EMERSON, Manitoba — Forty people were caught illegally crossing the international border near Pembina, N.D., and Noyes, Minn., this week, the Royal Canadian Mounted Police said in a Saturday statement.

The 40 people were intercepted by Canadian authorities between Tuesday and Friday near Emerson, which is in the farmlands of the Red River Valley about 80 miles north of Grand Forks, N.D. The statement said “no further details on age or countries of origin will be provided.” Canadian officials did not immediately respond to messages requesting additional information.

The release stated Manitoba authorities have caught 183 people illegally crossing the border since Jan 1.

The announcement by Canadian officials comes amid an uptick in refugees seeking asylum at the U.S.-Canada border. Welcome Place, a refugee agency in Manitoba, resettled 91 people claiming refugee status between Nov. 1 and late January, according to a Reuters report, which is more than a typical year’s worth.

Cynthia Shabb, executive director of the Global Friends Coalition — a Grand Forks group dedicated to New American integration — also spoke about the matter last month. She said she suspects most of the surge is people with expired visas filtering through the area, and said she has not heard any talk among local immigrants of joining them.

Canadian Public Safety Minister Ralph Goodale visited Emerson on Saturday.

“We all need to work together. We have to have good communication with one another. This is a set of issues that span national, provincial and local responsibilities,” Goodale told reporters at a conference.

Goodale announced US$22,000 (CA$30,000) to cover extra costs borne by Emerson-Franklin’s volunteer fire department and other agencies in the community, saying more resources will become available.

The Royal Canadian Mounted Police and the Canada Border Services Agency have shifted some resources in southern Manitoba to the Emerson area. The border services agency recently set up a trailer to help process the border-crossers. Related Articles Early voting in Minnesota starts Friday. Any questions?

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The number of illicit border-crossings has jumped in recent months, following the U.S. government’s plans to limit immigration and step up deportations. The Manitoba government has said the influx has created more demand for housing and other support services.

Migrants have been crossing through fields and ditches because, under the Canada-United States Safe Third Country Agreement, they are turned back at official border crossings if they have already made refugee claims in the U.S.

If they get onto Canadian soil before being apprehended, they are allowed to stay in Canada and go through the normal refugee-claim process.

Conservative immigration critic Michelle Rempel has called on the government to ensure migrants who sneak across the border are charged with crossing illegally, but Goodale said they cannot be charged if they make a refugee claim, at least until the claim is dealt with.

“Charges in relation to the crossing of the border cannot be laid until after the case of the particular individual under immigration rules has been finally disposed of,” Goodale said.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.