A growing influx of migrants attempting to cross into the U.S. has provoked heightened concern among city officials, provoked by the risks of security disasters.
Despite the chilling temperatures and the powerful Niagara River current, multiple attempts at illegal entry into the U.S. from Buffalo, New York have been noted. In November, four migrants were apprehended while they attempted the perilous crossing on inflatable rafts, sidestepping the most fortified areas along the southern route.
Border agents express their worries about the vulnerability of the northern border. According to their reports, the current administration's primary focus on the southern border has left the northern one exposed.
In 2021, U.S. Customs and Border Protection reported 27,000 encounters with migrants attempting to enter the U.S. from Canada. A startling surge of migrants in the fiscal year 2023 saw numbers jumping sevenfold, reaching a total figure of 189,000 people. Out of these, 85% of the 564 individuals on the terror watch list who were apprehended entered via the northern route.
The city of Buffalo, New York now finds itself grappling with the migrant influx. The city's capacity is stretched thin, having received transferees from New York City, relocated due to the unmanageable pressures in the overcrowded shelters there. The new arrivals have been housed across three hotels repurposed as shelters.
Regrettably, several criminal incidents, including cases of sexual assault, have already been reported within these shelters. An individual privy to the situation discloses that there is a lack of effective tracking of the migrants, further complicating matters. Allegedly, some have smuggled illegal weapons and drugs into the shelters.
According to the whistleblower, unchecked room searches previously yielded a significant amount of narcotics and weapons. These searches, however, are no longer being carried out, leading to potential security risks.
Promises given to the migrants about job availability once in Buffalo appear to have been unrealized, resulting in an increasing number of unemployed people from various nationalities, trapped in the harsh, wintry city. This situation has incited growing discontent among the migrants, elevating fears of escalating security risks.
