A Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) crest is seen on a member’s uniform in Winnipeg, Manitoba, on July 24, 2019. (Shannon VanRaes/File Photo via Reuters)
RCMP in Quebec say they arrested 19 asylum seekers of Haitian origin after the group illegally crossed the U.S.-Canada border.
Mounties said the arrests were made after a report by the United States Border Patrol around 6 p.m. on Dec. 25.
The group of individuals ranged in age from 1 to 60 years old, according to an RCMP statement provided to The Epoch Times.
RCMP said they discovered a group of 15 people hiding in the woods in the Havelock area, in Montérégie, around 7 p.m.
“The search continued until about 10:30 p.m., in extreme cold, to find the remaining individuals,” police said.
Officers from the Champlain Integrated Border Enforcement Team were assisted in the search by officers from the Valleyfield Integrated Border Enforcement Team, according to the RCMP statement.
Eight people were taken to the hospital, including six who required treatment for frostbite.
“The two young children were also taken to the hospital as a precaution. Based on available information, their lives are not in danger,” the statement said.
RCMP said that all the individuals requested asylum and were transferred to the Canada Border Services Agency.
One man was arrested under section 117 of the Customs Act. RCMP said they believed he was transporting the migrants in a vehicle, which was seized by police.
RCMP said that the investigation was ongoing.
“We remind the public that attempting to cross the border illegally is extremely dangerous, both for migrants and for our officers, especially in winter,” the statement said.
RCMP said that those who cross the border illegally are often not prepared for the weather, and that the terrain is “very difficult” to access in certain areas.
Summer Arrest
In a similar case, police announced charges against three people after nearly 50 illegal immigrants were caught crossing the border into Quebec in August.
Quebec RCMP Cpl. Erique Gasse said during a phone interview that police had received a tip about a truck located at the Canada-U.S. border around 2:20 a.m.
Gasse said officers found a couple of children and a pregnant woman among those located inside the 16-foot truck.
He said it was the first time that police had found so many people inside a single vehicle.
After officers gave some of the migrants food and water, they brought the group, including the suspects, to the Highway 55 CBSA location.
The three alleged smugglers, Ogulcan Mersin, 25, and Dogan Alakus, 31, and Firat Yuksek, 31, were arrested and charged with inciting, aiding, or abetting or attempting to induce, aid, or abet a person to commit an offence under the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act; and a charge of assisting people to enter Canada outside of a designated customs office under the Customs Act.