.jpg;w=120;h=120;mode=crop){kind=avatar}
A U.S. woman who repeatedly snuck across the Canada-U.S. border illegally to get to the Yukon, which she believed would be “safe from terrorists,” has been jailed for two weeks after pleading guilty to a charge under Canada’s Immigration and Refugee Protection Act.
The 39-year-old U.S. citizen, was arrested Aug. 18 in West Vancouver after making repeated attempts to enter the country illegally from Washington State and being repeatedly escorted back to the U.S., according to federal Crown prosecutor Xiaoshan Zheng, who outlined the unusual case in North Vancouver provincial court on Sept. 15.
Judge Joanne Challenger noted that the woman had attempted to enter Canada at one of the border crossings south of Vancouver four times in April and May 2022, but was turned away each time, as being "inadmissible" to Canada. But on May 22 she “walked around a fence” to get into Canada. She was later picked up and held in hospital under the Mental Health Act.
The woman returned to the U.S. but in July was found again by RCMP just inside Canada on Zero Avenue – a road that runs parallel to the border. She was escorted back over the border to the U.S. but the next day was found on Zero Avenue again, said Challenger, and was issued a deportation order.
Despite the order, the woman was found back in Canada a few days later, given a second deportation order and physically removed.
On Aug. 10, she was arrested again inside Canada, this time at the Fairmont Pacific Rim hotel, where she was causing a disturbance. A third deportation order was issued.
The U.S. woman was arrested for a final time, Aug. 18 in West Vancouver, after police received calls about a woman who appeared to be in distress.
The woman gave police a fake name, then told them she was trying to catch a bus to get to the Yukon, where she would be safe from terrorists, according to the Crown.
She has been held in custody since then.
The woman's defence lawyer described her repeated attempts to come to Canada “for no apparent reason” as “obviously misguided.”
The woman previously lived in various states including Florida, the Carolinas, Texas and Washington State, said her lawyer. She was previously ruled inadmissible to Canada because of a criminal record in the U.S.
In sentencing the woman, Challenger told her she had already been given “many chances” by police and border officials before she was charged under the Immigration Act, noting it was unclear just how the woman continued to be able to cross the border.
“You cannot ignore any deportation order,” said the judge.
She handed the woman a 60-day jail sentence, with credit for time already spent in custody, leaving a further 16 days in jail.
Challenger said the woman could have been given a longer sentence but noted her “significant mental health issues” as a factor in the case.
