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Members of the RCMP Integrated Border Enforcement Team speaks to a member of the U.S. Customs and Border Protection at the Quebec-New York State border near Franklin, Que., on Dec. 9.Dave Chan/The Globe and Mail
In a treeless zone marking the Canadian-U.S. border, known by the Mounties as “the slash,” three sets of fresh footprints belonging to a child and two adults could be seen clearly in the snow late on Monday afternoon.
The tracks led from the woods, across the demarcation line and then into a ditch on the frontier between Quebec and New York State. They did not have the distinctive tread of winter boots, and the churned up snow hinted that the migrants had stumbled as they clambered up the slope into America.
It was 16 below zero with wind chill, and the rain froze as soon as it hit the ground. Yet the three foreign nationals had likely been dropped off by a people smuggler on a small road not far from where they had crossed, the RCMP said.
But they did not get far.
Constable Samuel Perreault-Magny, whom The Globe and Mail accompanied on a patrol on Monday, said the RCMP had a contingency plan in case of an influx of migrants from the United States. He said his Valleyfield detachment, and others on the Quebec border, have been tracking migrants crossing illegally for years, and are well aware of their ruses.
Migrants crossing the U.S.-Canada border have risen to the top of the political agenda since the U.S. election, when Donald Trump vowed to deport millions of people living in the U.S. illegally after he reaches the White House. The president-elect also warned that both Canada and Mexico will face 25-per-cent tariffs on their products until they take more action on the illegal movements of people and drugs into the U.S.
This spurred Ottawa to promise more funding for helicopters, drones, sensors and “boots on the ground” to boost RCMP border detachments.
Mounties at Constable Perreault-Magny’sspecialist border detachment combine traditional surveillance methods, such as plainclothes policing, and an arsenal of technology including helicopters, drones, motion sensor cameras and other gadgets kept secret. They are in constant contact with U.S. Border Patrol, and often co-operate to apprehend suspects.
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Members of the RCMP Integrated Border Enforcement Team investigate at the Quebec-New York State border Dec. 9, 2024 near Franklin, Que.. Members of the Valleyfield Border Intervention Group patrol 70 kilometres of frontier 24 hours a day.Dave Chan/The Globe and Mail
On Monday, Valleyfield’s Border Intervention Group had tipped off U.S. Border Patrol that the three foreign nationals (from a hot climate they did not wish to identify) were heading their way. The Mounties had decided to let them cross so U.S. border officers could immediately pick them up.
The migrants were using a route known to the RCMP, who patrol 70 kilometres of frontier 24 hours a day. Near where they crossed was a small stone obelisk, one of many marking Canada’s vast border.
But their footprints showed they had scrambled toward another landmark: a line of tall wind turbines looming ghostly in the dark just footsteps from the frontier.
Corporal Jonathan Maheu, patrolling the freezing woods in an Argo, a small open-top all-terrain vehicle, explained that there is a road in the windfarm where smugglers could pick up migrants and drive them deeper into the U.S.
The huge area patrolled by Valleyfield RCMP is a land border conveniently accessible by road to Toronto, where migrants are known to fly into Toronto Pearson airport, some of them entering on visitor visas. From Toronto some are driven to the border area by smugglers so they can cross surreptitiously into America. A Canada Border Services Agency intelligence document revealed that smugglers can charge up to $45,000 for “end to end” services.
Other migrants arrive at the border under their own steam, abandoning their vehicles near the frontier with New York State or getting there by Uber or traditional taxi. Constable Perreault-Magny said both have been alerted that fares to the Franklin area of Quebec, not far from Roxham Road, and other spots near the border may not be what they seem.
He and Corporal Maheu, dressed in camouflage fatigues, were among a posse of at least 13 officers dedicated to detecting migrants on Monday night. Corporal Maheu’s Argo skidded and lurched through the snow in the woods, and along “the slash.” Hiding in the woods were two officers in winter gear, who for hours braved the frigid weather in the hope of apprehending migrants.
“The footprints help,” Corporal Maheu said, pointing out tracks where other migrants had made the same journey very recently.
One set of footsteps was heading north near a very Canadian sight – a maple-syrup farm in the woods. Another jumble of tracks along “the slash” suggested a large group had crossed in the past day, but were too obscured by falling snow to show precisely in which direction.
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RCMP officer Jonathan Maheu of the Integrated Border Enforcement Team walks up to the Quebec-New York State border marker near Franklin, Quebec. The small stone obelisk marks the border near to the location where people who were tracked by RCMP officers had crossed the Canada-U.S. border.Dave Chan/The Globe and Mail
The Mounties have dog units, helicopters, Ski-Doos, quad bikes, snowmobiles, and all-terrain vehicles for use in the woods, as well as patrol vehicles. They also have boats to stop people crossing by water.
