President-elect Donald Trump’s border czar says there are “extreme national security vulnerabilities” along the Canada-U.S. border that the new Republican administration will address as soon as it takes office.
Tom Homan was appointed Sunday as the official in charge of all U.S. border matters. said in a TV interview He said he expected “difficult conversations” with Ottawa about the situation along the Canada-U.S. border.
“The issue of the northern border is a serious national security issue,” Homan told 7 News in the New York community of Watertown, about 40 kilometers from the crossing into eastern Ontario. Mr. Homan is from the same area.
He described them as “special interest foreigners,” or individuals from countries that the United States says sponsor terrorism. — Using Canada as a gateway to the United States
“Because they know [there’s] “We have a lot fewer, fewer police officers here, and that’s one of the challenges I’m going to address when I’m in the White House,” Homan said.
In raw numbers, irregular border crossings along the U.S.-Mexico border significantly outnumber border crossings across the Canadian border. However, human smuggling activity from Canada has increased sharply over the past two years, particularly along the border in eastern Ontario, Quebec, New York, and Vermont.
U.S. Border Patrol (USBP) agents arrested more than 19,000 people from 97 countries through the region in the 12 months ending Oct. 2, according to U.S. Customs and Border Protection statistics.
This is more than the number captured in the same area in the past 17 fiscal years combined. According to recent posts This is an article about X by Robert Garcia, USBP Chief Patrol Agent in charge of the area known as the Swanton District.
This has created friction with U.S. officials along the border, whose concerns were echoed by Mr. Trump during the campaign and by former Republican challengers Nikki Haley and Vivek Ramaswamy during the primaries. It was done.
know the area
Homan is a native of West Carthage, New York, located about 70 kilometers southeast of Ontario’s Thousand Islands region on the St. Lawrence River.
“This is home. We’re not going to ignore home,” he told 7News.
Homan, a former acting director of Immigration and Customs Enforcement, said he will work in the White House and oversee the new administration’s plans for border enforcement and mass deportations, reporting directly to President Trump.
Homan said President Trump needs to work with Prime Minister Justin Trudeau to make sure Canada’s immigration laws are enforced.
“We need to make sure Canada understands that Canada cannot be a gateway for terrorists to enter the United States,” he said.
Gabriel Brunet, a spokesman for Public Security Minister Dominique Leblanc, said in an emailed statement that the two countries “have a common interest in deepening cooperation on cross-border issues.” The statement said Canadian law enforcement “works daily in partnership with U.S. law enforcement” to secure the border.
“I look forward to a constructive and positive relationship with whoever President Trump chooses to be Secretary of Homeland Security,” LeBlanc said in a statement. playing cards the candidate for the job said on Tuesday. South Dakota Governor Kristi Noem.
U.S. pressure over irregular border crossings influenced Canada’s decision to reimpose some visa requirements for Mexican nationals entering the country this winter. At the time, Mexicans were one of the biggest contributors to the increase in illegal immigration to New York and Vermont.
India is now the largest source of illegal immigrants from Canada, according to U.S. data.
Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Finance Chrystia Freeland said in an interview with host Katherine Cullen of CBC Radio’s The House that Canada welcomes newcomers to the world in an “organized and systematic way.” He said that this is the message.
Tom Kmeets, Conservative Party critic on immigration, refugees and citizenship, said the Liberals made a “mistake” when removing visa requirements for Mexican nationals in 2016 and then “proceeded slowly” to remove them. ” he said. Stephen Harper’s previous Conservative government initially set visa requirements.
Kmiec also mentioned the recent case involving an Egyptian-born father-son duo and a Pakistani student who were arrested in Canada on suspicion of planning separate ISIS-related attacks in Toronto and New York City. The student was said to have planned to enter the United States with the help of smugglers.
“The Liberals are not worth the sacrifices they make when it comes to border security and visa integrity,” Kmiec said in a statement.
deadly business
Human smuggling in Canada is a lucrative business, with some organized crime groups charging $1,500 to $6,000 per person for trips departing from Toronto or Montreal and passing through border areas such as rivers, farmland and forests. There is.
Some journeys can be deadly. In December, Ana Karen Vazquez-Flores, a 33-year-old pregnant Mexican woman, was found dead near Champlain, New York, after crossing from Canada.
In June, RCMP announced they had destroyed an international smuggling ring linked to the drownings of two families, one Indian and one Romanian, in the St. Lawrence River in March 2023. Both families were smuggled into the United States.
