The federal government and the Canada Border Services Agency refuse to disclose the number of asylum seekers who have been allowed to enter Canada or were prevented from doing so via the Roxham Road since the decision to close it and all other irregular border crossings came into effect at midnight Friday-Saturday.

Meanwhile, several local residents say they see people coming from the United States side circumventing the usual crossing point.

In this context, some residents of the neighboring town of Saint-Bernard-de-Lacolle informed their mayor, Estelle Moisi, that they saw asylum seekers entering Canada from somewhere other than Roxham Road.

On the U.S. side of the border, William Wemple, who lives on Roxham Road, regularly sees refugees passing behind his house.

When asked about the claims of the mayor of Saint-Bernard-de-Lacolle, Pablo Rodriguez, the Canadian Heritage Minister in the Liberal government in Ottawa and the person responsible for the Liberal Party deputies in Quebec, was cautious.

“I cannot comment on what (the mayor) believes she saw or did not see,” Rodriguez said, adding: “I do not know, it is possible that there are people trying to cross.”

In response to a question about the ways Canada prevents irregular migrants from crossing the border, the minister only mentioned the role of embassies and international advertising about the proper immigration process to Canada.

For her part, the Minister of Immigration, Francisation and Integration in the Quebec government, Christine Fréchette, pointed out that the Canadian border management is under the authority of the federal government, saying: “There will definitely be some attempts to find crossing points again (...), but it will be up to the federal government to monitor other crossing points that people might try to pass through.”

Roxham Road is located in southern Quebec province at the border with the U.S. state of New York.

The decision to close it came after lengthy negotiations with the U.S. administration, which agreed to update the Safe Third Country Agreement on the condition that Canada accept an additional 15,000 asylum seekers over the next 12 months. However, little is known about this program, which is still under development.

When asked about the fate of refugees stranded in the United States, Minister Rodriguez said that the Safe Third Country Agreement follows the principles outlined by the United Nations.