The families are of Romanian and Indian descent, the authorities said on Friday. The bodies were found near the St. Lawrence River in the Akwesasne Mohawk Nation, a reservation in southwest Canada on the border with the US state of New York. It is about 100 kilometers southwest of Montreal. Authorities believe the people tried to enter the United States illegally. They are now investigating the exact circumstances of his death.
Unauthorized border crossings at the US-Canadian border have recently also been an important political issue. Canada’s Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and US President Joe Biden agreed that both countries may in future refuse asylum procedures if people do not get to one of the two countries at official border crossings. Migration rights activists have argued that this will result in migrants seeking more dangerous routes to evade authorities.
