While the ongoing border crisis is typically associated with the south from Mexico, illegal crossings from Canada to the north have also been an issue, which could potentially escalate as Canada has accepted refugees from Gaza and the West Bank, and Hamas or Hezbollah agents may be among them and attempt to enter the United States. Senator Marco Rubio (R-FL) brought the startling news to light in a recent letter to Secretary of Homeland Security Alejandro Mayorkas, demanding greater northern border protection.
In May, the Canadian government announced they would offer 5,000 temporary visas to relatives of Canadian citizens from Gaza. As Sen. Rubio explained in his letter, those who apply for a Temporary Resident Visa (TRV) would receive a Refugee Travel Document, which replaces their passport as a valid form of identification and permits international travel while the applicant is in the process of applying for Canadian citizenship.
"However, with little to no reliable records or background checks of these individuals from the Palestinian Territories, these policies unlock opportunities for individuals with ties to terrorist groups to enter Canada, receive new forms of identification, and then try to enter the U.S. along the porous north border," the Florida Senator warned.
As a result, with large numbers of known criminals and terrorists being allowed into the country or able to slip in undetected, Sen. Rubio said the problem cannot be allowed to exacerbate in light of Canada's new policy, asking what the protocol for approving or denying the entry of a Palestinian national or Canadian TRV holder is.
Moreover, Rubio asked if any Palestinian nationals have been allowed to enter the United States through either border despite us not taking in refugees from the Israel-Hamas war and how asylum claims placed by individuals from Gaza and the West Bank are processed.
In the same month that Canada announced the 5,000 TRVs for Gazans, the Biden Administration had considered a similar program permitting Palestinians with American citizen relatives into the country, which Rubio had also condemned.
"Given your administration's abject failure at countering the flow of potential terrorists at our border, how can Congress trust your administration to adequately vet the refugees crossing the Egypt-Gaza border, located nearly 6,000 miles away from Washington, D.C.?" Rubio slammed in the May letter.
