illegally, it’s not true,” he said. “Please consider all of the aforementioned dangers, and don’t do it.”
“We welcome legal immigration, we encourage it, and we would love for you to visit our great nation. But please, do it legally and do it safely,” he added.
Bernal was appointed chief patrol agent of the Houlton Sector in February of last year, after previously serving as the head of the Del Rio Sector 242-mile stretch of the southern U.S.-Mexico border.
Just last week, Bernal said Border Patrol agents in Caswell had apprehended two Romanian nationals who illegally crossed the northern border into Maine.
The Houlton Sector saw a record number of encounters with illegal border crossers in fiscal year 2024 (FY24), with U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) reporting a total of 344 encounters, up from 300 in FY23, and just over six times the amount of migrant apprehensions in 2021.
In FY25 to date — October through December 2024 — CBP has reported 70 migrant encounters in the Houlton Sector.
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