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Officials: Refugees Not Crossing Maine-Canada Border Illegally

A spokesman for the Maine Border Patrol says geography, along with several feet of snow, may be one reason that Maine is not seeing illegal border crossings the way other border states like North Dakota and Minnesota have.

In recent days stories about asylum seekers trying to flee the United States to get a chance at asylum in Canada have made headlines. Border patrol agents say the numbers have increased along parts of the international boundary in the wake of the president’s travel ban from seven Muslim-majority nations.

But Agent Jonathan Maynard says Maine is not seeing that trend.

“That is not to say that these incidents have never occurred. In fact we’ve had a couple of instances as recently as the summer of 2016 where individuals have crossed into Canada for the purposes of claiming asylum status in Canada,” he says.

Maynard says the individuals who are caught crossing the border illegally are not detained unless it is determined that a crime in the United States has been committed. And he says the Border Patrol does not determine if those attempting to enter possess the proper documents under Canadian law, although they will be reported to the Royal Canadian Mounted Police.