U.S. Customs and Border Protection has reported an unprecedented number of migrant encounters at the border between Canada and the United States from last October through July of this year.
There were 19,498 migrant encounters recorded between border posts along the northern border for the 10-month period between October 2023 and July 2024, according to U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) statistics.
An “encounter” is recorded in the CBP database when border patrol agents discover an individual who has unlawfully crossed the border into the United States at locations other than official border crossings.
Of the eight sectors patrolled, the Swanton Sector had by far the largest number of encounters. Swanton, which runs along Quebec’s border with New York and Vermont, had 15,612 encounters. The Blain Sector between British Columbia and Washington had the second highest count at 2,278.
The figures represent more than double the 10,021 encounters recorded between border posts during the 2023 fiscal year and nearly 10 times as many as the 2,238 migrant encounters recorded in 2022.
The more than 19,000 migrants detained at the border is likely only a fraction of those crossing from Canada into the U.S., the RCMP says.
Due to the nature of the crime, individuals can only be arrested once they have crossed into the U.S., which is outside of RCMP jurisdiction. That makes it difficult for the federal policing agency to collect data on both attempted and successful southbound migration, RCMP spokesperson Robin Percival told The Epoch Times in an email.
The ever-increasing issue can have dire consequences for migrants, beyond arrest, Percival said, describing the Canada-U.S. border as “vast with mixed terrains,” making it difficult and sometimes dangerous to cross.
“RCMP front line officers have seen first-hand heart-breaking situations and are very concerned for the well-being of those crossing the border in dangerous ways to avoid detection,” she said. “People are putting their lives and the lives of their children at risk.”
Asylum Seekers
Rather than risk arrest, the RCMP said, both northbound and southbound migrants are “encouraged” to present themselves directly to a designated port of entry.“This process is safer, faster and according to the law,” Percival said.
That doesn’t mean migrants can choose the country they wish to claim asylum in, however.
Under the Safe Third Country Agreement (STCA), refugee claimants are required to request refugee protection in the first safe country they arrive in.
Originally the agreement had a loophole that this requirement applied only to official border crossings. That loophole was closed last year.
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and U.S. President Joe Biden made the announcement last spring that, as of March 25, 2023, all asylum-seekers at unofficial border crossing points between the two countries would be turned back. The deal applies to the entire land border, including internal waterways.
“Individuals crossing from the U.S. to Canada between designated ports of entry and who make a refugee claim will be returned to the U.S. unless they qualify for an exception,” Reimer said.
“Likewise, individuals crossing from Canada to the U.S. between designated ports of entry and who make a refugee claim will be returned to Canada unless they qualify for an exception.”
The 2023 agreement update came after years of migrants making unsanctioned crossings at places such as Roxham Road, which connects New York state and the province of Quebec, to make asylum claims.
At a joint March 24 press conference with Biden, Trudeau said both governments had known for a while they “couldn’t just close Roxham Road and hope that this would resolve the issue,” because migrants would find other places to cross the border.
Trudeau said Canada and the United States agreed that applying the STCA to the entire border was the solution.
“Both of our countries believe in safe, fair, and orderly migration, refugee protection, and border security,” he said at the time. “After midnight tonight, police and border officers will enforce the agreement and return irregular border crossers to the closest port of entry with the United States.”
Migrant Crossings
Immigration Minister Marc Miller has described the influx of migrants crossing into the United States from Canada as “very concerning.”Canada’s actions have to be “carefully orchestrated with our most important partner, the U.S.,” he said at a June 12 press conference.
“The border is always a constant discussion between our two big countries,” Miller said. He didn’t comment on any measures being put in place to staunch the flow of migrants using Canada to access the United States.
In Canada, border security and integrity is a shared mandate between the Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA) and the RCMP. The RCMP is responsible for enforcing Canadian legislation between ports of entry while the CBSA is responsible for enforcing the law at Canada’s designated ports of entry.
The Canada Border Services Agency said in an email to The Epoch Times that it collaborates closely with the United States “to protect and secure our borders” but was unable to confirm whether it has allocated additional resources to deal with the growth in migrant crossings.
“We are not just neighbours managing two different sides of the border—we are partners,” said CBSA spokesperson Luke Reimer.
One recent example of that collaboration was the Sept. 4 arrest of 20-year-old Muhammad Shahzeb Khan in Ormstown, Que., by the RCMP. Khan was allegedly on his way across the border into New York state to carry out a mass shooting in support of the ISIS terrorist group at a Jewish centre in Brooklyn.
Miller has since said Khan arrived in Canada in June 2023 on a student visa granted to him the previous month.
At a press conference on on Sept. 13, Trudeau was asked about what is being done to ensure other ISIS supporters haven’t entered the country under false pretences.
“First of all, this is an extraordinarily serious situation and it highlights just how effective our security services and institutions are that we were able to interdict these very, very potentially devastating situations,” he told reporters.
“We work with partners around the world … sharing intelligence and there’s many situations in which Canadian intelligence has been important to partners around the world.”
CBSA’s Reimer noted that the RCMP is responsible for all migrant interceptions made between ports of entry in Canada.
When asked if many migrants are coming to Canada for the sole purpose of crossing into the United States, the RCMP referred The Epoch Times to the CBSA. The border agency said, however, that such questions “fall outside the scope of the CBSA’s mandate, which is primarily to assess the admissibility of persons coming into Canada.”
Smuggling Rings
One of the main border issues identified by the RCMP is migrant smuggling, an ever-growing problem in Canada. The RCMP launched a migrant smuggling awareness campaign this year to combat the problem and educate Canadians about the associated dangers of dealing with migrant smugglers or smuggling rings.Known as “coyotes,” migrant smugglers accept money to help a person illegally gain entry into a country, but they often don’t provide safe conditions and many migrants are treated poorly, the RCMP said.
“In some cases, migrants being smuggled have suffocated in containers, perished in deserts or drowned at sea while on their journey to another country,” reads an RCMP post about the dangers.
“Treatment of migrants by their smugglers can include violence, intimidation, sexual assault, torture and at times, murder.”
Migrant smugglers can be charged under the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act. If found guilty, the maximum penalty is life imprisonment. Migrants found illegally crossing the border can be arrested and face charges under the Customs Act.
The Canadian Press contributed to this report.
