African immigrants flee United States for Canada
What you need to know:
They are illegally crossing the largely unguarded 5,500-mile-long border between the two countries despite the dangers posed by deep snow and severe cold in some locations.
Two men from Ghana suffered frostbite in December due to what one of them described as “very, very intense” cold as they stumbled at night across fields on the border separating the Midwest state of North Dakota from the Canadian province of Manitoba.
Fearing President Donald Trump’s threats of deportation, hundreds of African immigrants are fleeing the US in hopes of gaining asylum in Canada.
They are illegally crossing the largely unguarded 5,500-mile-long border between the two countries despite the dangers posed by deep snow and severe cold in some locations.
Two men from Ghana suffered frostbite in December due to what one of them described as “very, very intense” cold as they stumbled at night across fields on the border separating the Midwest state of North Dakota from the Canadian province of Manitoba. One of the men had to have all his fingers amputated, while surgeons in Canada were able to save only the thumbs of his companion.
Many Somalis also traverse unsanctioned routes into Manitoba. The bordering state of Minnesota hosts an estimated 50,000 Somalis, some of whom do not have legal status in the US and are worried that they may soon be deported.
Burundi and Eritrea are among other leading sources of refugee applicants in Canada, according to the country’s Border Services Agency.
Canadian authorities have not reported the total number of people illegally crossing the country’s border with the US since Mr Trump’s election in November. But, 22 migrants were arrested on a single night earlier this month on the Manitoba side of the border, Canadian police said. And some 450 people leaving the US filed for asylum in Canada’s eastern province of Quebec in January, compared to 137 during the same month in 2016.
The numbers are expected to swell in the coming months as North America’s weather warms and as Mr Trump orders additional roundups of undocumented immigrants in the US.
In contrast to the Trump administration’s restriction of refugee flows into the US, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has pledged to accept “those fleeing persecution, terror and war”. Mr Trudeau, a Liberal, added in a Twitter message in January that “Canadians will welcome you, regardless of your faith”. Canadian Immigration Minister Ahmed Hussen is a refugee from Somalia.
Migrants from the US are entering Canada illegally because the two countries have a 13-year-old agreement to deny asylum to anyone attempting to cross their joint border at official immigration stations.
But, those who enter Canada at unauthorised points are not automatically returned to the US. When apprehended by Canadian authorities, these migrants are taken to police stations where their identities are checked. If no connections to criminal activity are found, they are turned over to immigration officials and permitted to file claims for refugee status.
