RCMP says ‘hundreds’ of migrants could enter Canada daily after Trump victory
The RCMP can arrest migrants travelling with a human smuggler, said an agency spokesperson. However, they are powerless to send people back who claim asylum.
Québec RCMP are expecting a mad dash for the border after President-elect Donald Trump promised to conduct the largest deportation of illegal migrants in U.S. history. One spokesperson for the Agency said they are ‘powerless’ to deny entry to asylum seekers.
The RCMP have several plans in place to contend with migrants seeking refuge from the incoming administration south of the border. JD Vance, Trump’s running mate, claimed they would remove as many as one million people per year.
An estimated 11 million illegal immigrants reside in the U.S., reported the Globe and Mail.
“We’ve been preparing for a few months,” said RCMP sergeant Charles Poirier. “We have a contingency plan because we know that depending on [the results of] the election, there could be a complete turnaround on immigration.”
“There could be a massive influx of migration, as there was during the Roxham Road crisis.”
In recent months, Poirier said the RCMP has arrested between 10 and 100 migrants in Québec per week, though many were “southbound” migrants.
Some 39,171 migrants entered the province 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.
Canadian terminals are on pace for another record year, processing 31,000 asylum claims between January and July — three times the number that have been processed at land ports of entry.
Meetings with the Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA) and U.S. border agents, about its contingency plans, remain ongoing.
Deputy Prime Minister Chrystia Freeland on Wednesday tried to reassure Canadians that the government would remain in control of its borders.
“The decision for Canadians and what's important for Canadians is to control our own border," she told reporters. “We will do that.”
In an interview with CBC News, Melanie Joly, the foreign affairs minister, said Canadians want an immigration system they can trust.
CBC Host David Cochrane asked about the potential surge at Roxham Road.
“It was myself and the former Minister of Immigration — and of course the Prime Minister — that … renegotiated the Safe Third Country Agreement … to close Roxham Road,” the minister said.
Under the pact, asylum seekers in Canada or the US could make their claim in the first country they enter. However, a loophole in that agreement allowed those who enter Canada through an unofficial crossing to remain in the country without the immediate threat of deportation.
“How do you deal with this potential movement of desperate humans if this comes to pass?” Cochrane asked a second time. “I won't give you the entire plan right now,” Joly replied.
Sgt. Poirier notes the Agency wouldn’t be starting from scratch, having taken lessons from the recent border crisis.
They have already drawn up a plan to increase border surveillance in case illegal crossing intensifies, adding the western stretch of the Québec-U.S. border will remain a hotspot for smugglers.
“The smuggling networks are set up in Montreal and the Greater Toronto Area,” Poirier said. The RCMP can only arrest migrants travelling with a human smuggler, he added.
However, they are powerless to send people back who enter Canada to claim asylum.
In 2017, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau promised to “welcome” all those “fleeing persecution, terror, and war” in response to President Donald Trump’s then deportation of illegal immigrants.
Québec Premier François Legault claimed last January that most migrants entering Canada at Roxham Road were not refugees.
He also said the province cannot accommodate anymore newcomers or migrants. “At some point, Trudeau has to send a new message,” Legault said at the time.
On Wednesday, the prime minister said his government would protect Canada’s borders.
Renée Proctor, an Immigration spokesperson, told the Globe they “will continue to prepare and anticipate all possible scenarios.”
Luke Reimer, a CBSA spokesperson, said “we are ready to respond and adapt as needed.”
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.
