US-Canada border eyed as vulnerability by China, Russia, says Patel: 'The enemy adapts'

U.S. adversaries such as China and Russia have started to target the northern U.S. border with Canada, FBI Director Kash Patel told lawmakers Wednesday.

During testimony in front of the House Intelligence Committee, Patel told lawmakers that the "effective resolution" to the crisis at the southern border has caused adversaries such as China, Russia and Iran to shift their resources to targeting the U.S. northern border.

"The enemy adapts," Patel said.

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FBI Director Kash Patel said roughly 178,000 Chinese nationals attempted to cross the U.S. southern border between 2022 and 2025. (J. Scott Applewhite/AP Photo)

While Patel noted that adversaries have not stopped using the southern border altogether, the "monumental effort" to secure the border and stop known or suspected terrorists from coming into the country has made moving people and substances, such as fentanyl, illegally more difficult since President Donald Trump took office.

Patel's comments come as Trump has overseen a dramatic shift at the U.S. southern border since taking office in January, with the number of U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) recorded encounters plummeting by 90% in most sectors compared to the same time period last year.

That shift has been aided by deployments of thousands of U.S. military troops to the border, who have assisted CBP agents with everything from reinforcing barriers to surveillance of potential illegal crossers.

The U.S. border with Canada has its own set of security concerns, Patel testified. (Cole Burston/Bloomberg via Getty Images)

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The sudden silence at the southern border comes 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 from immigrants outside of North and Latin America.

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, an over 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.

FBI Director Kash Patel warned lawmakers that adversaries may begin to utilize the northern U.S. border. (Kash Patel headshot)

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Patel warned that the new security of the southern border could now open up threats to the north, arguing that U.S. adversaries will use the same tactics they previously used on sectors not receiving as much security attention.

The FBI did not immediately respond to a Fox News Digital request for comment.