It's hard to describe the vastness of much of North America to those who haven't experienced it. Some years back, when my wife and I moved north, we drove our truck and trailer up the Alaska Highway, which is an experience I highly recommend, although perhaps not in late March when we did it. There is one stretch in British Columbia where drivers are admonished to buy fuel, as the sign says, "No services, next (300, if I recall right) miles." There are places where, for many, many miles, that famous roadway is nothing but a ribbon of asphalt through a howling wilderness.
Our northern border - the border between the United States and Canada - likewise runs through remote, uninhabited places. Not only is it the longest international border between two nations in the world, at over 5,000 miles, but it's also the longest completely demilitarized border in the world. For long stretches, there are no walls, fences, guards, or people. But that's changing; nefarious actors are noting that the long, mostly open border and illegal crossings from Canada are becoming a problem.
Illegal border crossings at the northern border continue to break records, according to the latest data released by U.S. Customs and Border Protection.
A record-breaking 18,644, were apprehended illegally entering the U.S. at the northern border in May, the highest total for the month of May in recorded history.
The northern border has seen the highest number of illegal entries in U.S. history under the Biden administration, The Center Square has reported.
In the first eight months of fiscal 2024, more than 99,000 were apprehended after illegally entering through the northern border, according to CBP data. If the current trajectory continues, the numbers are on track to surpass fiscal 2023 apprehensions of 147,666.
Those numbers are up from 92,737 apprehensions in fiscal 2022 and 24,895 in fiscal 2021.
While the numbers aren't yet up there with the catastrophe on the southern border, they are still high enough to be a matter of real concern.
See Related: How Many More Bodies Will Be Buried Before Somebody Stops Biden’s Illegal Invasion at the Border?
And yet the northern border presents a very different tactical problem.
The primary concern, of course, is the border between the upper tier of the 48 contiguous states and Canada; we have a pretty extensive land border between Alaska and the Yukon territory, but illegal crossings there are, as far as I can ascertain, rare. There are only two crossing points and much of the rest of the border is so remote and so rugged as to be truly daunting. But there are places along that long, long stretch of border between Canada and the lower 48 where one can simply walk or boat across; in fact, I've done so while canoeing in the Boundary Waters area in northern Minnesota, lo those many years ago.
Here's the real problem:
Border Patrol agents at the northern border are also apprehending the greatest number of known or suspected terrorists (KSTs), according to CBP data. In the first six months of fiscal 2024, they apprehended 143 KSTs, The Center Square reported, including an Iranian with terrorist ties.
That number is now up to 199, according to CBP data as of June 20. By comparison, 117 KSTs were apprehended at the southwest border over the same time period.
It's important to note that Canada has a significant population of Middle Eastern immigrants, and the policy under Justin "Fidel" Trudeau has been to welcome them with open arms. Some of those, as noted, are now seeking to get into the United States, and once again, we have little idea who many of them are or what they intend to do.
Closing the northern border is an entirely different kettle of fish than the southern border. But it can be improved; known crossing points can be fortified, traffic in new areas identified. We have satellites that can measure the length of a bad guy's earlobe from orbit, so one would think that we could leverage some tech to keep an eye on the northern border. Another good option would be to disincentivize these illegal crossings. How? Immediate and unquestioned deportation of anyone caught crossing illegally.
Like the southern border, this is a situation that can't continue.
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