by Mike Donoghue
BURLINGTON – An illegal immigrant from Mexico, who has been caught more than a dozen times unlawfully in the United States, has been arrested again after he returned to help guide another handful of undocumented persons into Vermont, federal court records show.
Raymundo Garcia-Flores, 38, is facing a new charge of reentry by a deported alien into Franklin County, according to a criminal complaint filed in U.S. District Court in Burlington.
The multiple crossings are part an unprecedented number of illegal crossings in recent months. In just the last two months (Oct. & Nov.), Swanton Sector (part of NY, VT, NH) Border Patrol Agents have apprehended 1,850 subjects from 43 different countries, surpassing the number of apprehensions in Fiscal Years (FY) 2021 & 2022 combined.
The U.S. Border Patrol said their agents intercepted Garcia-Flores as he served as a human smuggling guide for four non-citizens entering rural Berkshire without legal authorization from Canada on Jan. 24.
Garcia-Flores reported it was his fourth time recently guiding illegal immigrants into the United States and he had brought nine undocumented aliens during the three earlier operations, the Border Patrol said in court papers.
He said he is paid $1,000 per illegal immigrant that he guides into the United States.
Garcia-Flores “was previously apprehended by immigration agencies on approximately 13 prior occasions…” Border Patrol Agent Michael A. Jones said in a court affidavit. The apprehensions began in 2005.
Most times Garcia-Flores appeared to be part of the controversial “Catch-and-Release” immigration program and was sent back to Mexico immediately with no consequences after his apprehension. Two times he received prison sentences and was deported, but each time he soon returned.
It is just the latest arrest along the Vermont border, which was seeing an average of about 100 illegal entries a day into the state last summer according to Customs and Border Protection statistics.
Investigation into the latest case revealed Garcia-Flores was illegally in the United States and that he crossed briefly into Canada to meet the group he planned to smuggle into Vermont, records show. He then illegally entered the United States again with the group and none of them reporting to an inspection station as required, court records note.
The U.S. Attorney’s Office in Burlington has asked a magistrate judge to detain Garcia-Flores pending his criminal trial because he is a serious risk to flee.
“The defendant’s role as a foot guide for a smuggling organization indicates he has knowledge and ability to cross the Canadian border without inspection and abscond,” prosecutor Nicole Cate wrote in a detention motion.
“The strength of the evidence against the defendant is very strong,” Cate said.
Magistrate Judge Kevin Doyle, during a brief court hearing on Friday, ordered Garcia-Flores detained until the hearing can resume on Tuesday for the government’s detention motion.
Jones said he was on routine patrol in Franklin County about 1 p.m. Jan. 24 when he noticed fresh footprints in the snow heading north toward the international border near Ayers Hill Road in Berkshire. Jones said the Border Patrol was aware of increased illegal crossings throughout 2023 along the dirt road, which is about 3,000 feet from the international border.
Jones said it was common for human smuggling foot guides to head north into Canada to meet the groups they were planning to lead across the border.
The Border Patrol said an electronic sensor detected a group of about 5 people were southbound from the international border about 3:15 p.m. It was just north of where Jones had seen the footprints.
Four other Border Patrol agents responded to the area to help search for the people, Jones said. Supervisory Border Patrol Agent Thomas Blaser and Border Patrol Agent Kevin O’Dowd spotted several people running into a wooded area south of Ayers Hill Road, Jones said.
Blaser and O’Dowd gave chase and eventually apprehended Garcia-Flores and three other people, records show. Border Patrol Agent Nikita Ostashez spotted the fifth person in the brush on the north side of Ayers Hill Road, records note.
The five were taken to the Border Patrol station in Richford, where they were fingerprinted, and checks were made in databases to learn about their immigration history.
The four illegal immigrants were believed released without charges.
Due to his past record, Garcia-Flores was lodged by the Border Patrol at the Northwest State Correctional Facility in St. Albans on the federal immigration charge pending the federal court hearing.
U.S. Sen. Peter Welch, D-Vt. visited the international border near Swanton and chatted with U.S. Customs and Border Patrol officers as they continue to fight the unprecedented flood of illegal immigrants into Vermont.
The highest monthly peak in Vermont hit in August 2023 when 2,992 unauthorized crossings were intercepted, the CBP reported. It edged September 2023 when 2,984 illegal immigrants were nabbed coming into Vermont, records show.
Customs and Border Protection officials reported 22,798 unapproved individuals were intercepted unlawfully entering Vermont during 12-month period ending September 2023.
This compares to 9,934 detected illegal crossings in Vermont for the year ending September 2022, CBP reported.
The year before there were 4,249 individuals caught unlawfully entering the Green Mountain State, the CBP said.