As the White House focuses on cracking down on illegal immigration on the southern border, an expert warns that the maritime industry along the northern border faces threats from bad actors and the risk of foreign influence.

Fox News Digital spoke with Jim Weakley, president of the Lake Carriers’ Association and retired U.S. Coast Guard officer, about national security risks along the Great Lakes and the Detroit Sector of U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP), which covers parts of Michigan and northern Ohio along the U.S.-Canada border.

“What people outside our region or outside of law enforcement often don’t understand is that border security—or any type of perimeter security—is a lot like a tube of toothpaste: if you apply pressure in one area, such as the southern border, the threat simply shifts to another part of the perimeter,” he said.

“So, as we—rightfully, in my view—reinforce our southern border, which has proven to be significantly lax, bad actors looking to smuggle terrorists, humans, fentanyl, or other contraband will likely redirect their efforts to our northern border.”

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Weakley said that the lower standards in Canada serve as a national security risk in the U.S., due to the stricter inspection and manning regulations.

“To work on a U.S. vessel, officers must be U.S. citizens and most crew must be at least green card holders, with limits on how many non-citizens can be on board. In contrast, Canada allows sailors and officers from a wide range of countries, including the Philippines, Jamaica and Ukraine.”

“Canadian companies can also issue pilotage endorsements, unlike the U.S., where it’s tightly regulated by the U.S. Coast Guard. That means a Canadian vessel, even on Lake Michigan—where there’s no Canadian border—could be operated by foreign nationals with minimal oversight. They also carry fewer pilots and use cheaper, Chinese-subsidized ships, which further lowers their costs. 

Weakley argued that the standards are a national security risk and a major reason why Canada dominates 90% of the cross-lake shipping market, putting U.S. carriers at a disadvantage.

As the Great Lakes region plunges into the wintry weather, the lakes freeze over and provide human smugglers with another way to traverse across to America, Weakley explained.

“The vastness of the Great Lakes makes border security and law enforcement far more complex, especially when the Canadians aren’t pulling their weight,” he said. “In fact, I don’t believe they have any law enforcement presence on the Great Lakes during the winter.”

When the ice melts, the Royal Canadian Mounted Police or the Ontario Provincial Police operate patrol boats, he explained.

“We’re doing much more to secure the border on both sides. However, the Canadians are doing less, which forces the U.S. to take on a greater share of the responsibility. And as we strengthen our southern border, the threat along the northern border is only going to grow.”

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By the numbers

During testimony in front of the House Intelligence Committee, FBI Director Kash Patel told lawmakers adversaries such as China and Russia have started to target the northern U.S. border with Canada.

“The enemy adapts,” Patel said.

The Trump administration has overseen a dramatic shift at the U.S. southern border since taking office in January, with the number of CBP recorded encounters plummeting by 90% in most sectors compared to the same time period last year. The administration has poured in resources to stop the spiraling immigration situation at the southern border.

The sudden silence there came after record-setting numbers of illegal crossings during the four years of the Biden administration, a trend that also saw a dramatic increase in attempted crossings by immigrants outside of North and Latin America.

WATCH: Chinese migrants are cause for concern, expert warns

Chinese nationals were among the most likely to attempt illegal crossings, with the number of crossings from citizens of the country rising to over 24,000 in 2023, a more than 5,200% increase from the 450 encounters just a year earlier, according to CBP data.

Overall, Patel told lawmakers that between 2022 and 2025, roughly 178,000 Chinese nationals attempted to cross the southern border.

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Detroit Sector

CBP declined to comment but pointed to data that depicted encounters at the Northern Land Border in the Detroit Sector, broken down by fiscal year (FY) and demographic group.

FY 2024 had the highest monthly peaks, especially in May (139 encounters) and July (74). FY 2022 had consistently very low encounter counts, never surpassing 35 per month.

FY 2025 saw a large jump in February (139) compared to only 53 the same month in FY 2024.

Read the CBP data. Mobile users click here

Single adults consistently dominated the encounters in the Detroit Sector, data showed. Single adults peaked in FY 2024, with 604 encounters.

The trend is continuing into FY 2025, with 338 encounters to date, suggesting it could surpass previous years if the trend continues.