A “quiet crisis” is developing along the border between the United States and Canada as one expert suggests using cutting-edge technologies like artificial intelligence as an unorthodox way to combat people smuggling.
According to Jon Brewton, the founder and CEO of Data2 and a veteran of the U.S. Air Force, while the country’s southern border receives most of the attention, a more worrisome situation is developing at the country’s northern frontier.
“U.S. Customs and Border Patrol has seen a fairly alarming increase in illegal crossings, drug trafficking, and even encountering individuals on the terrorist watch list,” he stated. “And as difficult as securing the southern border has been, the northern border is twice as long.”
Officials have been warning for years that there has been an uptick in illegal crossings at the northern border, even though the great bulk of these occur at the southern border.
Based on the figures
Last week, FBI Director Kash Patel testified before the House Intelligence Committee that rivals like China and Russia have begun to target the northern U.S. border with Canada.
“The enemy adapts,” stated Patel.
Since assuming office in January, the Trump administration has been responsible for a significant change along the southern U.S. border, with the number of interactions recorded by U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) falling by 90% in most sectors when compared to the same period last year.
To halt the deteriorating immigration crisis at the southern border, the administration has pumped in resources.
Following record-breaking numbers of illegal crossings during the four years of the Biden administration—a trend that also saw a sharp rise in attempts by immigrants from outside North and Latin America to cross—there was an abrupt pause.
According to CBP data, Chinese people were among the most likely to attempt illegal crossings; in 2023, over 24,000 crossings from Chinese residents occurred, a more than 5,200% increase over the 450 encounters just a year earlier.
Patel informed legislators that around 178,000 Chinese nationals tried to enter the southern border between 2022 and 2025.
More apprehensions occurred in the most recent fiscal year than in the preceding 13 years combined in CBP’s Swanton Sector, which includes all of Vermont and portions of upstate New York and New Hampshire and extends 295 miles along the Canadian border.
In the ten months of fiscal year 2024, the sector experienced 15,000 apprehensions, the highest number ever recorded by the sector and more than 14,000 more than in fiscal year 2024, according to a report.
According to the report, attempts to enter the region illegally have been made by migrants from 85 different nations.
How border security may benefit from AI and technology?
Brewton stated that the 5,525-mile border between the United States and Canada may be secured using technology in non-traditional methods.
“And so there are some non-traditional ways that we can use technology as a capability multiplier,” he stated. “That’s just something a little bit different than just hiring more agents and building physical processes in what is a really substantial amount of land that is rocky in territory, cold and snowy and hard to manage.”
According to Brewton, artificial intelligence (AI) has the potential to significantly improve border security by improving open-source intelligence, radar systems, and surveillance while also assisting agents in better monitoring water crossings.
According to Brewton, people frequently mistake border security with intrusive surveillance. However, when implemented properly, particularly with well-designed AI, it can enhance security and privacy by being more intelligent and focused.
Brewton underlined that citizens had to have robust safety protocols in addition to robust rights protection.
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