Canada Border Services Agency's Montreal office occupied by demonstrators
Protestors are denouncing CBSA's role in deportations and detentions in Canada's immigration system
About 18 members of Solidarity Across Borders were arrested after occupying the Montreal office of the Canada Border Services Agency on St. Antoine Street.
In total, 25 members of the activist group that opposes deportations protested what they call the daily violence of the CBSA and its role in deportations and detentions in Canada's immigration system.
Most of the arrests were for minor misdemeanours and assault, police said. One person was arrested for vandalizing a police vehicle. All were released on the promise to appear in court.
"We question the legitimacy of the CBSA itself; we assert that all human beings have the freedom to move, the freedom to stay and the freedom to return," Romina Hernandez, a member of the group wrote in a news release.
"No human being is illegal."
During the occupation, Montreal police officers in riot gear lined up outside the CBSA garage to protect vehicles that tried to enter.
With files from Emily Brass