Americans concerned about the Canadian border due to terror

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So far this year, American officials have intercepted 233 suspected terrorists attempting to cross into the United States from Canada. That’s more than one suspected terrorist per day and now American Senators are worried it’s about to get worse.

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In fact, in the letter sent by six U.S. Senators to Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas, it was pointed out that this year’s tally so far is higher than some yearly totals.

“Unfortunately, so far in FY24, U.S. Customs and Border Protection’s Office of Field Operations has encountered more than 233 suspected terrorists at our northern border, with many more likely going undetected. This is already higher than totals in previous years,” the letter read.

Why are the senators concerned it could get worse?

Canada’s decision to admit thousands of people from the Palestinian territories into our country on what are called “temporary resident visas.” These visas, when issued by Canada are accepted as travel documents in close to 150 countries including the United States.

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Given the strong support for Hamas, a terrorist organization, in both Gaza and the West Bank, the senators are rightly asking what this means for people trying to cross into the United States from Canada. They point out that under current American rules, this temporary resident visa replaces the need for a passport to enter the United States which they argue, could put Americans at risk.

“However, with little to no reliable records or background checks of these individuals from the Palestinian Territories, these policies unlock opportunities for individuals with ties to terrorist groups to enter Canada, receive new forms of identification, and then try to enter the U.S. along the porous north border,” they write.

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It’s not an irrational thought.

“Irrespective of Canada’s immigration policies, the U.S. should not waive common-sense terrorist screening and vetting for any individual entering the U.S. through other countries,” the senators write.

“While the Biden Administration claims that all foreign nationals are inspected pursuant to the Immigration and Nationality Act, this administration’s lax border enforcement is increasingly apparent, as terrorists and known criminals continue to stream across U.S. land borders, including from Canada.”

The last thing that Canada needs is a tightened border with the United States. Every extra screening measure the Americans add to the border leads to lost economic opportunity for Canadians and Canadian companies.

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Lost economic opportunity leads to fewer jobs for Canadians as it takes more time for people and goods to cross the border and the desirability of trade begins to diminish.

In the wake of the 9/11 attacks, with some mistakenly believing that some of the terrorists had entered the United States from Canada, there were calls for making the border more difficult to pass. Then Prime Minister Jean Chretien dispatched his Foreign Affairs Minister John Manley to Washington to deal with the situation.

To hear Manley tell the story, he didn’t just try to explain to the Americans why shutting the border would be a bad idea, he came back to Canada and advocated for sensible measures the Americans wanted to feel safe again.

Our American neighbours don’t feel safe again and we need to assure them that we take national security and terrorism seriously. That may not be as easy as it sounds given recent headlines.

In the last week we have had one Canadian killed in Israel after flying there under the guise of being a tourist and then jumping out a security checkpoint screaming about genocide and a free Palestine while trying to stab people before being shot and killed by Israeli forces. We’ve also had another Canadian man convicted in a British court of belonging to and supporting a terrorist group.

Officials in Ottawa need to take the concerns of our American neighbours seriously and not dismiss them.

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