Trump Admin to Focus More on Northern Border Security Over Next 2 Years: Homan

White House border czar Tom Homan plans to put more focus on security at the northern border during the last two years of President Donald Trump’s administration.

In an interview airing on Sept. 26, Homan told Epoch Times senior editor Jan Jekielek that the U.S.–Canada border is a national security vulnerability and could receive greater attention after the administration beefed up security on the border with Mexico.

“The next two years, I’m really concentrating on the northern border,” he said. “The southern border is the highest security we’ve ever had.”

Homan said: “Now that we have the money and the time … I think we need to dedicate more resources to the northern border, whether it’s manpower, technology, [or] infrastructure.”

U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) recorded 563 total apprehensions along the northern border in August and 586 in July.

The United States and Canada share more than 5,500 miles of border.

Homan said that security at the northern border has not been ignored, but that the Trump administration concentrated its efforts on the southern border because “you send the firemen where the biggest fire is.”

Last month, CBP announced that daily apprehensions at the southern border were 94 percent lower than under the Biden administration.

Noting a pattern of decline in illegal border crossings and apprehensions, CBP said the border was “more secure than at any point in history.”

Homan told Jekielek that since the southern border is now under control, the administration needs to begin “amping up the northern border,” which he described as a “huge national security vulnerability.”

“Canada’s immigration laws are very lax,” he said. “[It] doesn’t take a lot to get into Canada.”

Citing intelligence reports and personal experience, Homan said national security threats can enter Canada and then cross into the United States a lot easier than directly entering the United States.

Homan also said that drug trafficking along the northern border is another issue for both the United States and Canada.

The U.S. government has been working with Indian reservations on the American side of the border to increase drug enforcement, which he said was a problem.

The White House border czar suggested that cooperation with Canada is “one of the biggest things” needed for effective security along the northern border.

“I think the United States and Canada both want … [to] shut down cross-border crime because it’s not good for either country,” he said.

“I think we’re both concerned with shutting down the criminal element, shutting down the drugs, and illegal immigration, especially those who pose a threat to our nations.”

Homan told Jekielek that he visited all the northern border sectors over the past three months and that the individual areas have different requests for security improvements.

They included additional boots on the ground, technology, drones, air assets, infrastructure, and barriers, he said.

The U.S. House of Representatives passed the Northern Border Security Enhancement and Review Act on Sept. 16.

The bill would require the Department of Homeland Security to assess northern border threats, update the department’s northern border strategy, and provide relevant oversight information to Congress.

It would also require CBP’s Air and Marine Operations to develop performance measures regarding efforts to secure the border between ports of entry.