RCMP, U.S. Border Patrol warn of 'false promises,' dangers of human smuggling as winter approaches

Manitoba RCMP and the U. S. Border Patrol renewed warnings Thursday about the dangers of human smuggling in an effort to deter it, especially as the winter months approach.

"There are organized groups that solicit migrants to cross the border illegally, making false promises and providing false hope ofan easy transition to Canada," saidthe RCMP's Sgt.Lance Goldau, the Manitoba head of theIntegrated Border Enforcement Team.

"These smugglers are not in the business to care about the migrants that they move, nor are they looking to help these vulnerable people seek a better life in Canada."

So far this year, RCMP have made 85 interceptions of people crossing illegally into Manitoba,Goldau said during a joint news conference by the U.S.Border Patrol's Grand Forkssector and RCMPin Pembina, N.D., on Thursday.

"And to be frank, those are the ones we located," said Goldau. "There are likely many more."

The interceptions hit a high of 1,018 in 2017, said Goldau. The number dropped dramatically after that, down to19 in 2021, but has crept higher since. There were 72 interceptions in 2022, followed by 72 in 2022 and77 in 2023.

The Grand Forks sector of the U.S. Border Patrol, meanwhile, had made 218 apprehensions through August of this year, according to a Thursday news release from the agency down from300in 2023, but significantly more than the80 in 2022.

Officers from the sector have also been involved in more than 25 rescues since2020, the release said.

Goldau, along with Grand Forks sector Chief Patrol Agent Scott Garrett, also stressed that people who get dropped off at the Canada-U.S. border are typically unfamiliar with the terrain and might not be equipped for harsh winter weather.

In 2016, two men lost their fingers to frostbite and almost died walking across the border to Manitoba.

And in January 2022, a family of four from India Jagdishand Vaishali Patel,and theirchildren,Vihangi, 11, and Dharmik, 3 were found frozen to death near Emerson, Man., after trying to cross into the U.S.

"This tragic event remains in our consciousness and reminds us of a family trying to change their circumstances with their last moments, likely ones of fear and hopelessness facing the harsh winter elements with no aid or end in sight," said Goldau.

"It haunts us as investigators, but troubles us further as human beings."

Eyes on border as U.S. election nears

But beyond the winter weather, the upcoming U.S. election which is now less than a month away could also have implications for Canada's border.

Donald Trump, the Republican candidate in the Nov. 5 election, promised "the largest deportation operation in the history of our country," involving millions of undocumented migrants, during the Republican National Convention this past summer.

"From the Trump campaign, we've heard a lot of rhetoric in recent weeks about what Trump intends to do if he is elected to office for the second time," said Donald Abelson, a professor specializing in American politics and U.S. foreign policy at McMaster University in Hamilton, Ont.

"He's talked about mass deportations, he has talked about getting very rough with illegal migrants," he said. "The language is toxic. It is polarizing. But I suspect he means what he says now."

Butmass deportation is easier said than done, saysKeith Cozine, a former intelligence officer who heads the division of criminal justice and homeland security at St. John's University in New York.

"There's so many different factors that go into just the idea of deportation. Saying you're going to do this mass deportation of 10 million people, it's just not realistic, and more for political gain and political points than anything else," he said.

U.S. Border Patrol, RCMP renew warnings about danger of human smuggling

7 days ago

Duration 1:34

The U.S. Border Patrol's Grand Forks sector and Manitoba RCMP held a joint news conference Thursday to talk about how they combat human smuggling and illegal crossings into both Canada and the U.S.

Democratic presidential candidateKamala Harris has also toughened her stance on immigration.

Shepromised to take "further action to keep the border closed between ports of entry," during an event in Douglas, Ariz.,late last month. Anyone who crosses the border unlawfully "will be apprehended and removed," and barred from entering the U.S. for five years, she said.

"We will pursue more severe criminal charges against repeat violators," and anyone who crosses the border unlawfully, without making anasylum request at a legal point of entry, will be barred from receiving asylum, she said.

Maru Mora Villalpando, anadvisor to La Resistenciaa grassroots organization that works with detained migrants in Washington state said if Harris is elected,"things are not going to improve."

"Hopefully they won't get worse. But at least we know she wouldn't be as bad as we know what Trump can do, because he already had done it," she said.

Mora Villalpandosaid she hasalready heard of people planning to relocate to Canada if Trump is elected, fearing deportation to their country of origin.

Meanwhile, back nearthe Canada-U.S. border in North Dakota, the U.S. Border Patrol's Garrett said those on the front line are always concerned about having "a busy year."

"Both candidates [are] talking about what they would do for border security, but we have a job to do," he said. "We're going to enforce the law at the border, we're going to enforce border security.

"The candidates have different plans, and we'll work with what plans that they give us, but that doesn't change our mission."