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PULSE POINTS:
❓What Happened: Illegal immigrant crossings in Maine reached their highest level in 24 years, with 113 arrests in April, according to U.S. Border Patrol. They have been driven to target the northern state by President Donald J. Trump’s southern border crackdown.
👥 Who’s Involved: Migrants from at least 16 countries, primarily Ecuador, Guatemala, and Mexico; U.S. Border Patrol; U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE).
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📍 Where & When: Maine, particularly the Houlton Sector of the Canadian border, April 2025.
💬 Key Quote: “Due to the significant increase in arrests, the Houlton Sector coordinated air transport… to transfer 29 apprehended subjects… for further processing,” stated Border Patrol.
⚠️ Impact: Maine has seen a spike in illegal crossings, with numbers surpassing previous years, as migrants increasingly bypass the U.S.-Mexico border in favor of entry through Canada.
IN FULL:
Illegal border crossings in Maine surged to their highest point in 24 years last month, with U.S. Border Patrol reporting 113 arrests in April. This figure marks a significant increase from the 25 to 50 monthly encounters typical during the Biden government, according to officials in the Houlton Sector.
The rise in crossings comes as migrants from at least 16 countries, including Ecuador, Guatemala, and Mexico, increasingly opt to enter the U.S. via Canada, avoiding the southern border, which President Donald J. Trump is heavily protecting. Ecuadorians led the group, with 42 individuals apprehended, followed by 15 Guatemalans and 12 Mexicans. Six Venezuelans were also detained.
The Houlton Sector, covering Maine’s border with Canada, has already surpassed its total apprehensions from the previous fiscal year in just six months. In December, under the Biden government, only 18 migrants were encountered. That number rose to 50 in January after President Donald J. Trump took office, climbing steadily to 113 in April.
“Due to the significant increase in arrests, the Houlton Sector coordinated air transport with Immigration and Customs Enforcement – Enforcement Removal Operations (ICE ERO) to transfer 29 apprehended subjects… for further processing,” the Border Patrol noted in a statement.
The agency attributed the spike to enhanced enforcement efforts in Maine, even as crossings along the broader U.S.-Canada border have reportedly considerably declined. U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) reported that encounters in the Southwest Sector decreased by 95 percent in March. The sector covers parts of New York, Vermont, and New Hampshire.
President Trump threatened and later imposed tariffs on Canada in part because he believed it was not doing its part to stop the flow of drugs and migrants from north to south. Migrants entering the U.S. via Canada are particularly unlikely to have any legitimate asylum claims, with Canada being a relatively prosperous Western country.
PULSE POINTS:
❓What Happened: Two separate stabbings in Germany left eight people injured, including an 11-year-old girl. Migrants are believed to be the perpetrators.
👥 Who’s Involved: A 35-year-old Syrian asylum seeker is suspected in a Bielefeld attack, while a 46-year-old from Kosovo has been arrested in a Halle incident.
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📍 Where & When: The first attack occurred the morning of May 18 in Bielefeld, North Rhine-Westphalia, and the second on the same day outside an apartment block in Halle, central Germany.
💬 Key Quote: “It’s high time for a clear turnaround: properly protect borders, consistently deport illegal immigrants, and finally make the security of its own population a priority again. Germany is on a knife-edge. Therefore: remigration now!” — Marc Bernhard, Alternative for Germany (AfD) MP.
⚠️ Impact: The incidents highlight ongoing concerns over security and migration policy in the European Union (EU), with countries like Germany facing increasing violence linked to migrants.
IN FULL:
Two separate stabbing attacks in Germany over the weekend left eight people injured, including an 11-year-old girl, with migrants reportedly identified as the suspects in both incidents.
In the first attack, five soccer fans, aged between 22 and 27, were injured outside a bar in Bielefeld, North Rhine-Westphalia, on the morning of May 18. The assailant, armed with a knife and a cane sword, reportedly attacked the group indiscriminately. Four of the victims sustained serious injuries but managed to fight back, forcing the attacker to flee.
Police later discovered a bag left behind by the suspect containing multiple knives, a liquid smelling of gasoline, and identification documents indicating Syrian nationality. The 35-year-old suspect, who entered Europe via Turkey in 2023 and applied for asylum in Germany, was arrested Monday in Heiligenhaus near Düsseldorf. Authorities are investigating the case as a potential terror attack.
In a separate incident on May 18 in Halle, central Germany, three people, including an 11-year-old girl, were injured in a stabbing outside an apartment block. Witnesses reported that the violence stemmed from a dispute over children making noise. A 46-year-old migrant from Kosovo has been arrested in connection with the attack.
Responding to the incidents, Marc Bernhard, a member of Germany’s Bundestag (federal legislature) for the Alternative for Germany (AfD) party, criticized the government’s handling of mass migration, stating, “Even after 10 years of bloodshed, people are still talking about ‘isolated cases.’”
He added, “It’s high time for a clear turnaround: properly protect borders, consistently deport illegal immigrants, and finally make the security of [Germany’s] own population a priority again. Germany is on a knife-edge. Therefore: remigration now!”
German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, of the notionally center-right Christian Democratic Union (CDU), formerly led by Angela Merkel, had previously pledged to implement stricter immigration controls, including shutting down illegal border crossings. However, he has faced resistance from neighboring countries like Poland and has yet to deliver on promises of increased deportations.
The two attacks are part of a broader pattern of violent incidents involving migrants in Germany, with similar cases reported in cities such as Magdeburg, Munich, and Solingen in recent years.
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