887 people intercepted trying to illegally enter Canada in March

The RCMP intercepted 887 people trying to illegally enter Canada in March, with the majority of those asylum-seekers picked up in Quebec.

The new figures, released by the federal government on Wednesday, show that the wave of people trying to enter Canada between official border points continues to rise.

In total, 644 were picked up in Quebec in March, 170 in Manitoba and 71 in B.C. Alberta and New Brunswick both recorded one border crossing each.

In February, 658 people were intercepted. Dozens more are believed to have crossed in April, but those figures have not been released.

Some border towns have raised safety concerns over the issue, while volunteer groups have opened up support centres in some communities.In Saskatchewan, a woman was charged with smuggling and and arrested near the U.S. border with nine foreign nationals in her vehicle. Officials allege she had large amounts of cash in her home. In Manitoba, an asylum seeker was arrested after allegedly assaulting a border guard. As per reports, the guard required medical attention.

A TV channel reported  that three asylum seekers who posed a threat to public safety were arrested in Manitoba in the last four weeks. Residents of Emerson, Man have seen a steady stream of asylum seekers cross the border for several months. The community’s reeve says locals are becoming increasingly worried. “With not getting any of these numbers, and we know there’s some criminals coming in through the mix of all these people jumping across the border, the local residents are getting a lot more concerned,” reeve Greg Janzen has been quoted by the TV channel.

New evidence of the steady crossings is expected to add more pressure on the federal government to respond to the ongoing issue.