Canada had 21,000 illegal crossings this year: report
Most illegal crossings happen at the ‘Swanton Sector’ — a stretch of land where Ontario and Quebec meet the borders of New York State, Vermont and New Hampshire.
More than 21,000 illegal immigrants tried entering the United States from Canada in the first 10 months of 2024, according to data from the U.S. Customs and Border Protection.
The majority of illegal crossings (18,000) from Canada happened at the “Swanton Sector” — a stretch of land where Ontario and Quebec meet the borders of New York State, Vermont and New Hampshire.
The Trudeau government promised an undisclosed number of “measures” to enforce Canada’s immigration laws, following threats of a tariff war by President-elect Donald Trump.
Immigration Minister Marc Miller suggests Canada's border with the US was secure during the COVID pandemic, despite a record-breaking influx of migrants crossing at Roxham Road during that time.https://t.co/TXq29qiryW pic.twitter.com/vEFqEkixdD
— Rebel News (@RebelNewsOnline) November 13, 2024
“There is work to be done here to make sure people aren’t going in irregularly into the United States,” Marc Miller, the Minister of Immigration, told reporters Tuesday.
While illegal crossings since 2007 never exceeded 1,000 people annually through the area, a sudden rise in 2023 prompted a significant surge in recent months.
Overall, illegal border crossings from Canada into the U.S. amount to a fraction of the movement across the northern Mexican border. A whopping 56,000 people entered from Mexico this past October alone.
“President Trump seemed to lump Canada and Mexico together in illegal immigration; do you think that’s fair?” asked a reporter. “It isn’t,” replied Miller. “We have different challenges.”
He admits Canada cannot allow its problems to bleed over into its ally’s borders. When asked what measures were tabled, the minister revealed the RCMP could be deployed to the border.
If Canada does not curb illegal immigration and drug trafficking into America, a 25% tariff on all goods will be levied when Trump takes office.
— Rebel News (@RebelNewsOnline) November 26, 2024
MORE: https://t.co/4uzxXPimwt pic.twitter.com/xo1hUC3kie
Mere days before the tariff threat, the RCMP alerted the U.S. Border Patrol of a group of people crossing illegally from Québec into New York State.
Border agents would later apprehend seven people, in addition to the smuggler after a white Acura RDX was pulled over following a high-speed pursuit.
“The passengers claimed to be from Mexico, Colombia and Guatemala, and all admitted to crossing the border illegally earlier in the evening,” said a criminal complaint filed with the U.S. Federal Court for the Northern District of New York, which described the encounter.
As reported by CBC News, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau told Trump this week that Canada addressed U.S. concerns by strengthening visa requirements for Mexicans and reducing immigration targets.
“If the trend continues, we will have to reassign agents to Lacolle,” warns Yanniv Waknine, third national vice-president of the Customs and Immigration Union.
Some 39,171 illegal immigrants entered Québec through St-Bernard-de-Lacolle in 2022, according to officials with the Department of Immigration. Thousands more now arrive by air, at major airports in Toronto and Montreal.
Poilievre says Trudeau has "broken" the border badly "we're getting a patchwork of premiers who have no choice but to try and hold the border together with bubblegum, scotch tape and elastic bands. Everything is broken after Justin Trudeau." pic.twitter.com/Uq2LUXa0Ay
— Rebel News (@RebelNewsOnline) November 28, 2024
Between last Thursday and Sunday, border agents apprehended at least 16 illegal crossers attempting to enter New York State and Vermont through the Québec border. This border influx has been observed for at least two weekends, following Trump’s historic election win on November 5.
Before the election, RCMP officers arrested as many as 100 migrants each week, with many heading “southbound.”
Following Trump’s promise to conduct mass deportations of illegal immigrants, and a 25% tariff on all Canadian exports, dozens of migrants have been seen at the Lacolle border crossing to seek asylum.
The Trudeau government has until the president-elect’s January 20th inauguration to address its porous borders.
According to information obtained by the Montreal Journal, at least 80 people applied for asylum between Saturday and Sunday, significantly surpassing recent averages. One RCMP spokesperson said they are ‘powerless’ to deny entry to asylum seekers, despite having ‘several plans’ in place, amid an expected dash to enter Canada.
For over a year now, illegal crossings into the USA from Canada have skyrocketed. With the recent victory of Trump and his promises of mass deportations, is the RCMP well-equipped to counter what might happen soon?
— Rebel News (@RebelNewsOnline) November 26, 2024
FULL REPORT by @ThevoiceAlexa:pic.twitter.com/dysHyNWegf
Jeannine Plamondon, senior legal counsel with the Public Prosecution Service of Canada, has handled multiple human smuggling cases at the northern border.
Illegal immigrants heading “southbound” tend to be more complex, as they involve multiple agencies on both sides of the border, Plamondon told CBC News.
“It's technically not an offence in Canada to enter another country, so it's charged and prosecuted as a conspiracy to violate U.S. law, which is the U.S. human smuggling provisions,” she said.
“The smuggling networks are set up in Montreal and the Greater Toronto Area,” an RCMP spokesperson confirmed weeks ago. The agency can only arrest migrants travelling with a human smuggler, he added.
Court records show human smugglers charged as much as $5,500 US to smuggle a single person into the U.S.
Alex Dhaliwal
Calgary Based Journalist
Alex Dhaliwal is a Political Science graduate from the University of Calgary. He has actively written on relevant Canadian issues with several prominent interviews under his belt.
COMMENTS
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Bruce Atchison commented 2024-11-28 19:30:24 -0500Trump uses tariffs to get what he needs. America needs secure borders and neither Canada or Mexico gave those to them. Now he has cooperation from Mexico but stupid Trudeau and his goons are clueless. Those tariffs are uncertain but they might be imposed if Trudeau doesn’t close the border and secure it. And a depression might be necessary to reform the federal government and force an early election.
