New Hampshire Governor Chris Sununu announced the creation of the Northern Border Alliance Task Force to stop the entry of illegal immigrants. The northern border saw a new record of illegal immigration in 2023. The new force will be made up of state, county and local officers and will operate independently from the federal Border Patrol in the area. In the 2023 fiscal year, which is still missing September data, more than 170,000 asylum seekers have entered the country through the northern border, 61,000 more than in all of 2022.
Today we launched the Northern Border Alliance Task Force — a partnership between state, county, & local law enforcement. Funded in our budget, this Alliance will increase personnel along the northern border & add ten thousand patrol hours near the border through June 30, 2025.
— Chris Sununu (@GovChrisSununu) October 19, 2023
Sununu criticizes inaction by the Biden administration
Accompanied by Attorney General John M. Formella and Department of Homeland Security Commissioner Robert L. Quinn, Sununu stressed that the state has been forced to take this initiative as a result of the Biden administration's lack of action to secure the border.
The Federal Government refuses to take action on our Northern Border. They cut funding, limited our resources, and have thrown their hands up. Without adequate federal support, the state is stepping up. Encounters with individuals on the terrorist watch list at the Land Border Ports of Entry along the northern border have doubled since 2017. This is a stark contrast to what we are seeing on the southern border, where Land Border Port of Entry encounters have decreased during that same time period. In fact, just this year, 85% of all land border encounters with individuals on the terrorist watchlist occurred on the northern border – while only 15% occurred on the southern border. In meeting with local law enforcement up north, it is clear we need more targeted resources..
The measure will add 10,000 hours of patrol to the northern border
The new body will be under the supervision and control of the attorney general, who highlighted that this measure "will add ten thousand patrol hours near the border through June 30, 2025. This will shorten response times to calls for service in the region, increase the effectiveness of crime detection and prevention in a remote area of the State, and enhance border security efforts.”
Although the task force will be under full control of New Hampshire, Sununu noted that it "will also cooperate, as necessary, with federal law enforcement officials in the enforcement of federal criminal immigration laws."
