Dozens of Republican lawmakers Tuesday asked Secretary of Homeland Security Alejandro Mayorkas to address a "growing threat to our national security" at the United States-Canada border.
In a letter obtained by The Daily Caller, 25 House members — including Reps. Ryan Zinke, R-Mont., Elise Stefanik, R-N.Y., and Nicole Malliotakis, R-N.Y. — aired their "serious concern" about the increase in northern border encounters, "along with spikes in drug smuggling and lack of U.S. Border Patrol agent staffing."
The GOP lawmakers wrote: "Now, your refusal to address these crisis has left America's northern border communities, from Alaska to Maine, along the world's longest international border, at the forefront of a growing threat to our national security."
As one example, The Daily Caller reports the U.S.-Canada border's Swanton sector, covering parts of New York and Vermont, has recently had a nearly 900% increase in migrant encounters.
At the southern border, the alarming stream of migrant encounters includes more than 2.3 million in fiscal year 2022.
"As winter turns to spring, we are deeply concerned the northern Border Patrol agents will be even more overwhelmed, under-resourced, and under-manned," the lawmakers added.
Also, The Daily Caller reports that border officials said the federal government has shifted its resources to address the growing migrant encounters — including pulling Border Patrol agents from the north — to help process illegal migrants at the southern border.
"These surges in border encounters and drug smuggling coupled with a shortage of Border Patrol agents and lack of security measures place America's northern border at serious risk," the lawmakers wrote.
They continued: "We ask that you provide a full account 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."
Fran Beyer ✉
Fran Beyer is a writer with Newsmax and covers national politics.
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