Family members from Somalia are helped into Canada by RCMP officers along the U.S.-Canada border near Hemmingford, Que., on Friday, Feb. 17, 2017. A number of refugee claimants are braving the elements to illicitly enter Canada. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Paul Chiasson
Every day, the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) arrest people who cross the U.S.-Canada border illegally.
Last Saturday, the Mounties arrested a Syrian family of three in Hemmingford, Que., a town just north of the border with the state of New York, after they crossed to apply for refugee status.
Four days later, the RCMP arrested a woman and a baby who had crossed in deep snow from New York state.
Illegal crossings have increased lately, and much of the activity has been concentrated in Quebec, RCMP spokeswoman Cpl. Camille Habel told Global News last week.
Over 450 people made refugee claims at land border crossings in the province in January, according to the Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA).
B.C. and Manitoba have also seen more unlawful crossings in recent months.
As many as 21 asylum seekers braved the cold and crossed the border into Emerson, Man. on Saturday, after another 22 came over the previous weekend.
But refugees aren’t just coming from countries subject to Trump’s travel ban. As many as 27 Ghanaian men have crossed into Manitoba from the United States since the summer.
Two of those men lost all their fingers to frostbite when they crossed in December.
To read full article: http://globalnews.ca/news/3258012/mounties-refugees-quebec/?utm_source=GlobalNews&utm_medium=Facebook
