In a Sunday appearance on Fox News, Kash Patel — Trump administration official and FBI director —blasted Canada for what he described as a failure to curb the cross-border flow of fentanyl into the United States. Patel urged Canadian authorities to “get to steppin’,” accusing them of overlooking a growing threat at the northern border.
The remarks, made during an interview with Sunday Morning Futures host Maria Bartiromo, come amid a broader discussion about U.S. border vulnerabilities and national security. Patel linked the fentanyl crisis to foreign adversaries, stating that countries like China and Russia are partnering with criminal networks to exploit border gaps. “So, where’s all the fentanyl and trafficking coming from still? Where are all the narco-traffickers going to keep bringing this stuff into the country? The Northern Border,” he stated. (RELATED: Top Trump Official Refutes Long-Held Right-Wing Theory)
The Northern Border: A Political Flashpoint
Patel cited a striking statistic — claiming 85% of known or suspected terrorists entered the U.S. via Canada last year. He further asserted that 100 such individuals have crossed in 2025 alone, with 64 coming through the northern route. Bartiromo reacted with surprise, reflecting growing political interest in reframing the northern border as a critical weak point.
However, a closer look at available data provides a more complete picture. While concerns about northern border security are valid, they remain proportionally small. According to U.S. Customs and Border Protection, fentanyl seizures along the U.S.-Canada border accounted for just 0.2% of the nationwide total. By contrast, activity at the southern border has declined significantly — fentanyl confiscations dropped by 54% in March 2025, following the Trump administration’s implementation of stricter immigration and anti-smuggling policies.
The U.S.-Canada border has recently registered more encounters with individuals on the terror watchlist than the U.S.-Mexico border. In 2023, for instance, U.S. Customs and Border Protection recorded more than 430 watchlist hits along the northern border. By contrast, the southern border experiences significantly higher volumes of unauthorized migration and illegal crossings, making it a greater focus of national security concerns.
Geopolitics, Drug Networks, and Rhetoric
Patel’s broader argument — tying foreign powers to America’s drug crisis — is not without merit. China has long been implicated in supplying chemical precursors for fentanyl production. But Mexican cartels remain the dominant force in smuggling finished fentanyl into the U.S., primarily via the southern border using ports of entry, tunnels, and human couriers. (RELATED: Foreign Power Tied To Drug Cartel Finances — Report Reveals All)
His commentary follows a familiar pattern in Republican circles that seeks to expand scrutiny beyond the U.S.-Mexico border. President Trump has previously floated controversial ideas, including imposing tariffs on Canadian goods and even suggesting that Canada be treated as America’s “51st state” in the context of security cooperation.
Canada Pushes Back
Newly sworn-in Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney has rejected Patel’s accusations. His office emphasized Canada’s commitment to border security, highlighting recent investments in drone surveillance and expanded staffing at the Canada Border Services Agency.
The exchange highlights a growing political fault line over how best to address the opioid crisis and secure America’s borders. While Patel’s rhetoric may resonate with those advocating for increased northern oversight, data indicates that the southern border remains the primary front in the fight against fentanyl trafficking and illegal crossings — despite growing cooperation between Mexico and the Trump administration.
As both nations face mounting pressure to respond, the challenge will be separating actionable threats from political theater and keeping the focus on solutions backed by evidence.
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If its criminal drug or terrorism that is gathering and then crossing into the USA, legal or not, we should have a strike force that finds them and makes a smoking hole out of them. If other nations such as our neighbors of Canada or Mexico cannot stop them, then we should step in and help them, by making smoking holes where they use to be. I am talking about some weapon that just vaporizes the area such as an air dropped weapon capable of surgerically leveling everything and killing any one within a radius of say 100 feet around ground zero. Both Canadian and Mexican goverments should welcome such weapons to get rid of their out of control criminals.