Undocumented immigrants in the US are jumping the border into Canada, where they hope they’ll be treated more humanely than under the Trump administration, according to reports.
The Royal Canadian Mounted Police are citing an influx of illegal border crossings, especially into Quebec province from upstate New York, according to a National Public Radio report.
One of the biggest entry points is from the small town of Champlain, where the Mounties patrol the other side and arrest the travelers as they come over.
But the immigrants are often released within 24 hours and can live in the country while pressing their immigration cases.
Witnesses told NPR that whole families can be seen approaching the border and willingly getting arrested.
“They’ll be walking down the road with suitcases and backpacks,” one witness, Matthew Turner, said.
The station witnessed a woman with a baby and a black suitcase walking toward the Canadian officers from the New York side on Wednesday.
“You have to go through the, the custom, the border—but if you do cross here, you’ll be arrested and then we’ll take you in charge, OK?” the officer told the woman, according to the report.
The woman nodded and stepped toward the mounted officers, who offered to help carry her baby and then helped her cross over, the report said.
Cpl. Camille Habel, a spokeswoman with the Royal Canadian Mounted Police, told NPR there’s been “quite an increase in people walking through illegally.”
She said after the border-crosser is arrested, they can be detained for up to 24 hours before they’re released or presented in front of a judge.
Immigrants may be avoiding official entry points because they risk being turned away — or given over to US authorities.
The illegal crossings are happening all along the Canadian border, but the largest influx is into Quebec, according to NPR.
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