Calgary man charged with human smuggling after seven African asylum seekers picked up near Emerson

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This article was published 06/02/2024 (607 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

A Calgary man is charged with human smuggling in Manitoba after he allegedly picked up seven men who had walked across the border into Canada near Emerson last month.

Believed to be asylum seekers, the seven men are from Chad, a north-central African country which has been in political crisis since its longtime president was killed in 2021.

“The situation in Chad right now is dire,” said Winnipeg immigration lawyer Alastair Clarke, who has represented other citizens from the country seeking refugee protection in Canada. “I hope these individuals are safe.”

RCMP said the integrated border enforcement team was alerted by U.S. agents while the men walked along a rail line toward Emerson, about 100 kilometres south of Winnipeg, at about 3:45 a.m. on Jan. 27.

The temperature dropped to about -10 C that night.

The men were wearing proper winter clothing and were likely to cross into Canada within an hour of being spotted, said RCMP.

After the men were picked up, officers with the border team stopped a rented vehicle at the intersection of provincial roads 200 and 201 near Dominion City.

RCMP said the male driver and seven passengers, between the ages of 27 and 49, were taken into custody.

Saleh Youssouf, the 49-year-old driver, was charged with human smuggling under the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act.

Youssouf was released on bail with consent of the Crown on Feb. 2 and given a March 4 court date. He was ordered to surrender his passport and remain in Winnipeg.

The seven men from Chad were arrested under the Customs Act and turned over to Canada Border Services Agency immigration officers at the Emerson port of entry.

U.S. Customs and Border Patrol agents were alerted when equipment set up along the boundary detected and captured images of the Canada-bound group.

Agent David Marcus said the men were gone by the time CBP officers arrived.

“We never encountered them on the U.S. side,” he said.

Footprints in mud or snow matched the patterns of footwear worn by the men who were intercepted by the RCMP, said Marcus, who is based in Grand Forks, N.D.

It was unclear if the men were returned to the U.S., or if some or all remain in Canada.

Last year’s changes to the Canada-U.S. Safe Third Country Agreement mean people who walk into either country between ports of entry are to be turned back, if found within 14 days of their arrival.

Limited exceptions allow a person to remain in the country they entered, while an asylum claim is considered.

Clarke said some people from Chad decide to seek refugee protection in Canada because it is a francophone country and it is viewed as being more welcoming of refugees than other countries. French is one of Chad’s official languages.

Despite the risks, asylum seekers continue to attempt border crossings in winter.

In December, four men from Chad were found by RCMP after crossing the border near Emerson. One suffered serious weather-related injuries.

A family of four from India froze to death in a snow-packed field while trying to walk into the U.S., just east of Emerson, in a blizzard in January 2022.

Dave Carlson, reeve of the Municipality of Emerson-Franklin, said there is the “odd sighting” of someone crossing the border in or near Emerson.

“It’s dangerous to do that,” he said. “At night, it gets chilly, especially if you’re not used to the temperatures,” he said. “Exposure can get you.”

Carlson said fields are wet and have little snow cover due to recent mild temperatures.

The area is mostly open, with little cover from the wind. It is easy to get lost or turned around while crossing on foot, said Carlson.

The RCMP and U.S. Customs and Border Patrol began reporting a spike in crossings after COVID-19 pandemic travel restrictions started to ease.

Manitoba RCMP reported 77 interceptions between ports of entry in 2023, up from 72 in 2022 and 19 in in 2021.

The U.S. CBP reported 300 “encounters” in the Grand Forks sector, which stretches from North Dakota to Wisconsin, during its fiscal year from October 2022 to September 2023, up from 81 in the previous 12-month period.

The figures include apprehensions, expulsions and peopled deemed inadmissible.

Mexican citizens represent the highest proportion of apprehensions by U.S. agents, who’ve said organized human smuggling groups are fuelling an increase in illegal crossings.

Smuggling fees are said to run into the thousands of dollars.

“The criminal here is the smuggler, not the newcomer,” said Emily Halldorson, a co-ordinator with the Manitoba Association of Newcomer Serving Organizations. “(Newcomers) have a right to come to Canada to protect themselves.”

She said the number of local asylum claims more than doubled recently, going from about 40-50 per month to 130 in October and 145 in November.

Halldorson cited instability in countries around the world.

She said shelters are welcoming more refugee claimants, who do not have access to supports, such as employment and income assistance, for several weeks following their arrival.

Halldorson and Humaira Jaleel, executive director of Winnipeg-based Healthy Muslim Families, said changes to the Safe Third Country Agreement have made it harder for people to claim asylum in Canada.

“People who are coming here are seeking safety,” said Jaleel, whose organization has helped refugee claimants who crossed the border. “They’re turning to smugglers and paying a lot of money to bring them here.”

— with files from Dean Pritchard and Erik Pindera 

chris.kitching@freepress.mb.ca