Lacolle border reopened as protests by anti-racist, far-right groups dwindle

Anti-racist and far-right protesters faced off near a temporary camp set up to house asylum seekers neartheSaint-Bernard-de-Lacolle, Que., border crossing Saturdaysurrounded by a heavy police presence, but the protest didn't escalate into violence.

The officialSaint-Bernard-de-Lacolleborder has been reopened after it was closed for about four hours,according to the CBSA Quebec Twitter account.

About 100 anti-racist protesters from the group Solidarity Across Bordersmetaround 10 a.m. and walked downthe highway close to the border, holding signs reading "No one is illegal" and "Refugees Welcome."

A thick line of Sretdu Qubecpolice officers kept the anti-racist and far-rightprotesters separated.

The anti-racist protesters stayed in place while members of the self-declared "ultranationalist" group Storm Alliance began to trickle away mid-afternoon.

'Not against immigration'

Earlier in the day about 125 membersof Storm Alliance gathered in the parking lot of a shopping mall a few kilometres from the border before walking towards the temporary camp.

Another wave of about 100 more Storm Alliance protesters joined the original group nearthe border, at one point outnumberingthe anti-racists groups.

Police sent in officers in tactical gear, working to prevent a clash between the groups.

"We're against the politics of the federal government and Quebec government," said DanielSt-Hilaire, who came from Montreal to protest with Storm Alliance at the border. "We want basically that the governments respect Canadian law."

"We're not against immigration. My wife, she's from Africa, my wife is Muslim andshe's black," he told CBC. "We're not against immigration, we're against massive immigration."

The group is critical of Prime Minister JustinTrudeau, and accuse him of being too welcoming to refugees. They blameTrudeaufor the surge of asylum seekers crossing atLacolleover the past six months.

According to Radio-Canada, police "intercepted" one protester, who was drawing on a border post building with chalk.

'Message of welcome'

"It's a message of welcome at the border today," said Anas Bouslikhane, one of the members of Solidarity Across Borders.

"Refugees are welcome in Canada, we have a place for everyone, there's no reason to be worried, there's no panic, there's no refugee crisis," he said.

"I think it's terrible that groups like Storm Alliance exist and are gaining some approval," saidFrancesRavensbergen. "I think we need to have solidarity with refugees.I think we need to welcome diversity and I think we need to give a different message to Canadians than a lot of falsehoods that are getting out there."

Ravensbergen said she doesn't think Canada is doing its part to accept enough refugees,compared withcountries like Germany.

Crossingsslow

The scene is taking place a few kilometres from the official Canada-U.S. bordercrossing.The stretch of border nearHemmingfordis the busiest in Canadafor illegal crossings,with thousands of asylum seekers walking acrossfrom the U.S. during the height of the summer, and making their way along Quebec's RoxhamRoad.

TheCanadian Forces haveremoved their diesel tanks from the temporary refugee camp set up near the border crossing due to security concerns over the protest.

Earlier this week, the military dismantled about half the tents at the border camp, 35 of the 75 tents that were set up to house the thousands of asylum seekers.

• As many as 1,200 asylum seekers wait to be processed atLacolleborder crossing

In total 13, 211 people have been intercepted by the RCMP for crossing at unofficial entry points since the start of the year, with 5,550 crossing into Quebec in August alone.

However, the number of people crossing dropped significantly in September, to between 40 to 80 asylum seekers a day.

Many of the recent wave of asylum seekers crossing into Quebec are Haitians who have been living in America for years but now face deportation after U.S. President Donald Trump announced in May he wouldn't beextending temporary protection status (TPS) for Haitian nationals past January, when that status isset to expire.

• NYC councillor in Montreal to gather information for Haitian asylum seekers fleeing U.S.