Routine food delivery or a simple shopping trip has turned into an expensive error for many American people and families who have been traveling near the Canadian border in recent times.
In recent months, an increasing number of cases have surfaced involving people without legal status in the United States after having accidentally crossed Ontario through a land border in Canada-US.
One of the most recent cases that has attracted significant attention involves Ricardo Jesus Prada VasquezA Venezuelan national who made a bad turn while delivering McDonald’s to Detroit in January.
According to the Ministry of Internal Security, Prada was arrested at the Detroit-Windsor tunnel as he was trying to return to the United States
“A more in -depth investigation led to the designation of Prada for Public Security,” said the agency in an article on X on April 22, and Prada was expelled in Salvador.
Between January and March 2025, more than 210 people, including families with young children, were detained at the Ambassador bridge and other border crossings in Ontario, said US Democrat representative Rashida Tlaib in Global News in a statement. She said that more than 90% of those who had been detained had arrived at the border by accident.
Customs and the protection of American border (CBP) confirmed to Global News that she saw a number of these cases.
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“Bad turns occur from time to time,” said a CBP spokesperson.
“We are aware of cases where individuals, including illegal foreigners, have made involuntary entries in Canada since Michigan’s entrance ports, or have tried to return to the United States without appropriate documentation.”
Recently, a Guatemalan woman and her two children born in the United States were detained after following the GPS instructions to a costco in Canada. They were held in an CBP installation for almost a week.
“A bad turn on the border should not lead to disappearance,” added Tlaib.
“It is scrupulously cruel and inhuman to keep families at our northern border.”
The Canada Border Services Agency (APBS) said that worldwide new travelers arriving at the Canadian border were treated like any other traveler.
“Arriving an involuntarily Canadian entry port does not make an unacceptable traveler in itself or provides a reason for implementation,” said an ACBS spokesperson.
“They can be allowed to withdraw their request to enter Canada and to leave voluntarily.”
Once returned to the United States, however, the consequences can be serious, depending on the legal status of the individual.
The CBP has stressed whatever someone who intentionally or not, it could be subject to consequences such as expulsion. The spokesperson added that American entry points are clearly marked by air signaling and road marks to prevent accidental passages.
“If a foreigner cannot provide valid documentation or establish a lawful basis to enter or stay in the United States, it can be judged inadmissible under the Immigration and Nationality Act and subject to deletion procedures after regular procedure,” they said.
The agency also noted that around one million people enter the United States every day in entrance ports across the country, the vast majority without incident.
But the defenders argue that the current response has a few gaps and that the CBP holds people, including children, for days both in non -equipped installations for long -term stays.
Michigan Aclu and Michigan Immigration Rights Center filed requests for public files requiring transparency, alleging that families detained were held in window without windows, only fed microwave food and denied contact the outside world.
“It is a dangerous day when our nation disappears from people and refuses their constitutional law to a legal advisor,” said Miriam Aukerman, Michigan Aclu’s principal lawyer, in a statement to Global News.
“Families must be released together under surveillance, except in extraordinary circumstances.”
As calls increase for greater transparency and reform of organizations, American and Canadian officials point out that border laws must always be maintained, even in the event of accidental passages.
“All those looking for the entry to Canada are subject to an exam,” said an ACBS spokesperson.
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