Eight people, including two children, were found dead in a marsh near the Canada‑U.S. border after attempting to cross illegally into the United States, police said Friday. Their bodies were discovered near a capsized boat belonging to a missing man from the Akwesasne Mohawk community. “A total of eight bodies have now been recovered from the waters,” local police chief Shawn Dulude told a press conference.
The first six victims, from two families—one of Romanian descent with Canadian passports and the other from India—were found late Thursday, including a child under three years old. At the Friday press conference, Dulude reported two additional victims: an infant “Canadian citizen of Romanian descent” and an adult female believed to be an Indian national. Canadian authorities believe all eight were trying to enter the United States illegally from Canada.
The Mohawk tribal territory spans the Canadian provinces of Quebec and Ontario and the U.S. state of New York. The capsized boat was described as “very small,” and the weather that day was poor, with rain, sleet, and strong wind. “It was not a good time to be out on the water,” local deputy police chief Lee‑Ann O’Brien said at a news conference. Dulude added that such crossings are sometimes facilitated by local people, especially young individuals who are lured by money and exploited by criminal organizations.
The first body was found during an aerial search of the area. Authorities are awaiting autopsy and toxicology results to determine the cause of death. Prime Minister Justin Trudeau expressed sympathy, stating, “Our hearts go out to the families of the individuals who perished. This is a heartbreaking situation.” O’Brien noted a recent increase in people passing through Akwesasne to gain entry into the U.S., with 48 crossings since the start of the year. Once they land on the U.S. side, they are typically picked up on shore and transported by vehicle into New York State.
Two other people have been found dead near the border in recent months while trying to cross illegally from Canada into the United States. During President Joe Biden’s visit to Ottawa last week, the two countries struck a deal to manage the growing issue of undocumented migration along their lengthy border. The arrangement will see undocumented asylum seekers crossing from the United States into Canada turned back, while Canada will expand pathways for legal entry. The plan, similar to a crackdown on the heavily used U.S.–Mexico border, has been criticized by migrants’ rights activists, but both Biden and Trudeau face political pressure to relieve their strained immigration systems.
Comments are closed for this story.