The border crisis in the United States is not simply about allowing individuals to enter the country illegally; it’s about national security and terrorism. In 2023 alone, roughly 300 suspected terrorists have been apprehended attempting to cross the border, according to newly reported Customs and Border Patrol (CBP) data. That terrifying number is of apprehensions, meaning an unknown number of terrorists may have been successful in evading border patrol.

28 members of Congress have recently formed an entirely new caucus in order to address the increasing crisis at the northern border, “where record numbers of foreign nationals continue to illegally enter from Canada” reports The Center Square.

The Northern Border Security Caucus, formed by Republican Representatives Mike Kelly of Pennsylvania, and Ryan Zinke of Montana. The congressmen have expressed substantial concerns about “the increased human and drug trafficking, along with the decrease in Border Patrol agents and lack of security, along the U.S.-Canada border.”

In a letter sent to Department of Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas, caucus members said the “surges in border encounters and drug smuggling coupled with the shortage of Border Patrol agents and lack of security measures place America’s northern border at serious risk.”

The letter also noted the record numbers of illegal entries along the northern border, including record apprehensions in Vermont and upstate New York. Additionally, reported deaths have been on the rise in northwest Minnesota.

Calling on Mayorkas to secure the border, the caucus warns that Border Patrol staffing at the northern border has remained flat since fiscal 2009, hovering around 2,000 agents tasked with patrolling some of the most difficult terrain. Despite being short-staffed, they recorded a 596% increase in drug seizures in fiscal 2022 from fiscal 2021. Since January 2021, they’re apprehensions have increased by a record 1,498%, the caucus says.