The northern border with Canada is the focus of a new report detailing an illegal migrant smuggling ring. The Daily Mail revealed a New Jersey-based gang worked to smuggle numerous illegals into the country for the price of $6,000 each.
The organizers are believed to be illegal migrants themselves, hailing from Columbia and Guatemala. The outlet reported they entered the U.S. and then launched their operation in the Garden State.
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
The gang was run by migrants who entered the country illegally then established a… pic.twitter.com/DXvf9hsrLk
— Tony Seruga (@TonySeruga) February 4, 2024
With most eyes on Biden’s notoriously porous southern border, this group turned its attention northward. They settled in New Jersey after being released by Immigration and Customs Enforcement.
According to CUNY professor of immigration studies Philip Kasinitz, it was a smart choice.
He explained, “With all of those people crossing the border and the huge increase in the amount of enforcement that is going on at 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.”
The migrants are believed to be escorted into the nation from Quebec and into Vermont. There is much less scrutiny in the northeastern region, potentially heightening the chances of success.
And the consequences may be few if any.
The Daily Mail reported alleged organization driver Elmer Bran-Galvez was stopped by border agents in Franklin, Vermont. He had four illegal migrants in his vehicle and confessed that he received about $1,800 per passenger.
He was not charged.
In fact, the outlet revealed that the gang is continuing operations despite being caught in the act multiple times. This is part of a staggering 500% surge in illegal migration across the Canadian border in 2023 alone.
That amounted to 10,021 arrests for illegal entry into the U.S. at the Canadian border. A majority of those encounters came in and around Vermont where the gang set up shop.
American authorities recently arrested two of the alleged ringleaders and charged them with the plot. Both are illegal migrants. A third is in Canada, but officials there say they lack the power to take him into custody.
And law enforcement believes the human smuggling activities continue.
