A Quebec man is being held in a U.S. jail on immigration charges after he made a routine cross-border trip into Maine to fill his truck with gasoline before a hunting trip.

Michel Jalbert, of Pohenegamook, Que., is facing up to four months in jail on felony charges of being an illegal alien and possession of a firearm.

Jalbert was arrested Oct. 11 after failing to stop at the local border crossing. U.S. officials noticed a hunting rifle on his front seat and a subsequent computer search by American authorities revealed that he had a criminal record in Canada related to a 12-year-old incident.

"He had a shotgun in his possession and of course, without reporting for inspection, that's very serious," David Astle, a spokesman for the U.S. Border Patrol, told Canadian Press.

Pohenegamook straddles the U.S.-Canada border. Residents regularly cross 15 metres into the U.S. side of town to fill up their cars with gas.

It's a practice American customs officers used to overlook, and Jalbert's lawyer says U.S. officials are trying to use his client to demonstrate their seriousness about clamping down on border security.

"The border patrol people want the word to get out that they're no longer going to tolerate people moving back and forth without passing through the border checkpoints," John Haddow said from Portland, Maine, where Jalbert is being held.

Astle said Jalbert had been repeatedly warned on previous occasions not to cross the border without stopping at U.S. customs, and that agents have been instructed to be more vigilant since the Sept. 11 attacks last year.

"Things along the border are changing," Astle said.

He said despite the popular practice, no one is allowed to cross into the U.S. without authorization and denied that the U.S. is making an example of Jalbert.

Several other Canadians have also been arrested near Pohenegamook in recent months, Astle said.

In the House of Commons Tuesday, Bloc Quebecois MP Paul Crete called on Foreign Affairs Minister Bill Graham to intervene.

Graham urged U.S. officials to use "restraint," but he said Canada can't do much on Jalbert's behalf.