NEWPORT CENTER, Vt. (WCAX) – A picture of migrants illegally crossing the northern border is spreading on social media and raising new questions about how to address what officials say has been a spike in illegal border crossings in the Swanton Sector covering sections of Vermont, New Hampshire, and New York.
In the Northeast Kingdom, neighbors have grown increasingly concerned at the number of crossings in their backyards.
Justin Leblanc’s’ game camera sent a picture to his cell phone recently that captures the problem he says they are up against. “What happens if one of my kids bumps into these people in the woods? It’s a safety issue for sure,” Leblanc said.
The picture is of several men — one wearing a turban — walking south through the woods a half mile from the U.S.-Canadian border in Newport Center. Leblanc posted the photo on social media, where it went viral. “What’s their game plan?” he said.
We visited Leblanc’s home on Leadville Road where he said the picture represents one of numerous encounters with migrants on and around his property. “We used to have issues of them coming north and now it’s changed the other way,” he said.
The photo got hundreds of comments, some speculating the men could be terrorists. Peter Henne, a professor of Middle Eastern studies at the University of Vermont says, says many religions wear turbans and that conflict in the Middle East is driving human migration. “I understand concerns about border security and terrorism, although the number of people crossing over the border illegally is incredibly small,” he said.
Neighbors tell us that border patrol tells them that men from India have been frequently crossing the border. No matter who’s crossing, the concern is real from folks who live in the area.
“Other neighbors have found tents in their backyards. It’s scary,” said Andrea Skibicki
“From the river to the lake, this is the hotspot,” said Dave Cregg, pointing to what he says is an old Prohibition-era bootlegging road that cuts through his property. “I’ve never locked my doors before.” He says migrants walk through the woods and then are picked up by unknown people in vehicles on Leadville Road.
A sign marks the United States border where migrants will cross in illegally. They’ll then cross over down Leadville Road where they’ll start their journey south. We encountered Border Patrol searching for several migrants who they say tripped a detection system in the woods.
The number of apprehensions at the border has spiked in recent years. In 2022, Border Patrol detained just over 1,000 people. A year later it climbed to 6,900 people. And last year officials say it was 19,385 people coming from 97 different countries.
Back in Newport Center, authorities apprehended and detained several men, something Leblanc wishes would happen more often.