Particle.news
Download on the App Store
5 ARTICLES
·
4w ago

3 Suspected Smugglers Detained After 44 Haitian Migrants Found in Quebec Truck

They have been moved to Quebec’s CBSA processing centre pending decisions that could send them back to the United States under the Safe Third Country Agreement.

Image
FILE PHOTO: Charles Byrns, a Canadian border services superintendent, stands at the Canada Border Service Agency (CBSA) border crossing with the United States in Stanstead, Quebec, Canada March 13, 2025. REUTERS/Evan Buhler/File Photo
A newly released memo shows federal officials quietly warned last spring that expansion of a bilateral refugee pact to the entire Canada-U.S. border would likely fuel smuggling networks and encourage people to seek more dangerous, remote crossing routes. Workers demolish the temporary installation for refugee claimants at Roxham Road in St. Bernard-de-Lacolle, Que., Monday, Sept. 25, 2023. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Ryan Remiorz
Image

Overview

  • RCMP officers intercepted a 16-foot U-Haul near Stanstead after receiving a tip and found 44 people in unbearably hot, enclosed conditions.
  • Most of those inside were Haitian nationals, including a pregnant woman and young children, who said they crossed on foot from the U.S. before boarding the truck.
  • Ogulcan Mersin, Dogan Alakus and Firat Yuksek face charges under the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act and the Customs Act and remain in custody.
  • Canada Border Services Agency transferred the migrants to the Saint-Bernard-de-Lacolle processing centre for immigration examinations.
  • Refugee advocates warn that under the Safe Third Country Agreement the group may be returned to the U.S. and risk detention or deportation.