Two Republican congressmen introduced a resolution calling on the Department of Homeland Security Secretary to enact a plan to secure America’s northern border with Canada, warning of increased concerns of terrorist activity in the wake of Hamas’ terrorist attacks against Israel.
The resolution from Republicans Mike Kelly of Pennsylvania and Ryan Zinke of Montana, obtained in a report from the Daily Caller, specifically highlights “the influx of known or suspected terrorists through America’s northern border as a threat to national security” and calls on Secretary Mayorkas “implement a plan to better secure our northern border.”
The resolution points out that “in fiscal year 2023, the number of known or suspected terrorists encountered along our northern border has increased by 38 percent from fiscal year 2022, and 685 percent from fiscal year 2021.”
“The majority of suspected terrorists caught this year have crossed between the U.S. and Canada, which is the longest continuous border between two countries in the entire world,” Kelly remarked.
Overall encounters at the northern border have increased dramatically since President Biden took office, the resolution goes on to note, saying “the number of encounters along our northern border has risen from 997 monthly encounters to 19,835 encounters in August 2023, a 1,889-percent increase.” But while encounters have spiked dramatically, “staffing on our northern border has remained stagnant since fiscal year 2009.”
The resolution specifically calls on the House of Representatives to recognize “the border crisis along our northern border,” and the “influx of terrorism through our northern border as a threat to national security,” while also calling on Mayorkas to implement a northern border security plan.
“At a time of increased global uncertainty, we must take every measure necessary to secure our country. That includes our Northern border, which is greatly unsecured and overexposed,” Rep. Kelly asserted. “I’m calling on Secretary Mayorkas to recognize the unique crisis along the Northern border and to work with Congress to solve this problem that gravely threatens our entire nation.”
Kelly and Zinke founded the Northern Border Security Caucus in February in response to increased human and drug smuggling into the United States from Canada.
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The heightened attention to the national security threat posed by America’s border crisis comes in the wake of the devastating terrorist attacks on Israel, which claimed the lives of more than 1,200 people, including women and children.
Less than a week later, American cities have taken increased security measures in preparation for protests that fall on the same day as a “day of Jihad” announced by a former Hamas chief.
The increased concern of terrorism comes amid an unprecedented crisis on our southern border. Thousands of “special interest aliens” have been arrested while attempting to cross into the United States since 2021, leaked data from Customs and Border Patrol reveal.
There’s also been a 1,000% increase in illegal immigration from Afghanistan while an estimated 1.7 million gotaways have been recorded since Biden took office in 2021.