Trump’s border czar says Canadian border is ‘extreme’ vulnerability

US President-elect Donald Trump’s border official says there is an “extreme national security vulnerability” along the Canada-US border, which he plans to address as soon as the new Republican administration takes power.

Tom Homan, named Sunday responsible for all border issues with the United States, said in a television interview that he expects there to be “difficult conversations” with Ottawa about the situation along the Canadian-American border.

“The northern border issue is a huge national security issue,” Homan told 7News in Watertown, N.Y., a community about 25 miles from an eastern crossing of the Ontario. Homan is originally from the region.

He spoke of “aliens of special interest” – individuals from countries that the United States believes sponsor terrorism. — use Canada as a gateway to the United States

“Because they know there are a lot fewer officers here,” Homan said. “That’s one of the things I’ll address when I’m in the White House.”

In raw numbers, irregular crossings along the U.S. border with Mexico significantly exceed those crossing the Canadian border. However, human smuggling activities from Canada have increased sharply over the past two years, particularly along the border between eastern Ontario, Quebec, New York and Vermont.

US Border Patrol (USBP) agents apprehended more than 19,000 people, from 97 different countries, in this area over a 12-month period ending October 2, according to Customs and Border Protection statistics. of the United States.

That’s more than had been apprehended in the same area in the previous 17 fiscal years combined, according to a recent article on X by USBP Chief Patrol Agent Robert Garcia, in charge of the region, known as the Swanton area.

That created friction with U.S. officials along the border areas and their concerns were echoed by Trump on the campaign trail and by his former Republican challengers Nikki Haley and Vivek Ramaswamy during the primary race.

Knows the region

Homan is from West Carthage, New York, located about 70 kilometers southeast of Ontario’s Thousand Islands region on the St. Lawrence River.

“It’s my home, I’m not going to ignore it,” he told 7News.

Homan, a former acting director of Immigration and Customs Enforcement, said he would work in the White House and report directly to Trump while overseeing the new administration’s plans for border enforcement and mass expulsions.

Trump, Homan said, must work with Prime Minister Justin Trudeau to ensure Canada’s immigration laws are enforced.

“Canada must understand that it cannot serve as a gateway for terrorists entering the United States,” he said.

Gabriel Brunet, a spokesperson for Public Safety Minister Dominic LeBlanc, said in an emailed statement that the two countries have a “common interest in deepening collaboration on cross-border issues.” The statement said Canadian law enforcement “works day in and day out, with their American counterparts” to maintain the integrity of the border.

LeBlanc “looks forward to building a constructive and positive relationship with whomever President Trump selects as Secretary of Homeland Security,” the statement said. Trump said Tuesday that his nominee for the position is South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem.

U.S. pressure on irregular border crossings played a role in Canada’s decision last winter to reimpose some visa requirements on Mexican nationals entering the country. At the time, Mexican nationals were one of the main culprits in increasing the number of irregular crossings into New York and Vermont.

US data now places India as the main country of origin for irregular crossings from Canada.

Tom Kmiec, Conservative Party critic for immigration, refugees and citizenship, says Liberals made a ‘mistake’ in 2016 when they removed visa requirements for nationals Mexicans, then “slowly” reversed course. The previous Conservative government of Stephen Harper initially implemented visa requirements.

Kmiec also discussed recent cases involving an Egyptian-born father-son duo and a Pakistani student arrested in Canada for allegedly planning separate ISIS-linked attacks in Toronto and New York. The student reportedly considered entering the United States with the help of smugglers.

“When it comes to border security and visa integrity, the Liberals are simply not worth the price,” Kmiec said in a statement.

A deadly business

Human smuggling into Canada is a lucrative business, with some organized crime groups charging between US$1,500 and US$6,000 per person for journeys that often begin in Toronto or Montreal, then cross border areas of rivers, farmland and forests.

Some trips prove fatal. Last December, Ana Karen Vasquez-Flores, a 33-year-old pregnant Mexican woman, was found dead near Champlain, New York, after crossing the border from Canada.

The RCMP announced in June that it had dismantled an international smuggling ring allegedly linked to the drowning of two families – one from India and the other from Romania – in the St. Lawrence River in March 2023. two families were smuggled into the United States.