Romanian nationals seek refugee status

A group of Romanian nationals who drove clandestinely into Canada and were spotted in Magog early Tuesday are now in the hands of immigration authorities.

A town resident saw the group of 14 – five of them children, police say – while driving along Sherbrooke St. at 4:40 a.m.

“They flagged down this citizen in his car and he understood the word ‘police.’ So he called us,” Capt. Christian Boily of the Memphrémagog police said. “From what we understood, they were asking for refugee status.”

They were taken to the police station, where immigration officers were called. Police then helped transport them to the Stanstead border crossing.

The Canadian Border Security Agency, which is handling the case, would not confirm their request for asylum, or their nation- alities, but said they were in a vehicle that drove into Canada from the U.S. without stopping at the border checkpoint.

“It was a group of persons that failed to report their entrance into Canada,” Véronique Lalime, a spokesperson for the CBSA, said.

Border guards then alerted police forces in nearby towns, she added.

Boily said members of the group spoke no French and only some broken English.

If they did ask for asylum, the standard procedure is to undergo an interview by immigration authorities to determine if they are eligible for refugee status. The law allows refugee claimants to be detained while everyone in the group is interviewed. If a person is deemed eligible to ask for asylum, the case is referred to the Immigration and Refugee Board.