Nearly 90% of all terror suspects entering the US across a land border came from Canada, according to new US Customs and Border Patrol statistics.
“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,” Canada’s National Post reported.
The Post went on to note that this ratio was the same throughout the 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.”
The US’s “Terrorist Screening Dataset” (TSDS) is a list the includes people who are facing legal action for terrorism, people who are confirmed to be members of terrorist organizations and people who have family ties to confirmed or suspected terrorists or other links to them. Appearance on the list is not a guarantee that the person is actually a terrorist, but it does generally indicate a strong suspicion of involvement.
Security at the US’s northern border with Canada has become a new focus of attention after Trump announced stinging tariffs on Canadian goods until the Trudeau government does something to stem the flow of illegal immigrants moving south.
Illegal crossings from Canada have surged in recent years. In 2024, 19,000 people were arrested crossing from Canada into the US—the same amount as the previous 17 years combined.
“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 on Truth Social.
“This Tariff will remain in effect until such time as Drugs, in particular Fentanyl, and all Illegal Aliens stop this Invasion of our Country!”
The governments of Mexico and Canada have been in panic mode since Trump’s announcement of tariffs linked to illegal immigration. Within hours of the announcement, Trudeau reportedly called Trump to speak about trade and security.
Trudeau has made clear he believes Trump will carry out his threat.
“One of the things that is really important to understand is that Donald Trump, when he makes statements like that, he plans on carrying them out,” Trudeau told reporters in Mount Stewart, Prince Edward Island.
“There’s no question about it.”
On Friday, Trudeau made a surprise visit to Mar-a-Lago to see Trump.
Footage posted to social media showed Trudeau arriving in West Palm Beach by motorcade, and a photograph showed him dining with Trump and others.