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The 85 migrants crossed from the United States on Feb. 2, April 26, Oct.11, Oct. 19 and Oct. 23. Thirty have been arrested so far and another 10 have received letters advising them they are subject to the special measures. Thirty-five out of the 85 are children.

Authorities have so far been unable to find the remaining 45.

The existence of the Romanian smuggling ring was first reported by the National Post in late October. The crime ring charged $10,000 to $30,000 each for passage to Canada. Migrants were flown to Cancun, Mexico. They then crossed the border to Texas and travelled to Quebec in vans.

While most went to Toronto to make refugee claims, others have gone to cities such as Montreal, Thunder Bay, Ont., and Winnipeg. They are said to be indebted to the smugglers and made to repay what they owe by applying for welfare benefits and engaging in low-level organized crime.

The crackdown on the Romanian human smuggling network comes as Canadian officials are trying to deal with a surge in refugee claims from Eastern Europe, particularly Hungary, which has been Canada’s top source of asylum seekers for the past three years.

“We find it peculiar we would be getting more asylum claims from the European Union than Africa or Latin America or Asia,” Mr. Kenney said.

Officials suspect some East Europeans are applying for refugee status so they can earn money temporarily in Canada. Then, they return to Europe, leaving Canadian taxpayers with the roughly $50,000 cost of processing each asylum claim.