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OTTAWA — Quebecers living by the Canada-United States border where thousands of migrants have crossed irregularly into the country since 2017 will be eligible for payments of up to $25,000, the federal government announced Wednesday.

Life along the previously sleepy Roxham Road — the main entry point for migrants entering the country on foot — has been disturbed, and residents deserve to be compensated, Border Security Minister Bill Blair said.

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“I’ve been there. I’ve spoken to the residents. I’ve seen the level of activity of the RCMP, the (Canada Border Services Agency) and other officials that has impacted what is otherwise a quiet, rural road,” Blair told reporters.

Photo by Tyler Anderson / National Post

Roughly 96 per cent of all migrants who have crossed illegally into Canada since 2017 have done so at Roxham Road.

The federal Immigration Department says 16,000 people crossed the Canada-U.S. border illegally into Quebec through the end of October this year, and about 19,000 did last year.