Republicans zero in on a new border — the one with Canada

As the GOP presidential primary rolls through New Hampshire — a state that shares a border with Canada — candidates are aiming their gaze to the north.

MANCHESTER, N.H. — Former President Donald Trump described the U.S. border as “not so hot.” Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis said it’s the site of a worsening problem. And Nikki Haley, the former U.S. ambassador to the United Nations, said she would do whatever it takes to stop illegal crossings there, up to and including building a massive wall.

The rhetoric wouldn’t be out of place for Republicans in reference to the U.S. border with Mexico, a staple of Republican campaign speeches and the site where Customs and Border Protection apprehended more than 2.4 million people who entered the country illegally from October 2022 to September.

But those remarks weren’t about the southern border. Rather, they were about the border with Canada.

As Republican voters time and time again rate immigration as a top-three issue facing the country, GOP presidential candidates are increasingly bringing the northern border with Canada to the political forefront. In New Hampshire, the site of the first-in-the-nation primary and a state that shares a border with Canada, that focus has been turned up a notch. 

Before he dropped out of the race two days ago, DeSantis pledged to New Hampshire voters Friday that he would provide increased resources to bulk up protection at the northern border, blaming President Joe Biden for what he sees as a problem that’s getting worse. 

https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/2024-election/republicans-northern-border-canada-rcna135169

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