Illegal border crossings up in Grand Forks sector
Border patrol agents report illegal aliens continue to attempt to cross the border with Canada into North Dakota and Minnesota in higher than usual numbers. While the influx remains exponentially lower than illegal crossings on the U.S. border with Mexico, the Grand Forks Herald says authorities report an increase in attempts by non-citizens to enter by vehicle in the remote area.
November and December saw a higher-than-usual number of vehicle inclusions near the Pembina border, said David Marcus of the U.S. Border Patrol Grand Forks Sector. Numbers from the first few months of the 2025 fiscal year also show a slight increase in land encounters with illegal border crossings.
Vehicle incursions are when groups of people illegally drive across the border and, oftentimes, have to abandon the vehicle after it gets stuck in the snow, Marcus said.
The Grand Forks Sector agents oversee an 861-mile-long stretch of border from International Falls to Montana. Some 200 border patrol agents are assigned to the six border crossing stations in the two states.
From a period that started in November and ended midway through December, there were nine vehicle incursions, mostly in Pembina — a high number for that amount of time for any station, Marcus said. Pembina is by far the most active, with 80% of the illegal traffic coming through that area because of it being along the interstate. Human smugglers like locations that provide easy egress.
“You have I-29 right there,” Marcus said. “They can get off the interstate real quick onto a side highway, pick up the people they’re supposed to pick up and then be back on the interstate in a matter of minutes. I-29 connects Winnipeg all the way down to Fargo, and then in Fargo, you can hop on 94 and then (access the) interior to the United States.”
The number of encounters with illegals in the current fiscal year puts the border patrol on pace to equal or exceed the 259 reported incidents last year. They rely heavily on assistance from local authorities and residents.
Border Patrol has been seeing families and single adults illegally moving across the border, with families taking vehicles. A lot of the drive-throughs have been by citizens of Romania, Marcus said, while single adults walking across the border have usually been from Mexico and Central American countries. To his recollection, no migrants this winter have had to be transported to a hospital.
A significant increase in illegal crossings has been documented along much of the border with Canada in recent years. The lack of border security has become a key issue between the U.S. and Canada with Donald Trump about to assume office and already pressuring Canadian officials to upgrade operations.
Photo: Scott D. Garrett, Chief Patrol Agent via X