Indian family drowned trying to enter US illegally from Canada: official

NEW YORK, April 2 (Audio) An Indian family was among those who drowned trying to illegally cross the river from Canada to the United States, officials said.

Eight bodies found dead in wetlands near the St. Lawrence River on Quebec’s Canadian Indigenous Reservation include those “believed to be Indian nationals” who were “illegal immigrants from Canada to the United States.” It also included a person who was believed to have been trying to local police deputy chief Leanne O’Brien said on Friday.

Six of the bodies were found during an air search on Thursday, she said.

Akwesane Mohawk Police Station (AMPS) later reported that two more bodies had been found on Friday. One was a woman believed to be of Indian nationality and the other was a Romanian infant with a Canadian passport.

The identity of the person whose body was found has not been released.

O’Brien said in a videocast press conference that AMPS is working with immigration and homeland security officials to identify the deceased and inform families.

She said another family member involved in the incident is believed to be from Romania.

The boat found near the body belonged to Native Canadian Casey Oakes, who is also missing.

The area of ​​the Akwesane-Mohawk Indian Reservation in Quebec borders New York and is considered a destination for those trying to cross it.

Canada is providing an avenue for Indians trying to enter the United States illegally.

Last April, six Indians were rescued from the St. Regis River by US Border Patrol after US authorities were alerted by AMPS that a boat had sunk near the US border.

Last January, an Indian family of four was found frozen to death near the US border along Minnesota in Manitoba.

They are Jagdish Baldevbhai Patel, 39, and Vaishaliben Jagdishkumar Patel, 37, from Dingcha, Gujarat, and their children, Vihangi Jagdishkumar Patel, 11. and Darmik Jagdishkumar Patel, 3, have been identified.

US authorities arrested seven Indians near the border before their bodies were found.

Last August, seven people from Gujarat entered the United States illegally from Quebec and were detained by U.S. authorities.

Illegal immigration by Indians from Canada to the United States is the opposite of the recent trend of people trying to cross illegally in the opposite direction as Canada’s asylum regulations have become more lenient and the services available in Canada have improved.

Last year, more than 39,000 people, many of whom came to the United States from the southern border with Mexico, entered Canada, leading to an agreement between the two countries to block immigration.

Under a deal signed last week by US President Joe Biden and Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, the two countries agreed to turn back people who illegally crossed their borders.

Indians caught trying to enter the United States from Canada will now be deported to Canada.

Migration from the United States to Canada was the result of a domino effect. People flow into the United States from Central America and elsewhere. Border states and cities are dominated by both Republicans and Democrats, but pressure from the influx busses some of them to New York, a Liberal Democrat city that is a “sanctuary city” for illegal immigrants. . , faced similar pressures in feeding them, this time sending them to Canada.