At least 7 of the men caught crossing border from Manitoba are Mexican: officials

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This article was published 19/04/2023 (905 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

WARROAD, Minn. – United States officials say at least seven of the nine men caught crossing the border this week from southeast Manitoba are Mexican citizens.

RCMP were first alerted to the group when one of them called 911 early Tuesday suffering from the cold weather.

The U.S. Customs and Border Protection agency says the migrants were found in a flooded bog west of Warroad, Minn., southwest of an official port of entry near Sprague, Man.

The agency says temperatures in the bog were below freezing and agents wore protective suits to guard against the frigid water.

There was a report of a missing person but the agency says searches on both sides of the border did not find anyone.

Two of the migrants are still receiving medical care and officials have not determined their nationality.

“The outcome could have been much worse if not for the quick notification from RCMP and the response of our agents,” chief patrol agent Scott D. Garrett said in a news release Wednesday.

The men range from age 19 to 46 and did not have proper immigration documents allowing them to enter or remain in the U.S., the agency said.

In October, the agency reported arresting 12 migrants from Ireland and the United Kingdom in the same general area.

In January of last year, a family of four from India froze to death while trying to walk across the border further west, near Emerson, Man.

Steve Shand, a Florida resident, was charged with human smuggling in that case.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published April 19, 2023.