Untitled Episode

Former DHS Spokeswoman Tricia McLaughlin is sounding the alarm on the serious national security risks created by Canada’s failures to secure its border with the United States. She breaks down how inadequate border controls in Canada are allowing dangerous individuals and threats to reach American soil. President Trump is now leveraging the USMCA trade deal to pressure Canada into strengthening border security. In this video, you’ll hear McLaughlin’s key warnings, the specific risks involved, and how the Trump administration plans to use trade negotiations to force real action on the northern border. 

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Transcript

SPEAKER_00 0:00

There are nearly fifty thousand students on foreign visas missing north of the border. I have a theory on where they may have disappeared to, and you're probably not going to like it. Indian smugglers have been running the same operation right under our nose. Or should I say, right over our heads. We research these networks for weeks. Instagram posts and TikToks. It's a copy and paste system from how cartels brought millions of people and billions worth of drugs in from the south. It's as simple as messaging the number from social media and arranging transport to the border. Most of the accounts advertise out of Montreal, which is located about an hour north of New York State in Quebec, a French province in Canada. He has a Chicago-based phone number, and I found him actually originally openly advertising human smuggling, basically operations, coming from Canada into the United States of America. So I shot him a text. We've been going back and forth, and he basically responded immediately and said that yes, we'll get you and your family smuggled into the United States of America. He believes I am coming with my wife and child at the moment. Not only that, he has also arranged me a job in Chicago that includes transportation. So I get a car, I get food, and I get a place to live full-time. So pretty, pretty wicked deal if you're an illegal immigrant, essentially just trying to cross into the United States of America. Everything is set and ready for you.

SPEAKER_01 1:55

It's absolutely shameful. That's Taylor Hansen reporting from Turning Point USA, the front lines division over there. And it's an incredible report that's now up on their X page. But folks, Taylor's he's highlighting something very, very important here, and that's how open our northern border is. Now, it's not, of course, our fault. The United States is doing its very best to protect it, but it's the fault of the Canadian government. They have left that border wide open, and so much has happened over these last few years. Now, in recent time, you probably may have seen this, a Pakistani national uh was actually accused of trying to plot an ISIS terror attack in New York City. He was actually looking to go after a Jewish community center in Brooklyn, New York. And well, he was looking to do so by traveling in through our northern border. And there's been several of these types of Islamic terrorist attacks, uh, the plots itself being carried out. And of course, it's happening because the Canadians are refusing to control the border. They're refusing to protect it. And so many people don't realize how much of an issue the northern border actually is. It's massive. When you take a look at the numbers as to how many suspected terrorists have been able to make their way, possibly into the United States, but they were intervened obviously by Border Patrol. That's what their goal was, it was to get into the US. Uh, the terrorist screening data set that was released by Border Patrol, when you look at these numbers, it's actually quite jaw-dropping. They're, of course, in the Biden years are very, very high, around 313 in 2022. That's fiscal year, fiscal year 2023, 484. And then the list goes on and on. But President Trump is trying to put an end to all of this, and he's trying to wrangle in the open northern border that we could blame this on Canada with. So it's just, it's not an easy battle. It really isn't an easy battle. But President Trump is doing his very best to put all the cards uh that he has in his deck at play here, joining me to discuss Trisha McLaughlin. She's a former DHS Assistant Secretary of Public Affairs. And uh, Trisha, it's great to have you on the show today because you and I have actually spoken about this previously. I don't understand how more people don't know about this. The northern border is very, very open. And it's not because of us. Uh our government tries its very best to close it down, but the Canadians aren't doing their part at all. So I kind of want you to walk us through the national security issue here with our northern border.

