Manitoba RCMP officers and agents from United States Border Patrol recently met in Pembina, North Dakota and Emerson, MB to talk about border safety and showcase some of the equipment used in preventing border incursions.
The border between Canada and the United States is the world’s longest undefended border. The RCMP in Manitoba is responsible for approximately 520 kilometres of shared border. While people and technology are in place on both sides of the border to protect it, people do still cross illegally.
In Manitoba year-to-date in 2024, there have been 85 apprehensions of illegal northbound crossers. The originating countries of those apprehended include the Republic of Chad, the Republic of Sudan, Guinea, Iraq, Mauritania, Congo, Yemen, Somalia, Saint Helena, Eretria, Cuba, Morocco, Mali, and Brazil.
In 2023, there were 75 apprehensions of illegal crossers into Manitoba.
This is a complex issue, as many of the illegal crossers come to Canada to make a refugee claim. More and more, law enforcement is seeing smuggling organizations working to get the migrants across the border without detection. Human smuggling is a real concern.
“These smugglers are not in the business because they care about the migrants,” said Sergeant Lance Goldau, head of the Manitoba RCMP’s Integrated Border Enforcement Team (IBET). “The smugglers are looking at the bottom line – getting as much money as they can with as little work as possible.”
The ethos of the least amount of work possible leads many migrants to have to face the actual border crossing alone. They are dropped at a location far from a Port of Entry into Canada, and they are left to fend for themselves with vague directions to connect with someone waiting for them on the other side, creating major safety concerns.
“Some individuals who are illegally crossing the border between Manitoba, North Dakota and Minnesota are not aware of the extreme weather conditions and geography they may encounter,” said Sgt. Goldau. “This lack of understanding has led to severe injury and death. They have to realize, too, that in extreme weather, even with all of our equipment, chances of a rescue are remote.”
Both the RCMP and the Grand Forks Sector of the U.S. Border Patrol implore any would-be crossers to enter the country legally, in a way that does not involve risking one’s life.
“Grand Forks Sector, along with our partners at the Royal Canadian Mounted Police, are committed to educating the public about the dangers of crossing the border illegally; one death is too many,” said Chief Patrol Agent Scott Garrett.
