New Congressional Caucus to Address Human Trafficking, Drugs at US-Canada Border

Officials say subzero temperatures are not enough to deter illegal crossings

Republican Reps. Ryan Zinke of Mont. (C) and Mike Kelly of Pa. (R), co-chairs of the Northern Border Security Caucus, speak during their introductory news conference at the U.S. Capitol in Washington on Feb. 28, 2023. Courtesy of Rep. Mike Kelly's office

A family of four from India were found dead on Jan. 19, 2022, near the Canadian border with Minnesota. The mother, father, and two small children—Vaishaliben Patel, 37; Jagdish Patel, 39; Dharmik, 3; and Vihangi, 11—were not dressed for the weather, but they walked through a blizzard in subzero temperatures and ultimately froze.

A year later, two men were arrested in India for human trafficking in connection with the case, The Canadian Press reported.

Frigid conditions don’t deter smuggling operations. The illegal movement of people and deadly drugs is exploding along the world’s longest international border, the 5,525 miles between the United States and Canada.

U.S. Border Patrol reported 997 northern land border encounters for the month of January 2021. Encounters have grown each month, and in the month of October 2022, there were 15,938 northern land border encounters.

In fiscal year 2020, the number of border encounters was 32,376. By the end of fiscal year 2022, there were 109,535 encounters.

That is why U.S. Reps. Mike Kelly and Ryan Zinke have formed the “Northern Border Security Caucus,” a coalition of 28 members of Congress concerned about the increased human and drug trafficking, coupled with the decrease in border patrol agents and lack of security.

More Work With Same Staff

Since 2009, staffing levels along the northern border sectors have remained mostly flat, bouncing around between 1,887 and 2,263 personnel. In 2020, northern border staffing was 2,019, according to data provided by the caucus. And northern border patrol staff members are handling certain southern border duties digitally, adding to their work, as northern crossings increase.

The caucus was announced in Washington this week and its first action was to send a scathing letter to Alejandro Mayorkas, secretary of the Department of Homeland Security.

“You continue to insist you are managing the border in a safe, orderly, and humane manner,” the letter says. “Surges in border encounters and drug smuggling, coupled with a shortage of border patrol agents and lack of security measures places America’s northern border at serious risk. As winter turns to spring, we’re deeply concerned the northern border agents will be even more overwhelmed, under resourced, and undermanned. We ask that you provide a full account of what the Department of Homeland Security will do to mitigate the flow of illegal migrants and illicit drugs into the U.S. across our northern border.”

The letter cites a 475 percent increase in encounters in the first four months of the 2023 fiscal year.

“Canadian Border Patrol seized 14 pounds of fentanyl in fiscal year 2022 along the northern border. That’s enough to kill an estimated 3.17 million people,” the letter says. “The damage this drug can do to a community has been well documented over the years. We cannot allow another avenue for fentanyl smuggling into our communities that are already inundated by the drug crisis down south.”

The letter was signed by Reps. Mike Kelly of Pennsylvania; Ryan Zinke of Montana; Elise Stefanik, Nicole Malliotakis, Claudia Tenney, Anthony D'Esposito, Andrew Garbarino, Marcus Molinaro, and Nicholas Langworthy of New York; Jeff Van Drew and Chris Smith of New Jersey; Jack Bergman, Bill Huizenga, and Lisa McClain of Michigan; Clay Higgins of Louisiana; Cathy McMorris Rodgers of Washington; Brian Babin of Texas; Robert Latta of Ohio; Pete Stauber of Minnesota; Matthew Rosendale of Maryland; Greg Steube of Florida; and Tom Tiffany of Wisconsin.

They are all Republicans, although any member of Congress is invited to join the caucus.

Importance of Border Patrol

“We are at war,” said Rep. Tony Gonzales (R-Texas) Tuesday during an announcement of the caucus. “Who are we at war with? China. China is attacking us with fentanyl. And they’re using our southern and northern border to do that. And who are the ones defending us? It’s our border patrol agents. Whether it’s the northern border or the southern border, our border patrol agents are the heroes that are helping keep this war at bay.”

Kelly said the U.S. borders are virtually unprotected and at some point, somebody has to do something about it.

“The numbers don’t lie: the Biden administration’s open-border policies have allowed for a surge in human and drug trafficking across the U.S.-Canadian border,” Kelly said in a press statement. “Over the last two years, every state has become a border state. I’ve spoken with border patrol officials in my home state of Pennsylvania who tell me they are pulling double duty—they are digitally processing migrants who are apprehended at the Southern border while now also trying to defend the Northern border. Migrants and smugglers are seeking alternative routes into the United States, and the Northern border is increasingly their first stop. Our goal is to provide commonsense, practical solutions that will increase security across all of America’s borders.”

The Epoch Times asked the Department of Homeland Security and U.S. Customs and Border Protection for comment.