The National Post of Canada, citing statistics from U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP), noted Friday that 87 percent of individuals identified as “terror suspects” trying to enter America through a land border came from Canada.
“Terror suspect” refers to individuals identified in the American “Terrorist Screening Dataset (TSDS),” an expansive list that includes individuals facing legal action for terrorism, confirmed to be members of terrorist organizations, or others with family ties to individuals identified as terrorists or others affiliated with people suspected of having ties to foreign or domestic terrorist organizations. Their appearance in the TSDS does not guarantee that they are terrorists, and the individuals identified in the National Post report are those who attempted to enter America legally, not the unknowns crossing the border while evading law enforcement.
The consistent high percentage of TSDS-listed individuals stopped at the Canadian border nonetheless brings attention to national security concerns in the north that are often eclipsed by calls to secure the more crowded and chaotic southern border with Mexico. The Canadian newspaper highlighted the data in the context of President-elect Donald Trump announcing on Monday that he is considering imposing a 25-percent tariff on Canadian goods, and Mexican goods, until both countries help contain what he described as out-of-control mass migration, human trafficking, drug trafficking, and other transnational crime.
“In the last fiscal year, 358 individuals on the terror watchlist were stopped at a Canadian border crossing, as compared to 52 stopped at a Mexican border crossing,” the National Post reported. “And this has been the ratio for the entire post-COVID era.”
“In 2022, Canada yielded 82 per cent of the 380 terror suspects stopped at a U.S. land border crossing. In 2023, Canada yielded 86 per cent of the 564 total suspects stopped at a land border crossing,” it observed.
The American list of “known or suspected terrorist encounters” is an expansive one that includes individuals known to associate with terrorist entities as well as individuals with family suspected of being in terrorist groups, as well as some belonging to groups that may have at one time been designated as foreign terror groups or individuals with ties to groups categorized as domestic terrorists.
“A single omission of a terrorist identity or an inaccuracy in the identifying information contained in a watchlist record can have enormous consequences,” the Department of Justice explained in 2007 regarding the broad nature of the list.
The National Post story relates to individuals legally attempting to enter America who appear on the terror watchlist, a separate issue from illegal immigration flows out of Canada. American border patrol agents have also lamented a dramatic increase in the number of people attempting to enter America illegally in the last year.
“It was a flood we had not seen before. It was an exponential shift,” Erik Lavallee, Border Patrol Agent in Charge of the Beecher Falls Station in Vermont, told CBS News in September. Lavallee noted that part of the reason for the surge was that “multiple identified transnational criminal organizations” were now active in human trafficking south into America.
“Illegal crossings have continued to skyrocket with roughly 19,000 people arrested in fiscal year 2024,” CBS noted. “That is about the same amount as the last 17 years combined. Although, Customs and Border Protection notes that the Swanton Sector has seen a 52-percent reduction in encounters since the height of crossings in June.”
President-elect Trump addressed the immigration issues on the Canadian border in a message posted to his Truth Social website on Monday, alarming Canadian authorities with the threat of a 25-percent tariff on their exports.
“On January 20th, as one of my many first Executive Orders, I will sign all necessary documents to charge Mexico and Canada a 25% Tariff on ALL products coming into the United States, and its ridiculous Open Borders,” Trump wrote. “This Tariff will remain in effect until such time as Drugs, in particular Fentanyl, and all Illegal Aliens stop this Invasion of our Country!”
Radical leftist Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has largely kept mum on the threat, but told reporters on Tuesday that he had a “good call” with Trump after he posted that message and expressed optimism he could resolve the problem. The lack of apparent urgency from Trudeau elicited condemnation from nearly every part of the Canadian political spectrum, from the major opposition Conservative Party to political figures left of Trudeau.
Conservative Party leader Pierre Poilievre condemned Trump’s tariff threat as “unjustified” but painted an image of Trudeau as unprepared and uninformed on the matter.
“We need a plan,” Poilievre said, urging Trudeau to address mass migration. “A plan to put Canada first on the economy and on security.”
Poilievre again demanded in the Canadian Parliament that Trudeau’s administration address the issue.
“There are half a million people here illegally, all of whom could be tempted to go south of the border, provoking a massive retaliatory response,” Poilievre said.
“So once again, what’s the plan to fix what he broke?” he asked, addressing Canadian Immigration Minister Marc Miller, who responded by demanding Poilievre “grow a pair” and obtain the security clearance necessary for access to immigration briefings.
Trudeau announced earlier in November that his lax immigration policies would soon change as a result of the damage they caused the country.
“Far too many colleges and universities used international students to raise their bottom line — because they could charge these students tens of thousands of dollars more for the same degree,” Trudeau said in a social media message. “And, then there are really bad actors who outright exploit people, who target vulnerable immigrants with promises of jobs, diplomas, and easy pathways to citizenship. Promises that would never come true.”
