The RCMP has released video of an interception of migrants illegally entering Canada from the United States as Ottawa ramps up border security amid growing pressure from the new Trump administration.
Aerial video first shared with Global News on Wednesday was taken from a surveillance aircraft as Mounties stopped the migrants near the Emerson border crossing in Manitoba last month.
The video shows thermal imaging of six people who were arrested crossing the border illegally in the middle of the night on Jan. 14.
The individuals are seen running into a wooded area, followed shortly afterward by RCMP officers who arrived in ground vehicles.
“With the RCMP plane directing officers on the ground, all six were arrested without incident and transferred to the CBSA (Canada Border Services Agency),” RCMP Assistant Commissioner Lisa Moreland, the northwest regional commander of federal policing, said at a press conference in Edmonton on Wednesday.
“To anyone who is thinking about crossing the border (illegally), don’t. You’re putting your life at risk and you should not attempt under any circumstances.”
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The six people arrested were from Chad, Jordan, Sudan and Mauritania, RCMP confirmed in the press conference.
“These individuals … were not prepared for the Canadian weather,” Moreland said. “They did not have hats, gloves, mitts, or anything that we would normally see in a Canadian winter.”
The CBSA would not confirm the status of the detained individuals, including if they have been removed from the country, citing privacy laws.
The update comes as the RCMP has chartered two Black Hawk helicopters and is using drones to patrol parts of the Canada-U.S. border in an effort to strengthen border security as demanded by U.S. President Donald Trump.
The federal government’s $1.3 billion border plan, including a joint strike force and an “around the clock” aerial surveillance unit for ports of entry, was announced in December 2024.
Moreland said the video was being released to show both Canadians and Americans the “situation” frontline officers are facing at the border.
“I think a key part to this is the humanity part of that as well,” she said. “We have young children that are crossing, adults that are crossing in minus 30 degree weather not counting the wind chill.”
Trump has threatened to impose a 25 per cent tariff on all Canadian goods, and 10 per cent on energy, over concerns about the security of the border.
He has alluded to the flow of migrants and fentanyl as well as trade deficit as the reasons behind imposing tariffs on Canada and Mexico.
On Monday, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and Trump said the tariffs were paused for 30 days after new border security commitments were made by Canada.
More to come…
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