Truck packed with 44 migrants near Quebec-U.S. border ‘was a horror scene,' RCMP says
Forty-four people, packed into the back of a U-Haul, gasping for air, wet and shivering.
That's how RCMP Cpl. Erique Gasse described the scene near Stanstead close to the Canada-U.S. border this weekend when police say they found a truckful of migrants they allege had been smuggled into Canada minutes earlier.
The migrants, largely of Haitian origin, had been dropped off south of the border the night of Aug. 2, Gasse said, and were told to walk into Canada before smugglers on this side of the border allegedly picked them up.
'The people got out of the vehicle on the American side, several kilometres from the Canadian border,' he said, adding they walked through woods and waded through water. They were picked up in a truck, Gasse said, riding in a compartment with no ventilation.
'When our police opened the door, they said people started breathing properly and really appreciated having the air,' he said. 'It was a horror scene.'
A four-year-old child and a pregnant woman were among those in the vehicle, Gasse said.
The three men accused of smuggling the migrants are facing charges, while many of the 44 migrants are facing deportation back to the United States.
Immigration crackdowns under President Donald Trump have raised anxieties among communities across the United States. Some are now looking for refuge in Canada, including Haitians, whose temporary protected status is under threat from the Trump administration. But for many, claiming asylum in Canada is a risky endeavour. A long-standing agreement between Canada and the United States allows Canada to send asylum claimants who crossed the border back to the U.S., unless they're unaccompanied minors or have family in Canada.
Some of the migrants intercepted over the weekend have already been returned to the United States, Miguel Bégin, the Canada Border Services Agency's east border district director, told Radio-Canada Monday. 'It's highly likely that several migrants will be returned to the United States in the coming hours,' he said at the time.
The CBSA denied The Gazette's request for an interview, but confirmed in an emailed statement that the agency was investigating the migrants' cases to determine whether they were eligible for asylum.
Most asylum claimants went through the processing centre in St-Bernard-de-Lacolle, spokesperson Guillaume Bérubé said in the statement.
In June, U.S. Customs and Border Protection confirmed to The Gazette that asylum seekers without status deported by the CBSA are landing in U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) detention. As of July, the CBSA had removed over 2,000 asylum claimants to the U.S. this year.
The 44 migrants found over the weekend were the most Gasse said he'd ever seen the RCMP intercept.
'It's really not common,' he said. 'I hope it doesn't become common.'
Before 2023, migrants could claim asylum in Canada if they crossed the border at an unofficial point of entry. Many crossed at Roxham Rd., where they would allow police to arrest them before claiming asylum.
But an updated Safe Third Country Agreement saw migrants lose that ability, pushing them to cross in riskier places to avoid police detection, Gasse said. Many smuggling operations are centred in the area surrounding Stanstead, he added.
'Now it's a different ball game.'
The three suspected smugglers, Ogulcan Mersin, Dogan Alakus and Firat Yuksek, are in detention and will next face a judge on Wednesday.
This story was originally published August 5, 2025 at 5:03 PM.
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