SPEAKER_02 4:13

Well, thank you for having me, and thank you for covering this because I think it is such a disservice to the American people that the media has largely ignored the perils at our northern border. And you're exactly right. That largely lies at the feet of Canada, who, particularly in their tribal lands, the tribal areas that go unpoliced by Canadian law enforcement. These are black holes for human smuggling, human trafficking, for fentanyl, for illicit drugs coming over the border, counterfeit cigarettes, uh really dangerous to the American people. And as you mentioned uh before as well, these are known uh cesspools for terrorists trying to come over to the United States. Very well known to Chinese state actors, to terrorists themselves, and to the cartels. They take advantage of these tribal lands that are black holes for law enforcement, and that's how they come over uh to the United States of America. And President Trump rightly, him and his administration recognize the danger that Canada turning a blind eye to their own border is for the United States. And so they're using the USMCA, uh, the trilateral uh trade negotiations between Canada, the United States, and Mexico. President Trump recognizes the economic might of the United States of America is great leverage. Our trading markets are great leverage. And so he's saying until you actually are a good neighbor, until you look out for your own border and hold these uh cartels and other organized crime groups accountable, you don't have access to our markets anymore.

SPEAKER_01 5:50

Yeah, and that's a big one. That's a big one. And President Trump actually uh is very aggressive on the issue and rightfully so. Now, obviously, it's great to have good neighbors and to have a trade deal in effect. So this is important for us, I think, too. But he's mainly saying this in a negotiation chip here, that you guys need us more than we need you. And I think that's really important here in that element. So, how does the president play this card to kind of force Canada to control and to secure the northern border?

SPEAKER_02 6:17

Well, it's that market access. I mean, whether it be alcohol or hockey sticks, that's a huge market that the Canadians uh won't have as much access to without those tariffs. Um, I'm optimistic, not just about these negotiations, but the larger, larger trade negotiations and really using that market access, our economic might, as a cudgel to make sure we have the national security for the American people. Um, it is unbelievable that for the last few years, almost 400 known or suspected terrorists have tried to enter this country for through the northern border. And yet, where are our our neighbors, our neighbors in the north completely turning a blind eye, criticizing our domestic immigration policy at every single turn? And President Trump has finally said, enough's enough. And it doesn't look like they have a seat currently at the table for those USMCA negotiations. Right now, it's just bilateral between us and Mexico.

SPEAKER_01 7:14

Yeah, and Trisha, I want to go over how do we secure this as well on our front. Like how do we cover for what the Canadians have done to us? I've heard rumors and I have not actually traveled up there, so I'm not very familiar with it, but it's up to a lot of the local sheriffs in these counties to try to provide that level of security. Is there any background on that that you might know as to how these local sheriffs are doing just that and protecting the border?

SPEAKER_02 7:34

Yeah, I know when I was at the Department of Homeland Security, we were trying to create a framework beyond uh, of course, the law itself, but as well as actually using a blueprint to make sure that there's a more uniformed approach across the border, especially when it comes to resource allocation. What we were seeing was a lot of the northern border uh border patrol agents were getting the same equipment or similar resources to those that were at the southern border. Of course, you need snow equipment, you need chains for your attires. It's logistically a completely different game. The cartels know that. The terrorists and bad actors who are trying to come over to the United States know that. So a big mission for the Department of Homeland Security is making sure those resources themselves are getting to the northern border and our border patrol agents too. But also, I mean, the work you're doing, shining a light to this fact that this is a danger and Canada needs to be held accountable and that the United States has to be on high alert. We can't rest on our laurels at the borders closed.

SPEAKER_01 8:38

Yeah, no, we can't, we can't. And just one more final thought from you and all of this. If you're advising Canada right now, what advice would you have for them? Because obviously the deal expired last month, and uh they are very willing and ready to make a deal with President Trump. So, what would be your advice for them?

SPEAKER_02 8:52

Uh President Trump is quite the deal maker, and I think it's in Canada's best national security interest to really be a true partner to the United States of America, uh, not just for their economic interest, not just to have access to this trillion dollar market. Uh, but uh, you know, when the United States is safe, the rest of the world is safe, and that includes Canada.

SPEAKER_01 9:14

Yes, it does. It does. Trisha McLaughlin, thank you. As always, we greatly appreciate your time. So thank you.

SPEAKER_02 9:20

Thank you.