Northern Border Encounters in Maine's Houlton Sector Remained High in November

Encounters at the northern U.S.-Canada border in Maine’s Houlton Sector remained high through November, according to the most recent data from U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP).

Border encounter data includes the apprehension of migrants entering the U.S. illegally under Title 8 by Border Patrol, and the expulsion of migrants under the now-expired Title 42 provision used by the Trump administration during the coronavirus pandemic.

CBP reported a total of 47 encounters with migrants in the Houlton Sector in November 2024, down from 53 encounters in October — bringing the total number of encounters in the Houlton Sector for fiscal year 2024 to date (2024 FYTD) to 100.

The 53 encounters recorded in October was the highest recorded number of encounters in the last three years.

CBP separates encounters based on migrant demographics, recording both migrant citizenship and whether the migrant is a single adult, individuals in a family unit (FMUA), accompanied minors (AM), or unaccompanied children (EC).

According to CBP data, 73 of the 100 migrant encounters in 2024 FYTD (October and November) were with single adults, 27 were with individuals in a family unit, and just two were unaccompanied children or single minors.

Notably, 25 of the 47 apprehensions in November were of migrants with Romanian citizenship.

In November, CBP announced the apprehension of 20 Romanian nationals who had illegally crossed the U.S.-Canada border into Hodgdon in a “border rush.”

Republican U.S. Senator from Maine Susan Collins revealed last week that 18 of those Romanian nationals were released into the local community, while two were held for Expedited Removal proceedings due to being positive matches with Transnational Criminal Organized Crime.

CBP reports that 12 of the November encounters occurred with Mexican nationals, three with Ecuadorian nationals, two with Guatemalan nationals, two with Honduran nationals, one Venezuelan national, and two nationals from other unspecified countries.

The surge of migrant encounters at the northern border in the Houlton Sector comes amid record numbers of illegal crossings at the southern U.S.-Mexico border, with more than 225,000 migrants being taken into custody at the southern border during the first 27 days of December.