In Constable Perreault-Magny’s unmarked truck, the radio suddenly came alive with chatter in French about the whereabouts of the man, the woman and the child heading south.
“Something’s happening,” he said, as he called for quiet so he could pick up the details. Not long after, U.S. Border Patrol had checked in with a progress report, and the news came that “they got them.”
But the chase was not over yet, and there was a bigger prize in prospect: a vehicle suspected to belong to the people smuggler – or passeur – had been spotted. The Mounties gave chase.
Constable Perreault-Magny did a swift U-turn as news came across the radio that the SUV had been spotted heading toward a Tim Hortons in Ormstown. When he arrived the parking lot was already full of police lights. The driver was questioned but it turned out to be a false alarm.
Not long afterward the radio crackled again as other units moved in on another suspect vehicle. Then at around 9:30 p.m., three more cars thought to be used by smugglers were spotted heading in convoy toward the U.S. border.
The criminals who drop migrants off and pick them up, and “coyotes” – who walk across the border to help migrants navigate, including through the woods – are prime targets for the RCMP. They not only smuggle migrants, but are involved in sex trafficking and taking guns into Canada, as well as smuggling drugs. With the threat of organized crime, the RCMP unit is heavily armed, including with shotguns, C-8 rifles and bulletproof vests.
Constable Perreault-Magny said that in recent weeks his unit had apprehended more migrants heading into the U.S., but they were coming both ways. Recently the Valleyfield RCMP apprehended a family with a three-week-old child.
Some of those they encounter are in desperate straits, coming from hot countries such as Mexico and India in summer clothes and trying to cross in winter. He said that if the RCMP can’t locate people lost in the woods, they call in the Quebec provincial police’s search and rescue team.
“The last thing we want is for somebody who’s not dressed accordingly, to die. Even though it’s an offence to cross illegally, we want to make sure everybody’s safe. We’re going to do everything in our power to make sure they’re safe at night,” he said.
Tracking migrants has taught the young officer, in his tenth year in the field, how to distinguish between human eyes and those of an animal reflected in his headlights. He says the smugglers swiftly adapt if they learn the RCMP is onto a route they use, but the Mounties adapt just as swiftly to pinpoint where they are operating.
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A RCMP Integrated Border Enforcement Team search dog investigate fresh footprints at the Quebec-New York State border. The use of dogs is one of the tactics officers use to track people who cross the border.Dave Chan/The Globe and Mail
The RCMP can arrest suspects heading toward the U.S., he said, including for conspiracy to commit an offence in the U.S., and for trespassing on private land at the border. Those the RCMP detain inCanada who have crossed illegally from the U.S. are taken to a regular border post run by the Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA) where they are processed. Even if they make asylum claims, most are deported under the Safe Third Country Agreement with the U.S.
Recently, some of the local CBSA crossing points announced their hours were being reduced, to align with the U.S. border posts’ timetables. With the Mounties working 24/7, that may mean migrants will need to be held in RCMP cells at Valleyfield until CBSA border posts open.
The discovery of the migrants on Monday night, Constable Perreault-Magny said, was just “business as usual” for his team. On Monday at around 7 a.m. another set of two adults and a small child was discovered, this time having trekked into Canada from America.
Their prints showed they crossed near a small road through the woods, with a few sparsely separated houses, where the frontier is marked by a battered stop sign and a slab of concrete. On the U.S. side is a house so near the border you can see from Canada through the window what they are watching on TV.
The crossing is checked regularly by the Mounties, but at around 9 p.m. on Monday, Constable Perreault-Magny, decided to patrol again.
On the road coming from the U.S. side he spotted two sets of large footprints in the snow. They showed two people had stepped over the border into Canada and traipsed boldly down the road. The prints were less than an hour old.
A frenzy of activity ensued. Marc Alain, an RCMP dog handler dressed in army green, and his eight-year-old black German shepherd Judd were summoned to pick up their scent. The dog bounded off down the road, his nose to the ground.
U.S. Border Patrol was alerted and an officer in green fatigues and a warm hat drove up not long after. He and the Mounties stood on either side of the concrete block marking the border exchanging intelligence.
Soon after, Judd’s enthusiastic barks rang out. He had followed the migrants’ trail but to no avail. The two had apparently been picked up not far down the road.
Judd returned instead with a small stuffed cat which he had found abandoned in the woods. The toy was found near the tracks of the small child apprehended heading into Canada along with two adults only that morning.
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Publish date : 2024-12-10 16:01:00
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