ICYMI: CBP, ICE, GAO Highlight OBBBA, Secure America Act Funding and Outline Northern Border Security Challenges

WASHINGTON, D.C. -- This week, the Subcommittee on Border Security and Enforcement and the Subcommittee on Counterterrorism and Intelligence convened a joint hearing to examine the unique security challenges posed by the Northern border, including its vast geography, remote terrain, and longstanding gaps in personnel, technology, and infrastructure. The contiguous U.S.-Canada border is the longest shared land border in the world, spanning nearly 4,000 miles. The eight Northern border sectors secured by the U.S. Border Patrol each face distinct operational challenges due to the unique landscape along the Northern border, with three of the eight sectors responsible for maritime conditions along the Great Lakes.

Witness testimony was provided by Jason Schneider, Acting Deputy Chief of U.S. Border Patrol at U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP); Chris Holtzer, Executive Director of Operations for CBP's Office of Field Operations; Michael J. Krol, Assistant Director for Domestic Operations for Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) at U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE); and Heather MacLeod, Director of Homeland Security and Justice at the U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO).

Throughout the hearing, witnesses praised the critical investments made by congressional Republicans through the "One Big Beautiful Bill Act " and the "Secure America Act" to help bolster the Department of Homeland Security's (DHS) border security mission. With the Trump administration's historic success in securing the Southwest border, witnesses warned that transnational criminal networks and other bad actors are increasingly looking for ways to exploit vulnerabilities at the Northern border to facilitate human smuggling, drug trafficking, and other illicit operations across North America.

In his opening statement, Subcommittee on Border Security and Enforcement Chairman Michael Guest (R-MS) discussed the Trump administration's progress in securing the Southwest border following four years of open-border policies under the Biden-Harris administration, and underscored the need for increased operational awareness and security along the Northern border.

"The sustained decline in illegal crossings and apprehensions over the past year and a half are unlike anything we have seen in three decades. In May, the U.S. Border Patrol apprehensions along the Southwest Border were 94% lower than the monthly average of the Biden-Harris administration."

"But, as illegal crossings have declined, transnational criminal organizations have been forced to shift away from their traditional smuggling routes. The cartels exploit vulnerabilities wherever they may exist. They take advantage of potential security gaps that allow them to traffic illegal drugs, to smuggle humans, weapons, or other contraband. We cannot allow the Northern border to become the next preferred corridor for these criminal networks. And yet, Customs and Border Protection data has shown that over the last year, illegal crossings have begun to shift north."

"As such, security along the Northern border has improved considerably over the past decade. The Department of Homeland Security has deployed additional surveillance capabilities, strengthened Air and Marine Operations, enhanced intelligence gathering and sharing, and increased coordination with Homeland Security Investigations and other federal, state, local, and tribal partners. These investments have improved situational awareness along one of the world's longest international borders. Even with these investments, significant challenges remain, and Congress has a continued responsibility to ensure that border security is guided by measurable performance, modern technology, and a comprehensive strategy that addresses threats across all domains."

In his opening statement, Subcommittee on Counterterrorism and Intelligence Chairman August Pfluger (R-TX) called on Congress to broaden its understanding of counterterrorism vulnerabilities along the Northern border. As the U.S. hosts multiple international events, Subcommittee Chairman Pfluger discussed the importance of proactively addressing emerging threats:

"Amid major international events taking place this summer, including the World Cup happening right now, the stakes are even higher. Larger scale global gatherings--especially those with a cross-border nexus--create attractive targets for hostile actors. It is imperative that we strengthen our posture and close gaps that could be exploited during these [periods of] heightened international attention and events."

"We know that terrorist organizations rely on complex methods to move people, money, and prohibited materials across borders. Yet our current posture does not fully account for how these methods intersect with vulnerabilities along the Northern border."

"Today's hearing is about being proactive. It is about recognizing emerging threats, acknowledging where our defenses fall short, and ensuring that federal law enforcement has the support, coordination, and resources needed to keep our country safe. As cartels, transnational criminal organizations, and violent extremist groups look North for new pathways to exploit, we must ensure that the Northern border is prepared for the challenges ahead."

Subcommittee Chairman Guest thanked the men and women at DHS for their work to secure the border:

"First, to our witnesses, we want to thank you for the incredible job that you've done. The men and women at CBP, at DHS, at HSI, what you have accomplished over the last 18 months can be described as nothing more than miraculous. We have seen what I believe is a dramatic change in the carrying out of the law… We have seen numbers of encounters drop dramatically. We have seen increases in seizures. And I believe that today America is safer and that we are more secure than at any time in our nation's history."

