The White House said this week that there have been “successes” at the Canada-U.S. border with only 54 people apprehended last month in the Swanton Sector of the northern border – which includes areas of New Hampshire, Vermont and New York – a 95% drop since March 2024.
White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said the area is a “main hot spot” that recorded more than 80% of all apprehensions along the northern border during the 2024 fiscal year.
“Thanks to President Trump, operational control of the border is becoming a reality and the administration’s historic measures are yielding huge results,” Leavitt told a press briefing earlier in the week.
Trump has cited the flow of people and fentanyl across the border as the reason for threatening Canada with steep tariffs.
Trump signed an executive order declaring an emergency at the northern border and in March went ahead with the economy-wide duties against Canada, only to partially pause the levies a few days later for imports compliant with the Canada-U.S.-Mexico Agreement on trade, called CUSMA.
Then-prime minister Justin Trudeau responded to Trump’s concerns with boosted border protections late last year. More helicopters and drones were launched, and additional officers were tasked with guarding the border. Canada named a new “fentanyl czar,” listed Mexican cartels as terrorist groups and launched a Canada-U.S. joint strike force to combat crime.
It’s likely that no action by Canada would have stopped Trump from imposing steep tariffs, given the fact that U.S. Customs and Border Protection data shows only a tiny volume of fentanyl is seized at the northern border.
Prime Minister Mark Carney, who spoke with Trump by phone late last month, has said the president agreed to begin negotiations on a new economic and security agreement after Canada’s election.
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