Sen. Susan Collins says that Canadian students attending school in Aroostook County are being subjected to “excessive” security screening and questioning when crossing the northern border.

Collins, a Republican who leads the Senate Appropriations Committee, raised the issue with Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem during a budget hearing Thursday.

Collins also asked questions about illicit marijuana growing operations in Maine that allegedly are tied to transnational Chinese gangs, both during the hearing with Noem and at a separate hearing Thursday with FBI Director Kash Patel. Noem and Patel appeared before Senate appropriations subcommittees to discuss the budget released by the administration on Friday.

Collins spoke briefly about the problems that Canadian students have recently confronted when entering Maine, especially those attending the University of Maine Presque Isle, saying she wanted to put it on Noem’s “radar screen.”

“There are so many others who do deserve scrutiny, but these are duly enrolled Canadian students, and they have been crossing the border without trouble,” Collins said. “But lately they’re being subjected excessive searches and questioning despite having their visas and other documents in order.”

The comment came near the end of Collins’ alloted time for questions and she did not provide additional details.

“I will certainly look into it,” Noem replied.

About 75 students commute from Canada, a UMaine spokesperson said. Most of those students attend classes at the Presque Isle campus, while the others take classes at the University of Maine at Fort Kent.

“I can confirm that the concerns raised by Senator Collins today reflect experiences reported to us by some of our Canadian students earlier this spring, and that as a result, a handful of Canadian commuter students chose to complete their courses for this semester online,” spokesperson Samantha Warren said.

It’s unclear why the students are facing increased screening or how many students are affected.

But it comes as the Trump administration has been taking steps to secure the nation’s borders to combat illegal immigration and drug trafficking, while also implementing additional tariffs on trading partners, including Canada.

To enact the Canadian tariffs without Congressional approval, Trump declared a national emergency at the northern border, where he claims illegal immigrants and fentanyl are flowing into the United States. However, data suggests that less than 1% of all fentanyl seizures occur at the northern border.

Collins opposes Trump’s tariffs on Canada, which is Maine’s largest trading partner, supplying 80% of the state’s gasoline and heating fuel. She was one of a handful of Senate Republicans to join two unsuccessful efforts to end the emergency declaration used to justify the tariffs.

Noem said in her opening statement that U.S. Customs and Border Protection is working “to enforce President Trump’s America first trade agenda.”

ILLICIT MARIJUANA

Collins also called on Noem and Patel to devote more federal resources toward combating illicit marijuana growing operations by Chinese nationals with ties to the Communist Party.

Collins said such operations are active in 22 states, but Maine is disproportionately affected, with more than 270 estimated grow sites, many of which are in rural parts of the state. They have generated an estimated $4.3 billion in illicit revenue.

“These grow houses are destroying homes, they’re threatening our communities, our public health and our national security,” Collins said during her questioning of Patel.

Collins said state, county and local law enforcement officers are working hard to dismantle the operations, but they need more federal assistance in identifying connections to money laundering, human and drug trafficking, and other criminal activity.

Patel said that he was trying to direct more resources to the problem as part of his plan to reassign more than 900 FBI agents currently working in Washington, D.C., to more field offices throughout the country. He said the redeployment of agents is happening on a mostly monthly basis and is expected to be finished in six to nine months.

“We will not only have the manpower in the field, but at headquarters I have prioritized intelligence collection against the (Chinese Communist Party) that is directly tied to the marijuana grow houses,” Patel said. “We have numerous new investigations open on just these matters alone.”

In a separate hearing, Noem committed to working with Collins on an “all of government approach” to combating the illegal grows, one that includes the FBI, Drug Enforcement Agency and the Internal Revenue Service.

Noem called the situation “incredibly alarming.”

“Everything we can do to ensure we’re addressing that (by) not allowing (China) to get a foothold in the center of our country and in important states like Maine, is incredibly important,” Noem said. “Thank you for bringing it to everyone’s attention today, and I commit to working with you.”

FOREIGN WORKERS

Noem seemed less receptive to a request from Collins to expedite the issuance of visas that allow foreign nationals to work in Maine’s hospitality and agricultural industries.

Collins said the state simply doesn’t have enough workers to support those industries, so businesses rely on workers in the H2A and H2B visa programs.

But Noem made no commitment to expedite any additional worker visas.

“I certainly take your request and know that many others have asked us to go and give as much latitude as possible and we are certainly considering it and willing to consider that going forward,” Noem said.