Canada has let six times more migrants escape without permits to the United States this year than in 2021, including 321 suspected of terrorism, so much so that American Republican and Democratic elected officials fear for their national security and are calling for stronger controls. at the border.
“We are in a serious crisis that puts the lives of Canadians and Americans at risk,” warns criminologist Kelly Sundberg, professor at Mount Royal University in Calgary and former investigator at the Border Services Agency of Canada. Canada.
American authorities report that 181,814 people have attempted to enter the United States without authorization through the Canadian border since January, 321 of whom were listed as suspected terrorists, according to data from US Customs and Border Protection.
Immigrants apprehended while entering the United States illegally from Canada
| Total | Minors alone | Individuals on the list of suspected terrorists | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2024 | 181 814 | 346 | 321 against 46 on the southern border |
| 2023 | 189 402 | 388 | 484 against 80 on the southern border |
| 2022 | 109 535 | 107 | 313 against 67 on the southern border |
| 2021 | 27 180 | 68 | 54 against 103 on the southern border |
number of immigrants apprehended while entering the United States illegally from Canada
| Vermont | New York | Michigan | Idaho | Minnesota | North Dakota | Washington | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2024 (so far) | 22 424 | 73 667 | 12 418 | 143 | 1 005 | 5 068 | 33 245 |
| 2023 | 22 798 | 90 060 | 12 594 | 205 | 927 | 4 444 | 29 716 |
| 2022 | 9 934 | 64 152 | 7 144 | 115 | 343 | 2 127 | 12 437 |
| 2021 | 4 249 | 9 916 | 2 483 | 44 | 92 | 546 | 4 638 |
Source : US Customs and Border Protection
To stem this tide, on September 19, North Dakota Senator Kevin Cramer joined Democratic senators from New Hampshire and New York to introduce a bill calling for an update and strengthening of security at the border.
“Our communities are in danger”
The subject has worried American elected officials for months. At the end of May, North Dakota Attorney General Drew Wrigley painted a very bleak picture of the situation before the House of Representatives:
“Our communities are in danger and they must be warned that a significant number of our foreign adversaries have entered our environment, and they are undermining the long-term public safety and national security of the United States.”
A few days later, in June, six Republican members of Congress introduced a bill similar to the one just submitted by senators, which also calls for more resources to strengthen security at the northern border.
Photos courtesy of the court
Suspected terrorists
New York State Representative Mike Lawler pointed out that many more individuals placed on the list of suspected terrorists were apprehended at the Canadian border than at the Mexican border: 321 this year in the north, compared to 46 south.
Two months later, at the beginning of September, a Pakistani admitted to Canada on a study visa was arrested with two suspected smugglers 12 kilometers from the border, in Quebec. According to the FBI and the RCMP, he was preparing to cross the border illegally to carry out an anti-Semitic attack in Brooklyn in the name of ISIS.
“People know that they can enter Canada easily and then go to the United States,” worries Mr. Sundberg. If one of them achieves his objective and commits a massacre in the United States, the Americans will seal their border and our economy will be decimated.
He warns that this issue is a huge “political hot potato” that Ottawa must tackle urgently, because it will cause friction with Washington, no matter who the next president is.
Donald Trump highlighted the issue in an interview with Fox News in August. Kamala Harris also mentioned the problem, particularly in terms of fentanyl trafficking.
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