9 people rescued near Manitoba border were part of human smuggling operation: U.S. officials

The nine people detained trying to illegally cross from Canada into the U.S. earlier this week were part of a human smuggling operation, according to U.S. officials.

The group — all men, ranging in age from 19 to 46, according to officials — had attempted to enter the U.S. through a wooded area near Sprague, in southeastern Manitoba.

They were found in flooded bog west of Warroad, Minn. — about 25 kilometres southeast of Sprague —  just before 5 a.m. on Tuesday, after RCMP received an emergency phone call from one of the members of the group and notified U.S. border patrol agents.

"They were told where they were dropped off to just walk a certain direction, and it'd only be about 20-minute walk and they would be in the United States," border patrol agent David Marcus told CBC.

The people in the group, which included seven Mexicans, were told they'd then be on a road and would be picked up.

"That definitely wasn't the case. They were walking all night and had to be rescued," Marcus said.

So far, border agents haven't found anyone on the Canadian or American side who was waiting to pick the group up, he said.

All nine were taken to hospital in distress after exposure to harsh weather conditions, U.S. Customs and Border Protection previously said.

As of Thursday, two remained in hospital and were being treated for severe hypothermia.

U.S. authorities say they have not been able to determine the nationalities of the two still in hospital, or whether either may have been involved as a smuggler. 

"Preservation of life is the first and most important thing," said Steven Bansbach, a spokesperson with U.S. Customs and Border Protection.

"[When] they are coherent and they can respond and understand what we're asking, at that point we'll have an answer," but for now, "we can't speculate," he said.

It is still unclear if there was a 10th person in the group who may still be missing, he said.

"Both sides of the border are exhausting every effort, because obviously the last thing you want to do is just leave somebody out there," Bansbach said.

70% of migrants Mexican: U.S. Customs

The seven who have been released from hospital have now been turned over to U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement and will face deportation.

Border officials are still working to determine the timeline of the migrants' journeys, including where and when they first landed in Canada and how long they were in Manitoba before the crossing. 

According to data from U.S. Customs and Border Protection,  between last October and March of this year, 70 of the 100 people caught illegally crossing from Manitoba into North Dakota or Minnesota were Mexican.

That number does not include the men rescued Tuesday.

"It's pretty common," Marcus said. "Year after year, it seems like Mexico is the No. 1 nationality of people that we see that cross."

Mexicans are able to enter Canada without a visa, after a visa requirement implemented in 2009 to curb bogus asylum seekers was lifted in 2016, following pushback from Mexican officials.

Desperation drives most people who attempt the dangerous trek, he said. Many are trying to escape financial hardship or the danger of living in violent areas overrun with gang activity. 

They are rarely dressed for the conditions they face, he said.

"We've apprehended people in the middle of winter and their boots were essentially rain boots — no insulation whatsoever," he said. "You're going to get frostbite real quick if you don't have an insulated boot."

'They don't have another option'

Toronto lawyer Ali Esnaashari, who has represented detained Mexicans, said many don't understand the danger they are putting themselves in.

People who turn to human smugglers to help facilitate their crossing are often given very little information about what their journey will look like, he said.

"A lot of them don't necessarily know how they're going to get across the border. They don't know if someone is driving them. They don't know if they're walking across the border," he said.

"So a lot of them basically are dropped off at the border and told to walk.… What are they going to do at that point? They have to walk. They don't have another option."

Deepak Ahluwalia, a Canadian-born immigration lawyer who represents migrants in California and Texas, said smugglers often aren't honest about the dangers involved in clandestine border crossings, and migrants may not be aware of news reports about tragedies involving crossings.

"I would be hard-pressed to find any individuals or families that would say, 'I'm still going to continue this journey,' knowing that this very route that they're undertaking, there's death up ahead," he said in an interview from Fresno, Calif.

Smugglers may not understand dangers

Ahluwalia and Esnaashari said hiring a smuggler costs migrants thousands of dollars.

Mexicans who travel through Canada, planning to attempt a crossing into the U.S., tend to have more money than those who enter from the south, Ahluwalia said.

"You'll seldom find individuals who have little to no means making that journey to Canada, because in fact smugglers often charge three to five times more for this route, which obviously not only is lengthier but a lot more complicated," he said.

Esnaashari said people find smugglers through word of mouth or the shelter system, or by searching online ads. 

"They basically go down the rabbit hole until they find someone who says, 'OK, I can help you.' They don't necessarily know who this person is. They've never met them. They may just have the phone number or an email address and they're willing to gamble it all," he said. 

The smugglers are only interested in financial gain, said Esnaashari, and may not know themselves what they're getting into.

"These are usually people who really don't necessarily have knowledge of these different areas that they're suggesting for these migrants to cross over at," he said.

Better government policy is needed, he said, since border patrols can't completely protect a U.S-Canada border that's nearly 9,000 kilometres long.