Tim Thayer is a marine interdiction agent. He wears a bulletproof vest and carries a gun. He controls a big, powerful boat on the Detroit River.

Thayer is part of a team that patrols the waterways between the U.S. and Canada. They work together to keep the border secure.

Thayer works in the Detroit sector, which includes Michigan, Ohio, Indiana, and Illinois. The border with Canada is all water, which can be a challenge.

Windsor, Ontario, is south of Detroit. They are connected by bridges and a tunnel. Many people cross the border here every year.

Thayer looks for anything unusual on the Windsor shoreline. He is careful and alert.

Thayer says they see people, drugs, and guns moving between the U.S. and Canada. They work to stop these illegal activities.

Canada may stop some rules to help trade with the U.S.

In the past, smugglers used the Windsor-Detroit area to bring alcohol into the U.S. illegally.

Now, there are many recreational boaters on the Detroit River. This can make it hard for law enforcement to do their job.

Some people say that fentanyl is not a big problem at this border crossing.

Kris Grogan says they can't stop every boat, so they need to use intelligence and partnerships to secure the area.

You need to be smart and work with others to keep the border safe.

President Trump said Canada wasn't doing enough to stop drugs and human traffickers. He used this as a reason to put tariffs on Canadian goods.

The U.S. Supreme Court later stopped these tariffs.

The reality of the border is more complicated than Trump said.

Some people think the Canadian border is a threat, but the numbers tell a different story.

Trump has said some negative things about Canada's leaders.

In 2025, U.S. border officials in the Detroit area found over 4,200 kilograms of illegal drugs. But they didn't say where the drugs were coming from.

A border official said that most of the problems are with things going out of the U.S., not coming in.

A lot of the issues are with things going out, not coming in.

Guns are also being smuggled into Canada.

Most guns used in crimes in Ontario come from the U.S.

A professor said that the U.S. is a middle point for drugs coming from Mexico and South America.

There are still some tariffs in place between the U.S. and Canada.

While drugs and guns do move between the two countries, Canada is not the main threat to the U.S.

There is not much fentanyl being smuggled into the U.S. from Canada.

Canada's border security needs more officers and better training.

Canada's fentanyl czar has pushed back against the idea that Canada is a major threat for drug trafficking.

New data shows that very little fentanyl is seized at the Canada-U.S. border compared to the Mexico-U.S. border.

The total amount of fentanyl seized at the Canadian border is very small compared to the Mexican border.

The data does not support the claim that Canada is a big source of fentanyl for the U.S.

Most crime guns in the Toronto area come from the U.S.

Despite tensions between the U.S. and Canada, border agents say their working relationship is still good.

A border agent said they have a strong partnership with their Canadian counterparts.

Thayer nods as an RCMP boat passes by, near the Gordie Howe bridge, which symbolizes the complex relationship between the two countries.