The United States must be just as vigilant about protecting its northern border as it is on the Mexican border, says Rep. Mo Brooks, a member of the House Armed Services and Foreign Affairs committees.
"We don't focus that much on the north, although when you look at the terrorists associated with 9/11, a significant number of them came through Canada," Brooks, an Alabama Republican, said Wednesday on "The Steve Malzberg Show" on
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"Bottom line is, we just have to be vigilant. It doesn't make any difference if it's our northern border or our southern border.
"We have to be vigilant, and with respect to immigration we need to have a president who will take the time and effort to enforce our laws."
Brooks' comments came just hours after a shooting in the Canadian capital, Ottawa.
A gunman shot and killed a soldier there on Wednesday before entering the country's Parliament buildings chased by police, with at least 30 shots fired.
A suspected gunman was shot dead inside a Parliament building, a government minister said. Two U.S. officials said U.S. agencies have been advised the shooter was a Canadian convert to Islam.
Brooks said it is not yet clear whether the violence is tied to the Islamic State, which is on a bloody campaign to establish a Muslim state in Iraq and Syria.
"It's too early to make that kind of conclusion, but we do need to be, in a general sense, regardless of what happened in Canada, we need to be on guard as much as we possibly can be, keeping in mind that we're a free society," he said.
"I say that because we do have enemies around the globe, and they have uttered threats against us. It was only 13 years ago that they killed thousands of Americans [during the 9/11 attacks], and their intent to do evil upon the United States of America has not stopped.
"Fortunately, the CIA, the NSA, the FBI and every other law enforcement intelligence agency that's involved in this process, they've done a fairly good job of stopping a number of terrorist attacks that were launched against the United States of America."
Brooks said his review of classified documents reveals "thousands of American lives have been saved" as a consequence of U.S. intelligence and law enforcement.
Brooks said lawmakers are aware of such dangers in Washington.
"It's a risk that we're taught to be aware of when you're in the United States Congress," he said.
"For example, a year or so ago there was an individual who was caught over near Union Station headed toward the United States Capitol. He had on his suicide vest, he had an automatic weapon.
"Fortunately, our security folks . . . [were] able to ascertain his intent with sufficient time to be able to stop him from doing the kind of damage that he intended to do, and it's probably akin to what was done in Canada, perhaps worse."
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