In 2022, I met with U.S. Border Patrol agents stationed in my home district of Erie, Pennsylvania. I have previously met with these agents, but a usually vibrant, upbeat tone in their voice now sounded tired. In a way, they sounded defeated. I couldn’t blame them — this meeting happened in the midst of the Biden administration’s open border policies, when more than 2.7 million undocumented immigrants illegally entered our country in fiscal year (FY) 2022 alone.
And those are just the people who were caught.
Throughout that 2022 meeting in Erie, the agents shared with me a clear message — it wasn’t only the Southern border that was a growing problem. Illegal drugs and weapons, not to mention an uptick in illegal border crossings, were becoming more prominent along the Northern border between the United States and Canada. The spike in illegal activity occurred simultaneously as agents from Northern border sectors were being temporarily reassigned to intake sites and processing centers along the U.S.-Mexico border to help manage the surge of migrants there.
The departure of agents from the seemingly quiet Buffalo and Swanton sectors — which are in New York, Vermont, and New Hampshire — for an assignment thousands of miles south created a vulnerability in what were otherwise safe and secure border communities. The result: an exposed Northern border between the U.S. and Canada allowing bad actors to take advantage.
Every state in the union had become a border state.
As my team and I watched the Southern border crisis unfold, we dove deeper into the untold stories and underreported data of the Northern border. What we learned was unsettling. The number of Northern land border crossings was climbing monthly, from 3,728 in October 2021 to 15,879 in October 2022 — a 425 percent year-to-year increase, according to U.S. Customs and Border Protection data. More than 60,000 lbs. of illegal drugs, including fentanyl, were confiscated at the Northern border in FY 2022.
Perhaps most alarming: the overwhelming majority of terror watchlist suspects caught entering the United States were apprehended not at the Southern border, but at the Northern border.
It became even more apparent to me and my House Republican colleagues that more had to be done to secure the Northern border, and fast.
That’s why in early 2023, I asked my friend and colleague Rep. Ryan Zinke, a Republican from the great state of Montana, to join me as co-chair and to launch the Northern Border Security Caucus in the U.S. House of Representatives. The goal of our caucus is simple: to raise awareness and advocate for the communities along the Northern border who have lived with the consequences of failed Biden administration immigration policies thousands of miles away from the Southern border. Nearly 30 House Republicans, most of whom represent Northern border states, remain active in the caucus.
There are unique challenges along the Northern border. The vast 5,525-mile stretch of land separating the U.S. from Canada is the longest continuous land border in the world. Here are just a few examples:
- Instead of crossing a river from Mexico into Texas, you can walk into the United States from parts of Canada without knowing it.
- While Southern border sectors — correctly — received staffing increases in recent years, staffing levels have remained the same along the Northern border since 2009.
- Rather than making the trek through Latin America to Mexico to enter the U.S., some migrants fly from Mexico to Canada and pay someone — even the cartel — to drive them to the U.S. border.
The strain on our immigration and legal systems goes beyond Border Patrol processing centers and federal courthouses. In 2024, I visited Grand Forks, North Dakota during a House Oversight Committee field hearing. There, we heard from county sheriffs and state law enforcement officials who reinforced the data we had been reading in Washington with a true boots-on-the-ground perspective.
Some local officials noted how federal support for immigration enforcement had dwindled in recent years compared to years’ past. Others noted the spike in narcotics trafficking in North Dakota. The state’s Attorney General, Drew Wrigley, shared perhaps the most eye-popping statistic — there were 548 attempted illegal entries into the U.S. from Canada in FY 2021. In FY 2023, that number was 4,444.
Once again, those are just the people who were caught. The true number of “gotaways” remains unknown.
For years, the Northern border has been virtually unwatched. But the tides are turning in Washington. Now, in just his first 100 days, President Trump has already taken significant action to curb illegal Northern border crossings and drug activity. Perhaps the President’s most useful tool is his rhetoric — those looking to enter our country now know they will face stiff opposition — including possible deportation — under the Trump administration. Compare that to the red-carpet treatment under the Biden administration’s open border policies, which included housing in American hotels and schools.
The numbers already show the difference. Compared to March 2024, Southwest border apprehensions have decreased by 90 percent. Northern border land encounters have decreased by 73 percent, according to CBP data released last month. Illegal drugs crossing into the U.S. along the Northern border are down nearly 40 percent in March 2025 to March 2024, CBP data shows. This illustrates a tale of two presidents, two policies, and two very different visions for border enforcement.
Beyond simply enforcing existing laws, the Trump administration is applying economic pressure on Canada to boost border security on their side of the 49th parallel. In February, the President implemented a 25 percent tariff on Canadian goods, pushing the Canadian government to help curb the flow of Chinese fentanyl and illegal migration into the United States from their side of the border.
The result: Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced Canada would fulfill its six-year, $1.3 billion border security plan after all. Recently, that included an announcement to send 50 military-grade drones and other equipment to the U.S.-Canada border to assist the Royal Canadian Mounted Police with logistics.
It’s the “Art of the Deal” in action.
In 2025, the Northern Border Security Caucus will continue to work closely with the Trump administration to advocate for communities like Grand Forks. In February, we met with border czar Tom Homan on Capitol Hill. His commitment — and that of the entire Trump administration — to a secure border is a night and day difference to the previous administration, which rolled back Trump-era border policies and then denied the border crisis existed until it was too late.
As we enact and enforce commonsense border policy, I think about the Border Patrol agents who I’ve met in Erie and in Texas when I visited the Southern border. Congress must provide Border Patrol with everything they need to succeed. They put their lives on the line every day to protect our homeland — not just our Southern border, but our Northern border as well.
READ MORE:
Border Crisis Could Ignite Terrorist Attacks
Biden’s Border Crisis Comes Home to Roost
U.S. Representative Mike Kelly is a Republican representing Pennsylvania’s 16th Congressional District. He serves as Co-Chair of the Northern Border Security Caucus, which he co-founded in 2023.
