‘BE READY’: Manitoba could see a hike in Trump related illegal border crossings

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The Reeve of a rural Manitoba community hopes the federal government and local law enforcement have plans in place for a possible surge in illegal border crossings now that Donald Trump has won back the White House, because he said that responsibility can’t fall on individual border communities.

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“My sincere hope is that the federal government and the RCMP are ready for it,” Emerson-Franklin Reeve Dave Carlson said. “And I hope they are making the right signals to discourage it, because it can become dangerous very quickly and it really stretches our resources.”

Emerson-Franklin is home to the Pembina–Emerson Border Crossing. As it became clear on Tuesday night into Wednesday morning that Trump would be returning to the White House, Carlson said his thoughts went to the border, and what could be coming once Trump takes office in January.

“It’s obvious we will see a policy change in the United States when it comes to dealing with their migrant issue,” Carlson said. “I was not really surprised with the election results to be honest, but you just have to think now you’ve got to be ready for the potential influx of migrants.”

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Adding to concerns, according to Carlson, is the fact that there was a significant surge in migrant crossings in Emerson in 2017 and 2018, after Trump was elected president for the first time in 2016.

He said that rise in illegal crossings greatly stretched resources in Emerson-Franklin and sometimes put emergency workers in harm’s way, and he hopes that the federal government and border services has learned from what happened the last time Trump was elected president.

“The surge came as a bit of surprise to everyone in 2017 to be honest,” Carlson said. “But we’ve been down this road before, so I’m cautiously optimistic that things will be handled differently, and things won’t get as bad as they were in 2017.

“We’re all very interested to see what the response will be.”

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A spokesperson for the Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA) would not comment on if there are any specific plans in place to deal with a surge in migrants that could come from Trump’s presidency, but said CBSA is confident it will be able to “adapt” should those numbers rise.

“The Agency works in an operating environment that changes on a daily basis and we are ready to respond and adapt as needed,” the spokesperson said.

“Every day last year, nearly $3.6 billion worth of goods and services and about 400,000 people crossed the Canada-U.S. border. The Canada Border Services Agency will continue to work closely with our U.S. Customs and Border Protection counterparts and other enforcement partners, to keep the border open to legitimate trade and travel while protecting our communities from illegal activities.”

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But a spokesperson from the National Headquarters of the RCMP confirmed on Thursday that RCMP across the country have been actively working on plans to deal with the aftermath of the Nov. 5 U.S. election.

“In anticipation of the U.S. election, the RCMP worked through various scenarios in the event of a sudden increase in irregular migration between official ports of entry at the Canada-U.S. border,” the spokesperson said.

“Lessons learned from the migratory movement experienced by Canada between 2016 and 2023, which was in part related to the 2016 U.S. election, have provided us with the tools and insight necessary to address similar types of occurrences.

“Any response to a sudden increase in irregular migration will be coordinated in conjunction with our various partners whose mandates relate to border security and immigration,” the spokesperson added.

“The RCMP is in regular communication with domestic partners involved in this space, including the Canada Border Services Agency and Immigration, Refugee and Citizenship Canada.”

— Dave Baxter is a Local Journalism Initiative reporter who works out of the Winnipeg Sun. The Local Journalism Initiative is funded by the Government of Canada.

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