Some of the 19 asylum seekers found crossing into southern Quebec on Dec. 25 have been deported to the United States.
Deemed ineligible to claim asylum in Canada, the migrants are at risk of landing in the custody of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE).
RCMP officers arrested the 19 undocumented migrants late in the evening Christmas Day following a report from the United States Border Patrol, which monitors the U.S. side of the border.
Police said they combed through the woods near Havelock where migrants, including children, were hiding. Havelock is 60 kilometres south of Montreal and around five kilometres from the U.S border.
Some of the people found were treated for frostbite, the RCMP said last week.
The migrants are of Haitian origin, police said, reporting that all 19 requested asylum.
The Canada Border Services Agency, which rules on whether to deport asylum claimants, confirmed in an email that it had removed an undisclosed number of the migrants from Canada.
“All those who were deemed inadmissible (for asylum in Canada) were removed to the United States,” spokesperson Rebecca Purdy said in the statement.
An agreement between Canada and the U.S. allows officials in both countries to deport asylum claimants back to the other side of the border. The agreement makes exceptions for people with close family ties in Canada. Montreal has a large Haitian community.
The deal is predicated on an assumption that Canada and the U.S. are “safe third countries” for those seeking asylum. Advocates for asylum seekers have called for a suspension of the Safe Third Country Agreement, citing what they consider abuses at the hands of ICE and the Trump administration.
President Donald Trump’s White House has cracked down on immigrants across the U.S. and has moved toward deporting more than 500,000 Haitians who have temporary legal status in the U.S. The temporary status is set to expire in February.
Many of those living under temporary status came to the United States following Haiti’s 2010 earthquake. The Caribbean country is now beset with gang violence and political unrest.
In August, the CBSA confirmed it had deported an undisclosed number of Haitian asylum seekers to the U.S. after the RCMP stopped a U-Haul truck packed with 44 people near Stanstead.
Once they are designated for removal from Canada, the CBSA transfers asylum seekers to U.S. Customs and Border Protection custody. If they don’t have legal status in the U.S., the American agency transfers the migrants to ICE.
With files from René Bruemmer of The Gazette.
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