WASHINGTON -- To hear President-elect Donald Trump tell it, both Mexico and Canada are to blame for an unprecedented wave of undocumented immigrants and dangerous drugs flowing into the nation from both north and south.
Threatening a 25% tariff on goods imported from those two countries, Trump said on his Truth Social website: "This Tariff will remain in effect until such time as Drugs, in particular Fentanyl, and all Illegal Aliens stop this Invasion of our Country! Both Mexico and Canada have the absolute right and power to easily solve this long simmering problem."
The fact is, though, that the number of undocumented immigrants and illegal drugs flowing into the U.S. from Canada is a trickle compared to the torrent streaming over the southwestern border.
"It's a very, very different situation in Mexico than it is in Canada. I don't see the parallel," said David Dyssegaard Kallick, director of the Immigration Research Initiative think tank.
A tale of two borders
Spanning 5,525 miles and states from Alaska in the west to Maine in the east, the northern border is nearly three times as long as the border that separates the United States and Mexico. And that very fact explains why some conservatives look at the northern border as one giant vulnerability.
"Obviously the northern border is a much softer target for crossing illegally than the southern border," said Ira Mehlman, media director for the Federation for American Immigration Reform. "Most of it is unguarded, unfenced..."
For that reason, Royce Bernstein Murray stated: "I also want to note that on...the U.S.-Canada border...expanded enforcement efforts started this summer reduced border patrol encounters (with undocumented immigrants) by 50% from June to September."
The drug pipeline
"As everyone is aware, thousands of people are pouring through Mexico and Canada bringing Crime and Drugs at levels never seen before," Trump announced regarding his proposed tariffs.
Yet according to federal statistics, there's simply no comparison regarding seized drugs at both borders. Agents seized 21,100 pounds of fentanyl at the southwestern border compared to 43 pounds coming in from Canada.
"We totally understand American concern around security...it's a concern Canadians share," Dominic LeBlanc told reporters regarding Trump's tariff threat.