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U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi announced that the Justice Department will expand Joint Task Force (JTF) Alpha to cover the U.S. northern border with Canada and all maritime borders. “We will receive more resources to prosecute cases involving cartels, human trafficking, and transnational criminals,” said Bondi at a press conference. “This expansion will strengthen our collaboration with foreign law enforcement to protect citizens on both sides of the border.”
Newsweek reached out to the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) for comment.
### Why It Matters
The U.S. and Canada have remained in a tense standoff since before President Donald Trump took office, with Trump making various comments about why Canada should join the U.S. and the means by which he could make that happen. The border between the U.S. and Canada stretches roughly 5,000 miles, with deep economic ties despite recent tensions caused by tariffs: Trump recently accused Canada of “financially retaliating” against the United States, prompting him to threaten a 35 percent tariff.
This occurs in the context of the largest deportation operation in U.S. history under the Trump administration, where both illegal and legal immigrants have been detained.
### What To Know
JTF Alpha was established in 2021 as a joint effort by the Department of Justice and DHS to enhance enforcement against human smuggling and trafficking operations in Mexico and the Northern Triangle countries (Guatemala, El Salvador, Honduras). The mission expanded to include Colombia and Panama in 2024. Now, under the Trump administration, JTF Alpha will cover the northern border with Canada as well as “all of our maritime borders.”
Bondi announced that this expansion would involve DEA, ATF, and FBI agents. It will operate through U.S. Attorneys’ Offices for the Northern District of New York and the District of Vermont.
The new departments will benefit from a “whole-of-Department” network of expert prosecutors and support personnel to prosecute smugglers caught by JTF Alpha’s expanded mandate.
Canada last year announced an expansion of its security capabilities along the border after Trump won the 2024 U.S. presidential election, which included integrating advanced technology like biometric screening for all travelers and using AI to assess risk and detect smuggling activities. This expansion cost $1.3 billion and was initiated under the previous administration.
### What People Are Saying
**Matthew R. Galeotti, Acting Assistant Attorney General of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division:**
“By elevating and expanding JTFA, we are extending its reach across both our northern and southern borders and sending a clear message to cartels and transnational criminal organizations: the Department of Justice will relentlessly pursue those who endanger human life through smuggling and trafficking activities, and we will not stop until these groups are eliminated.”
**President Donald Trump (February 2024):**
“Canada doesn’t even allow U.S. Banks to open or do business there. What’s that all about? Many such things, but it’s also a DRUG WAR, and hundreds of thousands of people have died in the U.S. from drugs pouring through the borders of Mexico and Canada. Just spoke to Justin Trudeau.”
U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi attends a press conference at the U.S. Attorney’s Office on August 25, 2025, in Brooklyn Heights, New York City.
Credit: Michael M. Santiago/Getty Images
