Canada’s sparsely protected border with the United States may be used by terrorists to sneak into the United States, according to a report by the National.
During the first six months of 2018, forty-one people on the Terrorist Screening Database were stopped trying to cross from Canada into the United States, compared to just six trying to cross from Mexico.
Canada’s border with the United States is largely unguarded. Waves of illegal border crossers from the United States have crossed into Canada in recent years, revealing just how porous Canada’s only land border is.
Some of America’s most famous terrorist plots or successful attacks have come at the hands of Canadian citizens.
In 2017 Amor Ftouhi, a Tunisian-Canadian living in Montreal slashed a police officer’s throat in the Flint, Michigan airport. He reportedly searched for “gay clubs” in the area on his phone before the attack.
America prosecutors are seeking a life sentence for Ftouhi, meanwhile, his lawyers have argued that alleged Islamophobia in Quebec is what radicalized him.
Another man, Abdulrahman El-Bahnasawy, a Kuwaiti who lived in Mississauga, was charged for trying to plant bombs in New York’s Time Square and subway.
Individuals south of the border appear to be actively working with extremists residing in Canada.
In January, RCMP arrested a minor and charged him with terrorism-related offences after police raids found explosive substances in Kingston.
RCMP revealed afterwards that they started investigating the minor after receiving a tip from the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) in the US, suggesting a cross-border conspiracy.
As Canadian ISIS fighters from the Middle East trickle back into Canada, it has been predicted that many will take part in sleeper cells and new terrorists groups to continue the fight at home.
With dozens of terrorists trying to enter the US through Canada, and dozens more ISIS fighters potentially arriving in Canada shortly, Canada risks becoming a considerable security concern for the United States.
