FORT COVINGTON, New York (WWNY) – Chris Oliver says he frequently picks up items left behind by people who’ve illegally crossed into the United States from Canada.
His Fort Covington land sits right on the border. You can’t see the boundary, but people who want to cross it know it’s there.
His remote property may appear ordinary, but there’s more to it than meets the eye. Take a closer look and you’ll see a trail camera here, another one there. Oliver says both are operated by border patrol.
He operates his own trail camera, which he says shows people entering the U.S. on his property.
What He Finds
He says makeshift paths through the brush are often littered with trash.
“A bunch of water bottles, Indian snacks,” he said. “It kind of bugs me because they come here to claim asylum and that’s the first thing you do is come in and you litter. It’s a disrespect to me.”
On the day Oliver showed us around, he found a plastic bag with sneakers inside as well as money from India.
“A lot of these people are just trying to come here to better themselves. I get that but there’s a right way and wrong way and this is the wrong way,” he said.
The Mercedes
The most unusual thing Oliver found on his land is a Mercedes. He says a teenage girl drove it across the border and through his field. The vehicle got stuck in the mud.
Oliver says border patrol agents told him the girl and a male companion made a run for it but were caught. The Mercedes, its key and everything inside were abandoned.
“It’s basically their whole life that was packed up in that car. I mean, you feel bad for that person but at the same time, if they could have come across correctly, she would still have her car,” said Oliver.
Oliver towed the vehicle out of the field in July and says he’ll be allowed to keep it if it goes unclaimed for 90 days. He plans to donate the clothing and other items to charity.
The Mercedes, the clothing, the money and all the other things Oliver has found are a snapshot in time – a time when record numbers of people are entering the U.S. illegally.
Where Are They From?
U.S. Customs and Border Protection declined our request for an interview but Franklin County Sheriff Jay Cook shared where these people come from and what happens to them.
“A lot from Mexico, Yugoslavia, China,” he said. “We see them all over the community of Malone, you know, because they get processed and released and then they’re at stops waiting to be picked up and transported south or wherever they want to go.”
Oliver says both the American and Canadian governments share responsibility for the surge. He says Canada fails to keep track of foreign visitors while the U.S. doesn’t immediately send them back.
“The Canadian government shouldn’t make it so easy for them to come across and the U.S. government needs to step up and not allow these people to stay,” he said.
Customs and Border Protection
CBP says there has been a 30 percent drop in what it calls “encounters” along the northern border from June to August.
It also says it works with other federal immigration agencies to process, remove, and strengthen consequences for people who cross the border unlawfully.