A report from CBS News, released on Monday, revealed the extent in which the Canadian border has become an issue for the United States in recent times, as official CBP numbers show roughly 19,000 people arrested for unlawful border crossing in the area during fiscal year 2024, about the same amount as the last 17 years combined.
Furthermore, statistics also show that 358 suspects on the terror watchlist were arrested on the northern border during the same time span, more than double the total of suspects encountered in the more scrutinized southern border with Mexico.
On Tuesday, President-elect Donald Trump's freshly minted "border czar" Thomas Homan chimed in on the Canadian border, labeling the area an "extreme national security vulnerability" which he plans to deal with once the new administration takes office. Homan added during an interview with 7News in Watertown, N.Y. that he expects there will be "tough conversations" with Ottawa about the situation along the Canada-U.S. border.
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Homan, who is from West Carthage, located about 70 kilometers southeast of Ontario's Thousand Islands region, also offered his two cents on "special interest aliens" — individuals from countries the U.S. says sponsor terror— who use Canada as a gateway into the U.S.:
"They know, [there's] a lot less, fewer officers here. It's one of the things I'll tackle when I'm in the White House."
Homan indicated that these issues would be central in discussions between the U.S. and Canadian officials, stressing the need for cooperation with Prime Minister Justin Trudeau's administration. In response to Homan's statements, Gabriel Brunet, a spokesperson for Canadian Public Safety Ministry, told Canada's CBC that the two countries have a "shared interest in deepening collaboration on cross-border issues."
Brunet also said that Canadian law enforcement agencies "are working day in and day out, with their U.S. counterparts" to maintain the integrity of the border.
U.S. pressure over irregular border crossings played a role in Canada's decision this past winter to reimpose visa requirements on Mexican nationals entering the country as they were one of the biggest drivers behind the rising numbers of irregular crossings into New York state and Vermont. U.S. data now places India as the top source country for irregular crossings from the north.
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