Upstate New York homeowner alarmed by immigrants illegally crossing the border through his backyard

FORT COVINGTON, NY - A homeowner in upstate New York described the influx of immigrants illegally crossing into the United States by way of his backyard as "unbelievable," adding that his trail camera set up on his property has captured the men, women, and children coming over from Canada.

According to 7 News, the homeowner, Chris Oliver, said that border patrol has its own trail camera picking up the same thing as his trail camera. He said, "Generally, the border patrol is here pretty quick; they're within three, four minutes. Sometimes they're right at the end of the driveway." The driveway is an unpaved road where Oliver's home sits and the cornfield across the way is Canada.

His trail camera is a little farther down the road and just a few feet away from the border. A wire fence is all that separates the two countries and according to Oliver, no one used to come around that area until recently when it all changed. Oliver said, "This is unbelievable how many people have been coming across in this last year, year-and-a-half." 

Numbers from U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) show illegal border crossing apprehensions have surged along what is known as the "Swanton Sector," which is the border stretching from Alexandria Bay east through Vermont and New Hampshire. According to the data, so far this fiscal year, 17,810 people have been caught illegally entering the United States from Canada. In 2021, that number was a mere 365. 

Franklin County Sheriff Jay Cook says that many local residents are concerned. He said, "How would you like it if, wherever you live, in your backyard, if you had a constant stream of people walking through, peaking through your windows, hiding out in your sheds, looking in your cars, turning your lights on, making your dog bark? Could you sleep at night."

Oliver said that he has had unnerving experiences, saying that these illegal immigrants hung out in his yard before border patrol agents took them away. His motion activated trail camera sends notifications right to his cell phone and it's happening mostly in the middle of the night. He said, "We don't know who these people are. They're coming over here undocumented when you're at work and you see people walking by your camera, you don't know if these people are gonna do harm."

His worries are only compounded by recent incidents, including the case of a Canadian man allegedly linked to two murders. He illegally crossed the border and was caught in nearby Akwesasne. Oliver said, "That's proof that not all these people are good. That's the biggest concern when you're not here is what is gonna happen." Although 7 News was unable to verify if the people in Oliver's videos actually illegally crossed the border, Oliver shared some of the items that he says the border crossers left behind. 

Back in February, Fox News reported that a resident in Highgate, Vermont, said that she caught immigrants who had allegedly crossed the border illegally on security cameras outside of her house. She also said that she discovered abandoned belongings from the illegal immigrants. 

Resident Kristy Brow said, "It's scary to know that you don't know what's lurking around in your woods." She said that she fears for her safety and refuses to go outside by herself, adding, "We never know what we're going to find out back in our field. We found ... clothes, as you see in the video. Water thermoses. You never know what you're going to find out there. My son has been out there, and, of course, border patrol was following footprints ... You don't feel too safe."

Brow lives in the Swanton Sector, which has been hit particularly hard by the surge of illegal border crossings. A few weeks before Brow spoke with Fox News, U.S. Border Patrol Swanton Sector Chief Patrol Agent Robert Garcia wrote on X, "Since Oct. 1, 2023, Swanton Sector Border Patrol Agents have apprehended more than 3,100 people from 55 countries."