The United States/Canada border is remarkable in many ways. Over 5,000 miles long, it's the longest land border in the world. For over 200 years, it's not only been the longest land international border but the most peaceful one, essentially demilitarized, with no serious territorial disputes since the War of 1812. But it's also a difficult border to secure, with not only length but remoteness making things complicated — and factor into the situation that the bulk of American border security efforts are directed south. But that leads to a possible security risk.

Is it possible that bad actors, including possible terrorists, are trying to get into the United States before Donald Trump takes office? There is some evidence that this is the case; reports indicate a spike in illegal border crossings on our northern border.

Federal agents are arresting a record number of individuals on the terrorist watchlist at the northern U.S. border, including a Jordanian national with ties to terrorism who recently was removed from the country after illegally entering from Canada.

Border Patrol agents in the U.S. Customs and Border Protection Blaine Sector apprehended Jordanian national Mohammad Hasan Abdellatif Albana, 41, near Lynden, Washington, a few miles from the Canadian border.

Lynden is roughly 22 miles to Aldergrove in British Columbia. There are 13 land ports of entry at the U.S.-Canada border in Washington, including the Lynden-Aldergrove Port of Entry. The POE is famous for the 1979 murder of U.S. Customs inspector Kenneth Ward, who was shot while performing a vehicle inspection by members of far-left domestic terrorist group the Symbionese Liberation Army.

Albana illegally “entered the U.S. without being admitted, inspected or paroled by a U.S. immigration official,” U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement said. He would have been considered a “gotaway” if he hadn’t been caught. Gotaways is the official CBP term for foreign nationals who illegally enter between ports of entry to intentionally evade capture and aren’t caught.

That's one man. One man with terror ties. How many more have infiltrated across this 5,000-mile-plus northern border in recent months? Where are those men now, and what are they doing?

This is a serious national security issue.

See Related: Illegal Border Crossings Continue, but There's a New Sheriff in Town

Winter Is Coming: Coyotes and the Catastrophe of Illegal Immigration... on the Northern Border

The Times, They Are A-Changin', and Mexico Gets It, Breaking Up Two Illegal Immigrant Caravans

It's important to note that the apprehension of people with ties to known terror groups is higher on the northern border than on the southern border.

Albana was among 44 individuals who’ve been arrested and identified as a known or suspected terrorist (KST) this fiscal year, according to CBP data last updated Nov. 20. By comparison, 8 KSTs were apprehended at the southwest border over the same time-period.

Bear in mind that these are just the ones who have been caught. We have little or no idea how many have infiltrated across the northern border without being detected. And now, as I keep saying — it bears repeating — we have no idea where those people are now, where they are going, or what they intend to do when they get there.

The northern border is quite a different logistical kettle of fish than the southern border. It's almost three times the length, much of it through remote and unsettled country. Severe weather is common, especially in winter. And the Border Patrol is only lightly staffed in the north; the focus is on the southern border. The northern border is, even so, wide open — and desperately needs to be closed.

Something bad is going to happen. It's going to happen here. The only questions are ones of scale and location. But it's going to happen here. And the people who commit these somethings are almost certainly already here, thanks to our open borders and the feckless lack of enforcement by the Biden administration.