Search underway for woman, 2 young children near Quebec-U.S. border

Annabelle Olivier · CBC News

· Posted: Apr 17, 2025 3:23 PM EDT | Last Updated: 8 minutes ago

A hunt and rescue cognition is underway for a pistillate and 2 young children who are believed to person crossed the borderline from the United States into Canada overnight.

RCMP said the hunt was launched astatine astir midnight Thursday successful the country surrounding Trout River, Que., successful the Montérégie region, aft 2 men and a woman were arrested Wednesday nighttime for illegally entering the country. 

RCMP spokesperson Martina Pillarova said it was lone during interviews with the trio that officers learned of the missing pistillate and children.

The hunt cognition has since been taken implicit by the Sûreté du Québec (SQ). 

The ages of the children person not been confirmed, but the SQ told CBC they are believed to beryllium arsenic young arsenic 3 years old.

Pillarova said aesculapian exigency services were besides connected standby as determination were concerns for their safety. 

"They mightiness beryllium injured or dehydrated," Pillarova said, much than 10 hours aft the hunt began.

There is an official border crossing astatine Trout River that links the municipality of Elgin, Que., to Constable, N.Y., which is unfastened from 6 a.m. to 6 p.m. astir days.

Elgin's wide manager Guylaine Cloutier said that amerciable crossings person accrued since U.S. President Donald Trump's 2nd word began, but noted it's not a caller issue.

"It's ever existed," she said, adding that although it's worrisome, there's not overmuch the municipality tin bash to help. 

"We don't person the capableness oregon resources," she said. 

Quebec seeing rise successful asylum claims

The Trump administration's crackdown connected migration has coincided with a steadily expanding fig of asylum claims by would-be refugees successful Quebec.

U.S. Homeland Security said past period it was revoking the impermanent presumption of 532,000 radical from Cuba, Haiti, Nicaragua and Venezuela who flew to the state astatine their ain disbursal with a fiscal sponsor. It ends April 24.

The Trump medication has besides announced an extremity to Temporary Protected Status for 600,000 Venezuelans and astir 500,000 Haitians — acceptable to expire successful August — though a national justice temporarily enactment that connected hold.

Data obtained by Radio-Canada shows that the fig of claims processed astatine the popular Saint-Bernard-de-Lacolle borderline crossing went from 560 successful January to 1,411 arsenic of April 13.

The Canada-U.S. Safe Third Country Agreement requires radical to assertion asylum successful the archetypal harmless state they reach — meaning they can't question to the U.S., for example, and past assertion asylum successful Canada.

There are exceptions, however: would-be refugees tin transverse the borderline and assertion asylum successful Canada if they person a household subordinate successful the state oregon if they are an unaccompanied minor. Another objection exists for anyone who crosses illegally into Canada and hides retired for 2 weeks earlier making their claim.

Federal leaders measurement successful connected immigration

American policies and their interaction connected Canada person been beforehand and centre connected the national run trail, and Wednesday's French-language leaders' statement was nary different. 

The leaders weighed successful connected immigration, and asylum seekers, successful particular.

Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre said helium would artifact individuals coming from the U.S. and seeking asylum successful Canada. 

Liberal Leader Mark Carney said determination are limits to what the state tin handle.

"We person to beryllium human, but we have to beryllium realistic. Canada can't judge everyone," helium said, noting most asylum seekers would apt beryllium turned backmost to the U.S. given the Safe Third Country Agreement.

Meanwhile, NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh projected doing distant with the Safe Third Country Agreement.