Subcommittee Chairman Guest asked about CBP's personnel needs along the Northern border, to which Acting Deputy Chief Schnieder testified:

"We're making history as we speak. Last year alone, we had 86,000 U.S. citizens apply to become a Border Patrol agent. This fiscal year, 60,000 in the pipeline. We currently have 7,000 in the pre-employment pipeline and 2,000 Border Patrol agents at the Border Patrol Academy right now, and a lot of those will be going to the Northern border. We have not lowered our standards. We have adjusted the schedules at the U.S. Border Patrol Academy, and we're at two shifts. So, it's good news for us. Our goal is to have 3,500 Border Patrol agents assigned to the Northern border in the very near future."

Subcommittee Chairman Guest also asked whether the Northern border is secure, to which Acting Deputy Chief Schnieder testified:

"We're getting there, though, sir. We are implementing a holistic approach to include increased staffing, infrastructure, technology. We're close… I think we have a good understanding. We do not have 100% situational awareness along the 5,500 miles on the Northern border, but our agents are out there every day working hard, leveraging technology, [and] leveraging our partnerships with local, state, and federal, and our Canadian partners."

Subcommittee Chairman Pfluger asked how congressional Republicans' budget reconciliation measures have helped President Trump successfully carry out his border security mandate, to which Ms. MacLeod testified:

"I think the reconciliation funding from the One Big Beautiful Bill and the Secure America Act provided a great opportunity for these DHS components to increase their staffing levels, upgrade facilities, and increase their surveillance technology, for sure."

Subcommittee Chairman Pfluger also asked about the critical role of HSI in combating child abuse and exploitation at the borders and in the country, to which Mr. Krol testified:

"HSI special agents are at the forefront of this fight to protect our children. Emerging technologies, you know, we know that child exploitation violators are early adopters of some of the most prolific technology there is. We work every day with our partners from ICAC [Internet Crimes Against Children] task forces across the country. We have our cybercrime center, which is a world leader in that, working with our domestic and international partners to take the fight to global networks that proliferate such abuse."

Subcommittee on Oversight, Investigations, and Accountability Chairman Josh Brecheen (R-OK) asked about the threat of criminal illegal aliens from adversarial nations exploiting security vulnerabilities at the Northern border, to which Acting Deputy Chief Schneider and Mr. Krol testified:

Acting Deputy Chief Schneider: "The Chinese national threat along the Northern border has drastically reduced because we have more agents out there on the patrol now. Like I talked about, 85% of our Border Patrol agents are actually out doing physical patrols. So, we're not encountering those subjects. A little bit on the Southwest border, but not to the extent that we were along the Northern border during the previous administration."

Mr. Krol: "Chinese nationals deploy a little bit more sophisticated approach than most, whereas they're using visa fraud and other efforts to try to enter the United States, which would normally be through a port of entry. HSI uses our visa security program and other affiliations and partnerships with FBI, Department of State, and others to make sure that we're pushing those borders out so we identify those that are a threat to the United States and stop them before they enter the United States."

Rep. Sheri Biggs (R-SC) asked about the unique environmental and operational challenges of securing the U.S.-Canada border, to which Acting Deputy Chief Schneider and Mr. Holtzer testified:

Acting Deputy Chief Schneider: "I would like to say thank you for the funding, because that is absolutely going to help us address our deficiencies along the Northern border. We have a holistic, technological, national strategy to address our deficiencies on the Northern border. We're leveraging autonomous technology that's going to free up our agents from monitoring cameras in stations. Our agents will be out there. We're going to have additional technology, SUAS technology, counter-UAS technology to address the adversarial threat… We also have a plan, modeled very much like what we're doing along the southwest border. We are going to, in certain locations, high-threat locations, we're going to erect some type of infrastructure. And whether it's a pile of rocks or some type of barrier to address the constant threat of vehicles driving across the Northern border. We're also going to increase our staffing along with the technology that I spoke about."

Mr. Holtzer: "To Chief's point, the increase in technology on the Northern border with non-intrusive scanning equipment is phenomenal. Adding to that, additional officers to be able to adjudicate those scans as we work to increase those scan rates would be extremely helpful."

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