The U.S./Canada border is the longest international border in the world, and it may soon present problems as significant as the Mexican border. The Champlain, NY Border Patrol station is witnessing an increase of Mexicans arrested for illegally entering the United States from Canada.
This increase in illegal immigration from Canada is due to some progressive changes in Canadian immigration laws that allow certain nationalities to enter with minimum requirements. Canada’s Electronic Travel Authorization (ETA) program enables citizens from Mexico and Romania to enter without first obtaining a visa. Those aliens arrive legally in Canada but cross illegally into the U.S.
In November 2016, Canada ended its visa requirements for Mexicans who fly into the country and only required an online precheck be completed to land in Canada. Since then, the ETA program has expanded to included Romania and more than 50 countries.
During the 2019 fiscal, the Swanton Border Patrol sector arrested 822 illegal aliens for avoiding official entry points and crossing through the woods and fields in the United States. Mexicans and Romanians made up 565 of the 822 detained illegal entrants.
Canada’s liberal immigration policies are now creating a problem for America. Furthermore, no wall or fence exists on the northern border, and an occasional barbed wire or short stone wall separates the countries.
Canada needs to step up and help prevent illegal entry into the United States. However, Canada’s liberal/leftist Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is unlikely to cooperate with the U.S. and President Trump in addressing the illegal immigration from his country. Trudeau favors “globalist” international policies such as lax or open borders.
Because the U.S./Canada border is so vast and remote, Canadian cooperation is essential. Yet if Trudeau does not respect America’s desire to secure its borders, perhaps President Trump will consider a wall and economic sanctions as with Mexico and the southern border.
America cannot afford to have a border crisis on the Canadian border, and Canada must do its part to respect U.S. boundaries. If not, then America must consider options similar to those on the southern border, including the military because of the border’s vastness.