Border Between U.S. and Canada is Secure, but Officials Stress Vigilance

They say all the tools are there to maintain safety.

PEMBINA, ND (KVRR) – Officials on both sides of this US – Canada border say it is very secure at present, but they’re keen to take proactive steps to keep it that way.

To that end – two new black hawk helicopters acquired by the Royal Canadian Mounted Police took to the skies on January 17th.

In a news release, the RCMP said that “they are being used to patrol, detect, and respond to both north and southbound threats at the Canada-U.S. border, ultimately preventing illegal crossings of people, goods and drugs.”

U.S. Attorney for the State of North Dakota Mac Schneider says he’s heartened to see the Canadians allocating extra funding for border security.

“We take border security very seriously here at the U.S. attorney’s office, and so do our partners, both federal and local,” he said.

Steve Wolski, Director of Canada Border Services, says he too was excited by the RCMP’s move.

“I think we are just now taking the opportunity to work together better and closer as one team,” he said.

As you would imagine, the United States’ border with Mexico gets much of the media’s and public’s attention, and for good reason.

Illegal border crossings there numbered over two million in 2024, while the northern border saw just under 200 thousand.

Still, those crossings dropped down south from 2023 to 2024, while rising slightly in the north over that same time frame.

Schneider says they want to make sure that isn’t a trend that continues.

Meanwhile, the preponderance of fentanyl remains a catastrophic issue in the United States – but the issue isn’t coming from up north.

Federal statistics show US border authorities seized 21,889 pounds of fentanyl in the 2024 fiscal year. Of that amount, 43 pounds were seized at the Canadian border — about 0.2%.

Wolski said he’s confident the border has been given the resources to ensure the problem does not grow in any appreciable capacity.

“We have the officers, we have the technology, we have the training, we do have the ability to respond to whatever the situation is,” he said

Schneider agrees, saying agencies from the states and Canada have good communication – and that he plans to ensure anyone caught conducting illegal activity faces the fullest punishment.

“If life is put in jeopardy, that could result in up to 20 years in prison, and if death does in fact result, that could lead to life in prison.”