Man Found Dead Near Roxham Road, Quebec’s Unofficial Border Crossing

The end of Roxham Road where thousands of asylum seekers have crossed, seen in Hemmingford, Que., on March 20, 2020.(Ryan Remiorz/The Canadian Press)

A man has been found dead near an unofficial border crossing south of Montreal that is illegally used by thousands of foreign nationals each year to cross into Canada from the United States to seek asylum.

The man’s body was found at about 2.45 p.m. on Jan. 4 in a wooded area in St-Bernard-de-Lacolle, Que., near Roxham Road, Quebec’s police service said on Jan. 5.

The person’s identity or nationality cannot be confirmed, said Louis-Philippe Ruel, spokesman for Surete du Quebec in an interview with The Canadian Press. Neither can the police ascertain at this point whether the deceased man had crossed the border from the neighbouring New York state or had intended to cross into the United States.

Ruel did not say whether the body showed any sign of violence or indication of the cause of death, the media outlet reported, but the spokesman said police have embarked on what could be a lengthy investigation into the causes and circumstances surrounding the death.

According to Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada, the RCMP intercepted 34,478 asylum seekers who did not use official ports of entry to enter Quebec between January and November of 2022.

The latest figure far exceeds the ones recorded in 2021 with 4,095 interceptions, and 3,189 in 2020, when Roxham Road was mostly shut down due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The unofficial entry point was reopened last November.

An Immigration Canada briefing in July 2022 said that over 95 percent of all asylum claimants entering the country through unofficial crossings do so by using Roxham Road.

Refugee claimants who enter Canada from the United States at an official border checkpoint are automatically turned back under the Canada-U.S. Safe Third Country Agreement.

People who enter through Roxham Road, however, are generally allowed to remain in Canada pending their hearing dates.

As a result, many seek out illegal crossings at the checkpoint where claimants can arrive by car or taxi and walk the few feet across the border.

Quebec Premier Francois Legault has pressed the Liberal government to close Roxham Road, saying the province cannot handle the influx of refugees.

The Canadian Press contributed to this report.