Senator Pete Ricketts put it plainly this weekend on Fox Report: President Trump is prodding our allies and making clear that America must be able to protect its northern flank. Ricketts’s comments are a welcome reminder that national security doesn’t stop at one border, and that a secure homeland requires toughness and clear-eyed diplomacy.
The northern border is no longer a sleepy backwater; Republicans in the House have been sounding the alarm about an unprecedented surge of illegal crossings and a dramatic uptick in fentanyl smuggling. Border agents and local communities are being strained while the Biden administration pretends the crisis can be handled with press releases and weak talking points.
Senator Ricketts and other conservatives have pointed to an ugly truth: cartels have adapted, using Canada as a staging ground when our allies relax enforcement, and reporters have documented massive shipments of fentanyl routed across that border. This isn’t abstract — it is the literal drug supply killing American kids, and it demands real pressure on our partners to shut these routes down.
That is exactly the kind of pressure President Trump has applied, and it produced tangible results when Ottawa agreed to beef up its border plan last year, appoint a fentanyl czar, and commit to new joint efforts to choke off cartel activity. Tough diplomacy backed by credible consequences works where hollow appeals to cooperation fail.
Conservatives should also notice that Republican senators like Ricketts are not just talking — they are advancing solutions in the Senate and highlighting measurable progress in reducing illegal flows where competent policies are enforced. We cannot let the left-wing narrative that “nothing can be done” survive when real leadership and accountability are showing results for American families.
If Washington truly cares about the safety of hardworking Americans, it will back the president’s posture: demand real action from neighbors, fund technology and manpower on the northern flank, and give our law enforcement the authority they need to interdict drugs and illegal entries. Weakness invites chaos; strength restores order, and Republicans must keep the pressure until the border is secure.
Patriots know that defending our country is not a partisan luxury but a sacred duty. Stand with leaders who will fight for American lives, hold allies to their commitments, and never apologize for protecting our people and our sovereignty.
