Montana lawmakers call for tighter security on the northern border

Apr. 10—Concerned about a surge in immigration along the northern border, Montana lawmakers are pushing the Biden administration to tighten security.

Federal agents working along the 5,525-mile border with Canada reported 189,402 encounters with migrants in fiscal year 2023, according to U.S. Customs and Border Patrol. That's up from 27,180 interactions on the northern border in fiscal year 2021.

In Montana, border patrol agents encountered 8,152 migrants in fiscal year 2023, up from 866 in 2021.

"The fact is President Biden has all the legal authority required to fix the crisis at both of our borders, yet he refuses to end the crisis because it's being done by design. I have made it crystal clear to [Department of Homeland Security] Secretary Mayorkas twice now that the northern border cannot be ignored," U.S. Rep. Ryan Zinke, a leader of the effort to spur action by the Biden administration and the co-chair of the Northern Border Security Caucus, said in a statement last week.

In a March 25 letter signed by 22 members of Congress, including Montana Republican Reps. Zinke and Matt Rosendale, lawmakers asked Mayorkas how the department plans on addressing the issue, what policies it will implement and what resources will be allocated to the northern border.

The letter coincides with increased attention on the southern border, where border encounters have increased dramatically over the past couple of years, totaling 2.4 million in fiscal year 2023. Interactions with migrants at the southern border hit an all time high as 2023 came to an end, with more than 250,000 encounters reported in December alone.

Many state and federal lawmakers say the effects of illegal immigration — from both borders — is felt across the state.

"Montana communities are confronting more cartel-driven crime and drugs," said Kaitlin Price, spokesperson for Republican Gov. Greg Gianforte. "The governor believes Joe Biden has failed to secure our nation's borders and drug cartels and human traffickers are taking full advantage of the situation as a result."

Zinke echoed that assessment, adding that malignant actors were also looking to the northern border.

"The Biden administration systematically broke down border security in the south, flooded criminals and drugs that infiltrated our country, and now those cartels are looking to the wide-open north as an easy way in," Zinke said.

Numbers of encounters on the northern border may have increased, but officials working the border say they are not being overwhelmed.

A spokesperson for U.S. Customs and Border Patrol told the Daily Inter Lake that "Montana has not experienced a significant increase in apprehensions. There was a slight spike in October 2023, but those numbers have leveled off and are consistent with prior months."

The reported numbers on the northern border, according to Customs and Border Patrol, are negligible when put into broader context, particularly when compared to the southern border.

"[Border Patrol] continuously adjusts to shifting trends while continuing to call on Congress to provide the resources and personnel necessary to sustain and improve our border security," agency officials said.

WHILE NATIONAL concern is focused on migrant crossings on the southern border, which has emerged as a potent election cycle issue, lax security at the northern border poses risks as well, including facilitating the spread of drugs and crime, lawmakers say.

The rise of fentanyl, a synthetic opioid, in Montana has underscored the need to address immigration, according to U.S. Sen. Jon Tester, a Democrat.

"It is critical for our national security that we know who is entering our country, and that starts with ensuring our Border Patrol agents and men and women in law enforcement have the resources they need to secure both our northern and southern borders and stop the deadly flow of fentanyl coming into Montana communities," Tester said in a statement.

The illegal drug trade is also a concern for Gianforte, who took a trip to the southern border in February with 12 other GOP governors.

Monica Tranel, a Democrat running against Zinke for the state's western House district, similarly expressed concerns about illegal drugs flowing across the northern border. She pointed toward the Senate's bipartisan border security bill, which died earlier this year, as an example of good policies to implement on the border.

That bill, hammered out by negotiators from both parties but scuttled after former President Donald Trump came out in opposition, would have given the Biden administration emergency powers to shut down the border during surges of immigration. It included $20 billion for additional enforcement along the border, paying for thousands of more asylum officers and border patrol agents as well as hundreds of new asylum judges.

It also would have made it more difficult for migrants to apply for asylum if they crowded the border and it would have added new standards to qualify for asylum.

The legislation also included thousands more family-based and employment-based visas.

Tanner Smith, a Republican running against Gianforte for governor, argued that the northern border is "equally as porous as our southern border."

If the federal government is unable or unwilling to enforce laws intended to secure the border, then the state must step in, he said.

Tim Sheehy, a Republican businessman looking to unseat Tester come November, said that it is time to secure America by "removing incentives for illegal immigration, finishing the wall, and making it very clear that America won't tolerate this invasion."

Sid Daoud, a Libertarian running for Tester's Senate seat, said that all borders need more consistency in how they operate. Immigration reform is needed across the board, he said.

Mayorkas did not respond to requests for comment.