Buffalo, N.Y. (WBEN) - U.S. Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand has announced a new bipartisan bill that would strengthen security at the U.S.-Canada Border.
The Northern Border Security Enhancement and Review Act would help ensure Customs and Border Protection has the necessary data to address trafficking operations that continue to grow.
"There's a human smuggling industry flourishing along our Northern border. Officials suspects that many of the smugglers are linked to Mexican cartels and US based organized crime at the same time when, while they smuggle migrants south, they are trafficking guns and drugs from the United States into Canada," said Gillibrand on Wednesday. "These bad actors are exploiting and taking advantage of the vulnerable. We must take action to stop it."
Gillibrand stated officials reported around 190,000 encounters in 2023, and arrests of migrants illegally crossing into the U.S. from Canada jumped 241% from 2022-2023.
"The communities along our northern border simply aren't equipped to handle this level of migration. While we still have a lot fewer migrants crossing our Northern border than our Southern border, the problem has been compounded by the fact the Department of Homeland Security hasn't updated its northern border strategy since 2018," Gillibrand said. "We desperately need to make Sure local Customs and Border Protection officers have the resources and funding that they need to respond effectively to these changing migrant patterns."
The bill would require:
- A Northern Border Threat Analysis to be completed every three years;
- The analysis include an assessment of recent changes in the number and demographics of apprehensions at the Northern border;
- The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Northern Border Strategy be updated within 90 days of the completion of the threat analysis, and have DHS brief Congress within 30 days.