On Thursday, four members of an Indian family were discovered frozen to death on the US-Canada border, bringing attention to illegal Indian immigration from the northern border during the severe American winter, at a time when the US's focus is mostly on its southern border with Mexico.
A family of four, including a man, a woman, a teen, and a toddler, was claimed to have been separated from a larger group of Indians who had made it across the border in temperatures as low as minus 35 degrees Celsius. Their bodies were located within a few metres from the US border on the Canadian side.
Authorities said a white 15-passenger van driven by a Florida resident named Steve Shand — described as a suspected smuggler of undocumented foreign nationals — was stopped less than a mile south of the border in a rural area, according to court documents filed in Minnesota, the closest jurisdiction to the tragedy. Undocumented Indian nationals were identified as two of the passengers.
They then located five more Indians near the border, who explained that they had been expecting to be picked up by someone and had been walking in sub-zero temperatures for almost 11 hours. One of the gang members carried a rucksack filled with the things of the children — clothes, a diaper, and toys. It turns out he was transporting it for a family of four who had become separated during the evening blizzard. The family was later located 30 feet from the US border, freezing to death.
"We're quite worried that this attempted crossing may have been aided in some manner, and that these people, including a newborn, were left alone in the middle of a blizzard, with temperatures hovering around - 35 degrees C when the wind was factored in." "These individuals were confronted not only with the cold, but also with vast fields, big snowdrifts, and utter darkness," a Canadian official in Manitoba told reporters, calling it a "heart-breaking tragedy."
Shand has been charged with one count of "knowing or reckless disregard of the knowledge that an alien had came to, entered, or remained in the United States in violation of law, having transported and moved or attempting to transport and move such aliens," according to the US Attorney's office.
According to court documents, all of the foreign persons seized spoke Gujarati and had limited or no English skills.
Hundreds of Indians, mostly from Punjab and Gujarat, attempt to enter the United States from Mexico's southern border, braving the parched deserts of Latin America. However, there have recently been reports of invasions from the more weakly guarded northern border, where the terrain and climate are drastically different. Despite the fact that the captured Indians were dressed warmly, they were not prepared for the harsh winter, which has brought - 11 degree temperatures to even Washington, DC.
The Canada Border Services Agency said in a statement that it is cooperating with law enforcement partners, including its American colleagues, on the investigation.
the Minister of Public Safety's office said: "The tragic deaths of four people attempting to cross the Canada-US border near Emerson, Manitoba, have shocked and saddened us. We send our heartfelt sympathies to their loved ones, and we are thinking of them during this terrible time."
Crossings from the United States into Canada are more common, according to officials in both nations. Following the election of former US President Donald Trump, the number of people crossing the border into Canada on foot surged in 2016.
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