WASHINGTON – While much of the discussion about U.S. border security focuses on the Southwest, the U.S. Senate passed a bipartisan bill in June that aims to address a different target – growing migration along the U.S.-Canada border.
The Act entitled Act on the coordination of the northern borderwas co-authored by Sens. Susan Collins, Republican of Maine, and Gary Peters, Democrat of Michigan. The measure would hire additional U.S. Border Patrol agents to critically understaffed areas on the northern border and create The Northern Border Coordination Center at Selfridge Air National Guard Base near Detroit, which will coordinate border security strategy.
The Senate passed the bill unanimously, but the House took no action.
The northern border is the longest international border in the world, spanning just over 5,500 miles and divided into eight patrol sectors including 49 official border crossings. stations.
To a enormous extent, this is also undefended.
Much of the border is undefined and without any obstaclesmarked only by a 6-foot clearing or panorama that runs along the boundary, hundreds of white markers, and naturally occurring boundaries such as streams or lakes.
Illegal border crossings
In recent years, northern state lawmakers have focused more attention on the rise in illegal border crossings, which has been fueled by an enhance in migration from Latin America due to economic and political conditions.
In 2023, CBP encountered Nearly 190,000 people are trying to cross the border from Canada into the United States. That’s almost seven times more than in 2021.
In 2023, CBP recorded nearly 2.5 million cases at the southern border.
This Swanton SectorThe 24,000-square-mile area spanning the northern borders of eastern New York, Vermont, and New Hampshire has seen the highest number of illegal crossings. From October 2022 to September 2023, CBP saw There has been a 550% enhance in the number of apprehensions of people crossing the border from Quebec and arriving in this sector.
Encounters occur when border officials catch people illegally crossing from one country to another at or between ports of entry. They can be sent back to their country of origin, Canada, or released to the U.S.
Collen Putzel, a policy analyst at the Migration Policy Institute, a liberal think tank focusing on immigration policy, told States Newsroom that the number of encounters does not fully reflect the number of people entering the U.S.
“The number of meetings may be increasing, but that doesn’t necessarily mean the number of people actually coming in is increasing,” Putzel said.
Understaffed
Northern border staffing remains critical to maintaining border policy and security. The U.S. Government Accountability Office conducted test in 2019 and stated that “the number of agents was insufficient, which limited patrol missions along the northern border.”
The GAO attributes much of the staffing shortage to “competing priorities at the U.S.-Mexico border.”
A CBP spokesperson said in a written statement to States Newsroom that more support from Congress is needed to address issues related to the northern border.
“CBP continues to adapt to changing trends while continuing to call on Congress to provide the resources and personnel necessary to maintain and enhance the security of our borders,” the spokesman said.
Peters said his bill, developed with Collins, would assist address staffing shortages.
“This legislation will further strengthen the center’s role in coordinating border security efforts, supporting staff training, and conducting testing of new border security technologies,” Collins’ office said in a news release.
Routes marked by smugglers
Most people crossing the border come from outside Canada. O half come from Mexico, CBS News Boston reports. Others come from India, Bangladesh and Haiti.
Many to buy one-way plane tickets to Toronto or Montreal.
Putzel said smuggling may be a reason for the increased flow of people through Canada.
“Often, migration routes are partly determined by the smuggling networks that control them,” she said.
Canada in February Changed visa rule for Mexican citizens, requiring citizens to obtain a Canadian or U.S. tourist visa before entering Canada. Previously, visas were not required.
Canada saw enhance among Mexican migrants seeking asylum over the past decade. In 2015, just 110 people from Mexico applied for asylum. As of slow 2023, nearly 24,000 people had applied, most filing at airport offices, according to data from the Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada Department.
National Security Vulnerabilities
As more people move from Canada to the U.S., the situation at the northern border has become more uncertain, leading to bills such as the Northern Border Coordination Act, which was introduced in July 2023.
In 2023, CBP’s Office of Field Operations, which monitors the border at ports of entry, encountered 484 people on the terrorist watchlist who attempted to cross the border from Canada into the U.S. That’s nearly nine times more than in 2021, according to CBP data. Officers on the southern border encountered just 80 people on the watch list in 2023.
Authorities also encountered more drugs coming across the northern border. According to CBP, drug seizures in 2023 were up about 29% compared to 2021 levels. Marijuana was the most commonly found drug by officers, with just under 3,500 seizures in 2023 compared to just under 2,000 in 2021.
But confiscations of weapons and ammunition have reduced in recent years. In 2021, CBP seized more than 9,000 guns, ammunition, and gun parts. In 2023, that number dropped to just over 4,000.
Rep. Shri Thanedar, a Democrat who represents part of the Detroit area along the northern border, said in a statement to States Newsroom that the Collins-Peters proposal “is necessary to address the growing national security threat along the northern border.”
“I have every confidence that this strategic investment will positively impact the safety and security of the communities in Michigan’s 13th Congressional District,” Thanedar said.
Economic factors are driving the enhance in the number of migrants in the US
The U.S. may be more attractive to migrants than Canada because of its culture and job market, said Silvia Pedraza, a professor of sociology and American culture at the University of Michigan. Immigrants are more likely to find work in the U.S. than in Canada, she said.
“In Canada, people (immigrants) don’t get decent jobs. They (Canadians) treat them well. They are even, I would say, hospitable and warm,” Pedraza said. “The fact is, they don’t give them any jobs that are worth anything.”
“We (the United States) do not give them documents, but we give them jobs,” she said, acknowledging that immigrants are looking for better job opportunities to support themselves and their families.
But Pedraza also thinks Americans should recognize the positive impact immigrants have on the economy.
She said that with US citizens increasing education level, are less willing to work in the service sector, construction and agriculture. In recent years, immigrant workers have begun to catch up significant population in these industries, according to a study by Pew Research Center.
“We don’t seem to realize that we have a real need, or even a real shortage, of people in jobs that are essential to the economy,” Pedraza said.
Pedraza stressed that the United States is a country built on immigration and that intense media coverage of the southern border will not assist resolve the crisis.
“It’s still a very negative picture that doesn’t take into account the value of what immigrants bring to the country,” she said.
