Lawmakers are shifting some of their focus on border security to the north, aiming to control the growing migration problems along the U.S.-Canada border.

The Senate this summer passed bipartisan legislation with the Northern Border Coordination Act that would allow the hiring of additional Border Patrol agents for understaffed areas along the northern border, The Idaho Capital Sun reported.

The bill, co-authored by Sens. Susan Collins, R-Maine, and Gary Peters, D-Mich., also calls to establish the Northern Border Coordination Center at Selfridge Air National Guard Base near Detroit. 

The measure passed the Senate by unanimous consent, but the Republican-controlled House has not yet acted on the legislation. 

The northern border spans about 5,500 miles, making it the world’s largest international border. It is divided into eight patrol sectors and has 49 official border crossing stations, but much of the border is not defended. 

In many places, the border is marked by a 6-feet clearing and white markers, if not by natural boundaries like streams and lakes. 

While much of the immigration news focuses on the nation’s border with Mexico, U.S. Customs and Border Protection last year encountered nearly 190,000 migrants trying to come from Canada into the U.S.

The numbers aren’t as high as they are on the border, where CBP encountered nearly 2.5 million people trying to enter the U.S. in 2023. 

Most of the people coming from the north are entering through the Swanton Sector, which includes the borders of Vermont, New Hampshire, and New York. CBP reports that it saw a 550% increase between October 2022 and September 2023 in migrants coming in from Quebec to the Swanton Sector.

Most of those coming across the northern border, however, are not from Canada. About half comes from Mexico, with others from India, Bangladesh, and Haiti. Many buy one-way plane tickets into the Canadian cities of Montreal or Toronto, with experts saying that the increased movement may be a result of smuggling cartel activity.

Canada has taken action in hopes of stemming some of the travel. In February, the country changed its visa rule for Mexican nationals, requiring them to have a Canadian or U.S. travel visa before they enter Canada. In the past, the migrants did not need a visa. 

Canada has been seeing a huge increase of Mexicans trying to claim asylum. In 2023, almost 24,000 people applied, whereas in 2015, only 110 sought asylum. 

Most of them are filing their claims from airport offices, Canadian immigration officials report.

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