U.S. Department of Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin said the success of the Trump administration’s policies at the southern border is now putting pressure on other areas, and identified issues at our northern border with Canada. Mullin made the comments on Tuesday at Breitbart’s Border Security, Public Safety, and American Sovereignty Event in Washington, DC.
“On our northern border we’re getting [individuals from] Yemen, Iraq, Uzbekistan, Tajikistan… those countries. That’s causing a little bit of a challenge because we don’t always have extradition with those countries, so we’re pushing them back into Canada.”
Weakness along the border with Canada was identified as an issue early in President Trump’s second term in office.
In March 2025, FBI Director Kash Patel told lawmakers on the House Intelligence Committee that “effective resolution” to the southern border crisis caused adversaries such as China, Russia, and Iran to shift their resources to targeting America’s northern border, a Fox News report stated. “The enemy adapts,” Patel said.
Statistics show northern border apprehensions number in the hundreds per month, significantly fewer than the southern border. In terms of total encounters, President Trump’s first months in office led to steep declines in both. The Government Accountability Office (GAO) produced a report on June 30 this year indicating Customs and Border Protection (CBP) faced a longstanding staffing shortage on the northern border.
“Although the number of authorized agents increased, the number of agents assigned to and working in these sectors decreased by about 6 percent. There was also a decrease in the staffing rate for Law Enforcement Information Systems Specialists who monitor surveillance technology. GAO recommended that CBP develop and implement a plan to address this staffing gap, which could help the agency better carry out its responsibilities,” the report stated.
Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney’s antagonism towards President Trump has not helped matters.
While seemingly colluding with Democrats in the United States and hiring a Democrat political operative to fill a newly created senior position in his government, Carney has also taken steps to grow closer to China and the open borders agenda of the European Union, which he wants to join as an “associate member” while rejecting an American trade deal.
Recent tensions with the United States centered on trade, but Canada’s embrace of mass migration in recent years created strains on their economy, housing, and social services.
U.S. Border Czar Tom Homan called Canada’s immigration laws “too lax” in an interview with Canada’s CTV in December 2024.
Follow Matt Mercer on X: @mattmercer.
