For RCMP along the Canada-U.S. border, Trump’s unpredictability looms large

Sgt. Daniel Dubois is used to gruelling weather. He’s a Mountie after all.

In charge of a 168-kilometre stretch along the Canada-U.S. border, frigid weather and blustering winds are job hazards as he and his team police the area for illegal border crossings.

But there’s another element he and his team are weathering these days: a political storm.

Whenever [U.S. President Donald] Trump is in the news saying this thing or that — of course it’s going to concern us, the veteran officer said.

The biggest concern is not knowing.… That causes anxiety for our membership.

Earlier this week, CBC News shadowed Dubois for four hours on a stormy day, driving through his patrol area straddling New York and Vermont, waiting for tips to come in and checking known crossing points for fresh footprints.

All the while news alerts would ping — detailing the latest missive from the U.S. administration about the border.

It’s the reality of policing what’s become the flashpoint in the increasingly uneasy Canada-U.S. relationship, with Trump threatening to impose 25 per cent tariffs (new window) and using what he calls an invasion of fentanyl and migrants as justification.

WATCH | Sgt. Dubois explains the reality of policing the Canada-U.S. border:

Mountie says force is dealing with uncertainty at U.S. border

Sgt. Daniel Dubois, who leads the RCMP’s Champlain border-patrol unit, says the force has ‘contingency plans in case something ever happens’ but that it is ‘still business as usual.’

My job is not to have an opinion on migration. My job is to make sure people are safe, he said, rounding the unmarked police car down a rural road near Saint-Bernard-de-Lacolle, Que.

But as the officer in charge of a high-profile border stretch, including how to staff it, he’s honest about the stress the political climate is causing.

Am I doing the right thing? I don’t know, he said, removing his sunglasses and shaking his head.

Who can plan if it’s going to be different tomorrow?

New technology part of the ‘dance’

While working under the political glare brings stress, it’s also driving more resources to the 49th parallel.

In an effort to placate Trump and stave off a devastating economic blow, the Canadian government is spending $1.3 billion to bolster the border and disrupt southbound flow — including outfitting the RCMP with helicopters, drones and other surveillance equipment.

It will get projects off the ground, said Dubois, while adding that someone needs to be monitoring what the technology is capturing.

I can have whatever I want. If I can’t have proper monitoring — it means nothing, he said.

It’s like a big dance — everyone and everything has to follow the same motion in order to make it work. Technology is just one of those things.

Concerns about northward flow

The president is quickly following through on his promise to crack down on illegal immigration with raids and deportation.  On Thursday he promised to deport non-citizen college students and others who took part in pro-Palestinian protests.  (new window)

While crossings are an almost daily reality (Business is constant, says Dubois) what’s unsettling is whether the northbound numbers will rise, he said.

Is that going to affect our job? Maybe, maybe not. We don’t know, Dubois said.

We do have plans, contingency plans in case something ever happens, but now we’re all wondering what the next phase is going to be like, the Mountie said. Are we expecting a surge in the spring? I don’t know. Are we expecting a surge next week?

New fears around Roxham Road

As the snow continues to fall, Dubois pulls the car down what is perhaps Canada’s most infamous rural street: Roxham Road.

Two concrete blocks and a ditch divide the two countries, but the road otherwise offers a straight path to the United States.

It became the epicentre of a migrant crisis during Trump’s first term, when the unofficial crossing was used by tens of thousands of asylum seekers and turned the Safe Third Country Agreement (STCA) into a well-known phrase.

At the time, the agreement allowed the Canadian government to turn back asylum seekers attempting to enter from the U.S, but only at official border crossings.

Asylum seekers could still enter at unofficial crossings to make their claims, and they did in droves starting in 2017 following stricter immigration policies south of the border.

Dubois points to where RCMP once had detention facilities — the lot is now empty and covered in snow.

The structures were torn down in 2023 after Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and former U.S. president Joe Biden revised the STCA to include the entire land border.

It’s ended the bottleneck at Roxham Road, but it’s come with new concerns in the area, said Dubois.

Under the updated agreement, migrants can claim asylum in Canada if they can enter the country and stay undetected for 14 days.

Dubois said police worry that will drive people into dense thickets and along more dangerous terrain to avoid detection.

From a policing perspective, Dubois said the old system was easier to manage than to spread your resources out along the area’s vast open fields.

People detained in winter wearing shorts: officer

There’s also a deep concern for people’s safety.

This time of year you still see people wearing sneakers, he said.

We had a sighting I’d say about a month and a half ago — two guys wearing shorts.

The area is not a stranger to tragedy. People have died (new window) making the crossing or had to have their limbs amputated after spending too long in the unforgiving elements.

Dubois is visibly upset talking about the children he and the other Mounties have encountered.

The human factors are the worst to deal with, he said, going uncharacteristically quiet.

As afternoon wanes and the light begins to fade — some relief.

No one has been spotted attempting to cross today. No kids in the cold. No dangerous rescues. No reports of hypothermia.

While nights can make for some of the most dangerous crossings, the team back at the station is hoping the brutal weather will keep people from attempting the journey — at least for the next few hours.

But Dubois is always checking his weather app, trying to anticipate when people will try and make a run for it. And checking the news for a hint of what could motivate an uptick.

The root of our jobs is to apply laws, to know what’s the next step, to plan ahead for an operation, he said.

Right now we don’t know how things are going to go.

This article is republished from RCI.