From The Center Square

By Bethany Blankley

Several retired CBP officials have pointed out that not all Canadian border crossers are native-born but include foreign nationals who received Canadian travel documents.

The greatest number of Canadians who’ve illegally entered the U.S. or attempted to illegally enter in recorded U.S. history has been reported under the Biden-Harris administration and Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s administration.

Since fiscal 2021 through July 2024, U.S. Customs and Border Protection reported 150,701 Canadians illegally entered or attempted illegal entry into the U.S.

The majority were apprehended at the US-Canada border, followed by other locations nationwide, with a small number at the US-Mexico border, according to the data.

The greatest number of Canadians encountered or apprehended by CBP or Border Patrol agents was 47,126, in fiscal 2022. U.S. officials at the northern border reported the most, 40,600. But Canadians aren’t always apprehended at the northern border. The next greatest number reported was nationwide at 6,413, followed by 113 at the southwest border.

In fiscal 2023, the numbers were slightly less, totaling 44,700, with the majority reported at the northern border of 37,169, followed by 7,431 nationwide and 100 at the southwest border.

These numbers are up significantly from fiscal 2021, of 22,371. The majority in 2021, 16,193, were reported at the northern border, followed by 6,178 nationwide and 76 at the southwest border.

The overwhelming majority are single military age adults.

Several retired CBP officials have pointed out that not all Canadian border crossers are native-born but include foreign nationals who received Canadian travel documents. Canadian citizens for years have legally traveled to the U.S. for work and as tourists.

Another record-breaking number coming from Canada is over 1,100 individuals on the U.S. terrorist watch list, referred to as known or suspected terrorists (KSTs), who attempted to illegally enter the US-Canada border since fiscal 2021, The Center Square first reported.

This is the greatest number in U.S. history under any administration. They total more than a U.S. Army battalion.

They are being apprehended by U.S. authorities, not Canadians. They include an Iranian with terrorist ties living in Canada and a Canadian woman previously arrested by Texas officials for claiming to threaten to kill former President Donald Trump.

Canadian authorities claim to thoroughly vet so-called refugees when permitting entry. One granted entry in 2018 was a member of ISIS who was granted citizenship this year and went on to allegedly plot a terrorist attack against Canadians, The Center Square reported.

Some members of the Canadian Parliament continue to express alarm about increasing terrorist threats under the Trudeau government after the ISIS member was only arrested after French authorities notified Canadian authorities about his alleged terrorist connection. Another recent example is Canadian authorities taking nine years to arrest a Canadian woman on terrorism-related offenses after she traveled to Syria in 2015 to join ISIS, The Center Square reported.

More recently, a Pakistani national living in Canada was arrested after announcing his plan to carry out a mass shooting at a Jewish Center in Brooklyn, New York, after publicly expressing his support for ISIS for nine months, according to a Department of Justice announcement.

Members of Congress have introduced bills to secure the northern border, created a northern border security caucus. The U.S. House impeached Department of Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas over the border crisis. Republican lawmakers have also demanded increased security after Canadian authorities expanded a visa program to Palestinians, expressing concerns about a vetting process that may not identify those who support the terrorist organization Hamas. Ushered into power by Palestinian voters in 2006, Hamas holds a majority in the Palestinian Authority’s government. The U.S. State Department designated Hamas as a foreign terrorist organization in 1997.

All officially reported CBP data excludes gotaways, those who evaded capture and illegally entered the U.S. They total over 2 million, The Center Square first reported. Officials have expressed concerns about how many unknown gotaways are in the U.S. connected to countries of foreign concern, state sponsors of terrorism and terrorist organizations. Several hundred connected to ISIS have illegally entered the U.S., authorities confirmed this year.

Despite claims by Canadian authorities that “the Canada-U.S. border is the best-managed and most secure border in the world,” numerous U.S. border security officials disagree, telling The Center Square the CBP data alone disproves their claim.

The number of Canadian illegal border crossers is not comparable to the nearly 3 million Mexican illegal border crossers under the Obrador administration since fiscal 2021. Among them, more than 22,000 Mexicans were apprehended by U.S. federal agents after illegally entering or attempting entry from Canada.

CBP data indicates that illegal border crossers holding travel documents from Canada and Mexico, America’s NAFTA partners, appear to be circumventing U.S. immigration law.

From the Daily Caller News Foundation

By Mariane Angela

The border agent stated he is prepared to risk his career to bring attention to what he views as grave mismanagement and potential dangers posed by current border policies.

A Border Patrol agent criticized the recent changes in his role under the Biden-Harris administration, condemning it as transforming into a “migrant concierge service,” according to The New York Post Friday.

Zachary Apotheker, who joined the force in 2020, voiced his frustration over the shift in his duties under the Biden administration from intercepting drug traffickers and apprehending illegal entrants to what he now sees as aiding migrant entry, in an interview with the NYP. Apotheker highlighted concerns about security and vetting under President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris, noting that over 8 million migrants have crossed the southern border since January 2021, including members of the Venezuelan prison gang, Tren de Aragua.

“I don’t want to bring people into the country. That’s not what I signed up to do,” Apotheker told NYP. Apotheker’s distress is further compounded by over 1.7 million illegal migrants who have evaded capture since Jan. 2021, as he shared encounters with victims of migrant-committed crimes, naming individuals and emphasizing the personal toll on him.

Border Patrol agent sounds off on job under Harris-Biden administration: ‘Not what I signed up to do’ https://t.co/ELqWSRIKLu pic.twitter.com/HAKH2ZEuzT

— New York Post (@nypost) September 13, 2024

“I’m an apolitical person and I just want to do my job and protect this country,” the agent said, the NYP reported. “When I see people from another country coming here, getting resources beyond what the American citizen can get, that’s where I have to draw the line. And then they’re going out and committing crimes and we’re still not removing them and American citizens are being killed, women are being raped.”

Apotheker and multiple Border Patrol sources have raised concerns to the NYP about the inadequate documentation for unaccompanied migrant children under 14, including missing biometric data, complicating their safe relocation to families or sponsors in the U.S. He highlighted a backlog in the immigration system, noting that 291,000 migrant children have been released in the U.S. without court dates, with an additional 32,000 failing to appear for their scheduled hearings.

The border agent stated he is prepared to risk his career to bring attention to what he views as grave mismanagement and potential dangers posed by current border policies. “However bad you think it is now, it’s only going to be worse,” he warned.

The White House and Border Patrol did not immediately respond to the Daily Caller News Foundation’s request for comment.