Increase in Illegal Border Crossings in Northern US Linked to Indian Nationals with Misused Canadian Visas

December 18, 2024 TruthUSA

The largest group of foreign nationals crossing the border illegally from Canada to the United States are from India, with a distant second being Chinese nationals. Federal authorities say in many cases the foreign nationals have used “improperly” obtained visas to enter Canada before attempting to cross into the United States illegally.

Immigration Canada says it has taken measures to stem the abuse, which it says resulted in a marked drop of Canadian visa holders being intercepted south of the border.

“Canada has seen an increase in exploitation of its visitor visas,” Immigration Canada spokesperson Remi Lariviere told The Epoch Times in a statement.

Immigration Minister Marc Miller told CPAC on Dec. 17 foreign nationals have been using tourist visas to Canada to then make their way south to the United States.

Issues like illegal crossings have come into sharper focus in recent weeks since U.S. President-elect Donald Trump threatened to impose a 25 percent tariff on Canada and Mexico if they don’t bolster border security and tackle drug trafficking.

Trump’s main concern has been with what he calls the “invasion” at the southern border, promising the largest “mass deportation” in U.S. history in response. But the U.S. northern border has some distinct characteristics, with border agents stopping considerably more individuals on a U.S. terror watchlist.

Fiscal year 2024 saw 358 such encounters with watch-listed individuals compared to 52 at the southern border, according to data from the U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP). An encounter refers to U.S. Border Patrol intercepting a “removable noncitizen.”

Canada has also been the more favoured route by Indian nationals seeking to enter the United States illegally. CBP noted 43,764 encounters with Indian nationals at the northern border in the last fiscal year, compared to 25,616 at the border with Mexico.

The number of CBP encounters with Indian nationals at the northern border far surpasses any other group, with Canadian nationals coming in second at 36,089. The third largest cohort, or second foreign national group, is Chinese nationals at 12,414.

Springboard

Federal authorities have known for at least a year that Indian nationals have used the Canadian visa system as a springboard to cross into the United States.

An intelligence document from the Canadian Border Services Agency (CBSA) distributed in December 2023 to other government entities such as Immigration Canada and the RCMP highlighted the phenomenon.

“Indian nationals have increasingly exploited improperly obtained genuine TRV’s [Temporary Resident Visas] in order to travel to Canada and are known to use the services of human smugglers,” said the border agency.

Immigration Canada, which is responsible for issuing visas, told The Epoch Times the temporary resident program was previously considered “low-risk” but is now being assessed as “higher-risk.” This is due to the “growing number of conflicts and crises, increased abuse and fraud, and increased organized smuggling,” said Lariviere.

“As soon as we learned of this abuse of our system, including the impact to our shared border with the U.S., we took action,” he said.

This led to a decrease of 84 percent in illegal crossings into the U.S. from Canadian visa holders since June 2024, said Larriviere.

“Indian nationals were the highest cohort of illegal entry into the U.S., and that number has also decreased significantly thanks to our quick action,” he said.

The Epoch Times contacted CBP for comment but a response was not provided.

Numbers from CBP show that encounters of Indian nationals peaked in June at 5,071 and dropped to 4,577 in July and 4,216 in August.

More Refusals

Immigration Canada also said visa requests from unspecified countries where there is more abuse have been met with 61 percent more refusals since more scrutiny is being applied by the department.

The department has not provided specific information on how Indian nationals were able to “improperly” obtain genuine visas to come to Canada, but said its agents are trained to detect fraud.

“It is up to the applicant to verify all the information in their application is true and correct, which also means coming to Canada to do what they say they are here to do,” said Lariviere.

CBSA President Erin O’Gorman testified at the House of Commons public safety committee on Dec. 12 and was asked how the flow of individuals crossing illegally into the United States can be mitigated.

She said actions by Immigration Canada to re-impose a partial visa on Mexican nationals, to tighten visa requirements, and to end an unspecified temporary public policy for temporary resident visas have “all had a material impact.”

Canada changed visa requirements for Mexicans in February due to increased asylum claims. This nearly halved the number of encounters of Mexican nationals by CBP at the northern border in March and led to a steady decrease in the following months.

Canadian authorities have been under increased pressure to bolster the border ahead of Trump’s inauguration on Jan. 20.

Ottawa presented its new border security plan on Dec. 17, which includes proposing legislative changes to strengthen authorities to cancel, change, or suspend immigration documents like visas.

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