Search for woman, 2 kids over after group crosses illegally into Quebec from U.S.

Three people were arrested after crossing illegally into Quebec’s Montérégie region from the United States late Wednesday night.

The search for a woman and two young children believed to have crossed the Quebec-U.S. border overnight has been called off.

Quebec provincial police (SQ) said they believe the three left in a car and are no longer in the search area, but “efforts to meet the migrants are continuing.”

Three other people were arrested after crossing illegally into Quebec’s Montérégie region from the United States late Wednesday night.

Two men and one woman were located after crossing into Canada in the Trout River sector around midnight and arrested near Godmanchester, Que., roughly 20 kilometres north of the U.S. border with New York state.

The trio was transferred into the custody of the Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA).

Cpl. Martina Pillarova, an RCMP spokesperson, told CTV News that police have information suggesting there were three other people travelling with them who are unaccounted for.

Police used a helicopter and dog handlers to attempt to locate one woman and two young kids in woods near the U.S. border southwest of Montreal.

The Mounties requested assistance from the SQ to find them and transferred the case Thursday afternoon.

There has been a recent surge in people seeking asylum in Quebec from the U.S. in recent weeks as the Donald Trump administration seeks to end the Temporary Protected Status of hundreds of thousands of people from countries like Afghanistan, Cameroon, Haiti and Venezuela.

TPS, overseen by the Department of Homeland Security, grants eligible people protection from deportation if they face conditions that prevent them from returning safely to their country of origin, which can include ongoing armed conflict, an environmental disaster, and other “extraordinary and temporary conditions.”

According to the CBSA, 1,356 asylum seekers arrived at Quebec’s Saint-Bernard-de-Lacolle official port of entry in March, an increase of 534 people compared to March 2024. So far this month (as of April 13), the number of arrivals reached 1,411, which is four times the number recorded (319) for the same 13-day period last year.

The CBSA notes, however, that overall, asylum claims are in fact down 53 per cent across Canada so far this year.

The Entre mamans et papas family support centre in Montreal’s Hochelaga-Maisonneuve neighbourhood told CTV News earlier this week that there is a growing demand for services like food, baby supplies, and basic needs for people who have sought asylum in Quebec.

Frantz André, spokesperson for the Action Committee for People Without Status, told CTV Your Morning that he believes the threat of U.S. administration policies is likely the reason more people are showing up at the Quebec border.

“So, people are running away because they are actually physically deporting people that were supposed to be in the program for months to come,” he said.