U.S. officials tell Congress drug seizures at Canada border drop by more than half

U.S. Customs and Border Protection officials testify before a U.S. House committee that drug seizures at the U.S.–Canada border have fallen substantially compared with last year. Acting Deputy Chief Jason Schneider tells the House border security and enforcement subcommittee that seizures at the northern border are down 55% year over year. The testimony is presented amid debate in Washington, where some Republican lawmakers argue that Mexican cartels are shifting trafficking routes and increasingly targeting Canada as the United States tightens smuggling controls along the southern border. Multiple outlets report that the hearing focuses on whether traffickers are rerouting northward and how enforcement is tracking suspected trends. Alongside the reported drop in seizures, reporting also references changes in enforcement activity, including a decline in related apprehensions of undocumented migrants, though the specific figures on apprehensions are not consistently detailed across the accounts provided. Overall, the sources align on the central point from U.S. officials: northern-border seizure activity is decreasing, even as lawmakers discuss claims about evolving smuggling patterns toward Canada.