Borders are not abstractions. They are security infrastructure. They are economic lifelines. And when left unguarded, they become the entry points for chaos. While America’s political establishment clings to the southern border narrative, a quieter, more calculated breach is advancing from the north. The U.S.–Canada line — long mythologized as polite and uneventful — is now a preferred corridor for the same criminal cartels that have turned Mexico into a narco-state. We now know this isn’t speculation. It’s happening. A Sinaloa Cartel smuggler recently revealed how traffickers are systematically exploiting the northern frontier — using vast forests, understaffed checkpoints, and sleepy trucking routes to push people and narcotics into the United States. In April, U.S. Customs and Border Protection seized over 530 pounds of cocaine near Detroit. In that same quarter, Canadian authorities intercepted more than 4,500 kilograms of cocaine and dismantled a fentanyl superlab capable of producing 90 million doses. These aren’t red flags — they’re klaxons. February brought further proof. Canadian police raided a heavily fortified compound in Surrey, British Columbia — complete with encrypted comms, high-powered weapons, and industrial-grade fentanyl. This wasn’t local crime. This was a forward operating base. Trump previously stated that higher tariffs on Canada were partly intended to motivate better border security and immigration measures. Canada’s response, however, has been muted, publicly dismissing the tariffs as economic posturing without significantly enhancing border enforcement. (RELATED: Use Timber Tariffs to Leverage Policy Changes) Trump has not elaborated further, leaving uncertainty about whether economic pressure alone can yield meaningful cooperation from Ottawa on border security. In my view, unless accompanied by clear diplomatic initiatives, such economic tactics are unlikely to significantly alter Canada’s border enforcement policies. (RELATED: Canada’s Reckless Immigration Policies) And yet, where is the outrage? Where is the action? The headlines keep going south — but the cartels have already moved north. And with Mark Carney now elected as Canada’s new leader, a critical question emerges: Can the United States trust his initiative, willingness, and strategic interest in addressing this expanding threat — or will Ottawa continue to treat this as someone else’s problem? (RELATED: The Future Is Dim for US–Canada Relations) The political class has reduced immigration policy to slogans and stagecraft, offering little in the way of operational answers. While cable news loops images of the southern border wall, the actual operational surge is unfolding 2,000 miles away. The media’s fixation on the southern front has become a distraction — one that cartels are exploiting with chilling efficiency. Democrats cling to moral platitudes. Republicans chase media-friendly skirmishes in the desert. Meanwhile, cartels are building infrastructure in America’s backyard with little resistance. In FY2024 alone, 23,721 migrants were apprehended at the northern border — a staggering 960 percent increase since 2022. This isn’t immigration — it’s infiltration. It’s the weaponization of asylum systems, logistics routes, and legal grey zones. And if American leadership — especially those who profess to champion border security — is serious, then it must accept that the next front in this fight isn’t theoretical. It’s already operational. And it’s in the north. Cartels are not static. They generated over $13 billion in smuggling revenue in 2024 alone — more than the GDP of some small countries. They reroute swiftly when detection increases, exploiting everything from remote forest trails to inland ports. With just 2,000 agents covering a 5,500-mile frontier, the northern border remains the most understaffed and under-monitored sector in U.S. homeland security. That is not a vulnerability — it’s an invitation. And there is still no coordinated strategy. No operational deterrent. No national urgency. We don’t need posturing. We need policy. Joint U.S.-Canada interdiction units. Bilateral financial task forces to disrupt cartel capital flows. A dedicated northern border command under DHS. Physical barriers in strategic corridors — not for show, but for enforcement. And most critically, leadership in Washington and Ottawa that treats this challenge with the gravity it deserves. It cannot allow 5,500 miles of northern exposure to become its next blind spot. The border doesn’t stop mattering because it runs through forest instead of desert. We’ve already seen what happens when political inertia is mistaken for strategy. The southern breakdown wasn’t inevitable — it was permitted. The question now is simple: having watched it happen once, will we allow the same forces to break through from the north, while pretending it’s not our fight? READ MORE from Kevin Cohen: Sanctuary Cities: The Dangerous Illusion of Virtue The TikTok Border: How Smugglers Turned Migration Into a Game How Student Visas Became the New Trojan Horse for Immigration Fraud The post Media Focused on South While Cartels Move to the Northern Border appeared first on The American Spectator | USA News and Politics.