A bleak panorama of frozen, windblown prairie extends in every direction behind Katy Siemer as she points north, past a barren stand of trees to a pipeline compressor station a few hundred metres away in Manitoba.
The U.S. Border Patrol agent is standing alongside a similar facility in Minnesota that she says undocumented migrants use as a meeting spot when sneaking over from Canada, usually under cover of darkness.
At the moment, itB次元官网网址檚 a blindingly bright, sunny day, beautiful in every respect but the -29 C temperature.
B次元官网网址淥h, this is very mild,B次元官网网址� says Siemer, the deputy patrol agent in charge of the station in nearby Pembina, N.D., nary a trace of sarcasm in her voice.
B次元官网网址淚tB次元官网网址檚 about -20 degrees (Fahrenheit) right now, but the wind isnB次元官网网址檛 blowing, so it doesnB次元官网网址檛 feel that bad.B次元官网网址�
In other words, Siemer has seen worse. Like last week, when RCMP in Canada recovered the frozen bodies of a family from India. Investigators believe they were part of a larger group of undocumented Indian nationals that agents encountered on the U.S. side shortly before the bodies were discovered.
Authorities say the family, which included a teen and a young child, likely became disoriented as bitter winds created blinding, blizzard-like conditions before they fell victim to the fearsome cold.
That same night, just up the gravel road, agents pulled over a rented passenger van and found two more Indian nationals inside, along with a stockpile of provisions that included bottled water, juice boxes and snacks.
Steve Shand, 47, of Deltona, Fla., now faces human-smuggling charges. A Minnesota judge agreed Monday to release Shand on an appearance bond, subject to release conditions.
The tragedy captured the imaginations of Canadians and U.S. citizens alike and underscored the challenge border guards like Siemer and colleague David Marcus confront every day as they patrol the vast, unforgiving hinterland.
B次元官网网址淭hereB次元官网网址檚 nothing really here for anyone to take shelter in,B次元官网网址� says Siemer.
B次元官网网址淚tB次元官网网址檚 difficult as Border Patrol also because thereB次元官网网址檚 just nothing. ThereB次元官网网址檚 no infrastructure, we donB次元官网网址檛 have cameras B次元官网网址� thereB次元官网网址檚 no way to be out here other than just to drive out here and see what you can see.B次元官网网址�
That makes the local residents of the small towns in the area B次元官网网址� Walhalla, N.D. (Pop. 1,064), Pembina (pop. 485), Saint Vincent, Minn. (pop. 64), B次元官网网址� a vital component of the agencyB次元官网网址檚 strategy.
B次元官网网址淥ur agents are incredibly vigilant and do a phenomenal job,B次元官网网址� Marcus says.
B次元官网网址淏ut the public, they know. They drive these roads every day, theyB次元官网网址檙e in these areas every day doing recreational activities, so they definitely know when things are out of place.B次元官网网址�
Government-issue SUVs are generally the vehicles of choice for U.S. Border Patrol agents, although they also have access to a fleet of snowmobiles and ATVs kitted out with snow treads when they need them.
Snowshoes, too, are standard-issue equipment.
Investigators say the deaths are likely linked to a larger human smuggling operation B次元官网网址� a phenomenon thatB次元官网网址檚 a fact of daily life in the southern U.S., but far less common up north.
In fact, itB次元官网网址檚 a lot more frequent than most people on either side of the border might realize.
B次元官网网址淚tB次元官网网址檚 not unheard of to see something every month or every couple of weeks,B次元官网网址� Siemer says.
B次元官网网址淚t really kind of depends on circumstances. The season definitely has a lot to do with it as well. ItB次元官网网址檚 not the southern border B次元官网网址� definitely not B次元官网网址� but we definitely see things every couple of weeks, depending on whatB次元官网网址檚 going on.B次元官网网址�
Indeed, Department of Justice officials released details Monday of a similar human-smuggling case, this time in northwest Montana near the Rocky Mountain boundary between Alberta and British Columbia.
Two Seattle residents face charges after U.S. agents stopped a vehicle in a remote area near the border and discovered six people inside who admitted to being in the country illegally.
The arrests were made early on Jan. 19, the very same day that agents encountered the group in Minnesota.
B次元官网网址淚tB次元官网网址檚 not necessarily that the numbers are going up, itB次元官网网址檚 just weB次元官网网址檙e kind of getting back to a normal posture that weB次元官网网址檝e always kind of seen before (the pandemic),B次元官网网址� Siemer says.
B次元官网网址淚tB次元官网网址檚 not quite so blatant as it is on the southern border, but itB次元官网网址檚 still absolutely happening every day on the northern border.B次元官网网址�
Experts arenB次元官网网址檛 entirely sure what to make of it, other than the fact that people clearly want to come to the U.S., and are willing to do so by any means necessary, whether itB次元官网网址檚 in the wilds of Minnesota or the Rio Grande Valley.
The numbers up north will never compare to the sheer volume at the southern border, where agents encountered more than 420 people in various groups over the weekend near Brownsville, Tex.
But the causes are the same B次元官网网址� and the solutions just about as effective.
B次元官网网址淭he danger is that you start replicating the same approach thatB次元官网网址檚 been taken on the southern border, and itB次元官网网址檚 not actually had the intended result, ever,B次元官网网址� said Regina Jefferies, an expert in immigration and refugee law at Western Washington University in Bellingham, Wash.
B次元官网网址淚tB次元官网网址檚 more complex than just, B次元官网网址榃e need more resources to put people on snowmobiles to patrol these really remote spaces of farmland.B次元官网网址橞次元官网网址�
Both the U.S. and Canada need to think about the issue not only in terms of B次元官网网址減ull factors,B次元官网网址� she said B次元官网网址� those elements of life in North America that might attract irregular migration B次元官网网址� but also B次元官网网址減ush factorsB次元官网网址� in the form of foreign-policy decisions that compel migrants to flee their home countries.
Migration will be a central topic of discussion at this summerB次元官网网址檚 Summit of the Americas in Los Angeles, a meeting of continental leaders that takes place every three years to talk about issues of mutual interest.
Far from a geographically distant observer, Canada has a contribution to make to that discussion, Jefferies said.
B次元官网网址淐anada has a system in terms of its humanitarian system in particular, thatB次元官网网址檚 really looked at, you know, as sort of closer to a model that other countries might aspire to,B次元官网网址� she said.
B次元官网网址淐anada has a voice in terms of also thinking of ways to allow people to move that donB次元官网网址檛 require those types of risky journeys.B次元官网网址�
B次元官网网址擩ames McCarten, The Canadian Press
