WASHINGTON — The standoff in Washington over security at the southern U.S. border is placing fresh scrutiny on the northern threshold with Canada.
A funding dispute between the White House and Democrats in Congress over President Donald Trump’s much-demanded border wall with Mexico has mired the federal government in a shutdown that’s now in its fourth week.
But with all the scrutiny and political energy focused southward, a new report suggests Democrats plan to turn some of that focus towards the Canada-U.S. border, which statistics suggest could pose a greater risk to national security.
Rep. Lou Correa, a California Democrat and a key member of the House National Security Committee, tells Politico he plans to examine whether there are security weak spots along the northern border that deserve more U.S. attention.
Fears of a “thickening” of the Canada-U.S. border, often referred to as the longest undefended border in the world, have long been a concern in Canada — particularly since the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001.
NBC News reported last week that according to data provided to Congress last year, Customs and Border Protection officials intercepted six times as many people who are on a U.S. terror-suspect database trying to enter the country from Canada as from Mexico between October 2017 and April 2018.
The Canadian Press
