Illegal border crossings from Canada into Washington state are on pace to shatter records as area that has been understaffed by Border Patrol agents is being taken advantage of. Blaine, Washington is a major port of entry between the US and Canada and is surrounded by heavy security, but one area nearby has been left open.  

The Peace Arch Park connecting British Columbia and Washington state is a wide-open area and serves as a neutral area between the US and Canada and has become a hotspot for illegal immigration, per a report from TPUSA’s Frontlines. There are no fences or checkpoints, just surveillance cameras mounted on poles around the park. Depending on the time of day, there are only a few border agents in the area.   

People from both countries are allowed to freely use the park area on the honor system.    

Attorney Len Saunders told Frontlines that is the reason the area is turning into a key entry point for illegal immigrants. Just in the past few months, apprehensions are way up. Foreign nationals from countries such as Mexico, Romania, and India.    

A recent arrest at an apartment complex a few minutes away from the park discovered multiple Indian illegal immigrants stuffed into a minivan by smugglers who charged anywhere between five and ten thousand dollars to move them into Washington state.   

Federal court documents obtained by Frontlines revealed that during another major bust, 28 Mexicans and one Columbian were picked up by border agents after they allegedly crossed into Blaine in August last year.   

Authorities told Frontlines they have also witnessed people jumping into cars in a nearby parking lot and some illegal immigrants use ride-hailing services like Uber for a quick getaway if they make it through the woods.   

Illegal immigrants are also using the undercarriage of trains or coal cars to complete their journey.     

US Homeland Security is on pace to shatter last year’s record of encounters with undocumented men, women, and children attempting to cross the northern border into Blaine, per the report from Frontlines. Crossing numbers are even higher in parts of New York, New Hampshire, and Vermont.   

A border agent said on condition of anonymity that since most of the resources are going to the crisis at the southern border, the northern border is being left vulnerable to more illegal immigration and smuggling. The US northern border saw a 550 percent increase in illegal immigrant crossings in the 2023 fiscal year.