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Residents of Emerson, Man., population 700, pride themselves on being a small town with a big heart. And so when word got out Saturday that law enforcement officials had corralled 19 asylum-seekers who had snuck in from the U.S. in frigid conditions, the local emergency co-ordinator didn’t hesitate to open the community centre to provide temporary shelter.

But the recent surge in illegal border crossings from refugee claimants here and along other parts of the border is putting a strain on local and federal resources — and raising questions about security — causing some officials to wonder: how long can they keep up that generosity?

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“We’ve had so many people just roaming around in the town of Emerson knocking on people’s doors in the middle of the night. People are scared,” said Greg Janzen, reeve of the Municipality of Emerson-Franklin.

We’ve had so many people just roaming around in the town of Emerson knocking on people’s doors in the middle of the night. People are scared

Janzen, who has called for an emergency meeting among local officials this week, says if the town opens its community centre again to “border jumpers,” there ought to be at least some presence from border agents or RCMP.