As fears of immigration enforcement mount in the United States, some Haitians are looking north to Canada for safety, even as the rules make refuge hard to reach. An immigration coordinator in Montreal says calls are pouring in from Haitians worried about arrests by U.S. authorities, describing a community increasingly on edge.
The coordinator said many are so frightened that they have withdrawn from daily life. They're really stressed, the coordinator said, adding that some don't go out and stay in their apartments, while others are choosing to flee altogether rather than risk being caught up in enforcement actions.
Among those who have fled is a Haitian woman who spoke to CBC News over the phone and said she is scared of being deported, prompting her to cross into Canada. CBC agreed not to identify her because she is concerned it could interfere with her asylum proceedings. She said she simply wants to live a normal life in the country.
But seeking refuge north of the border is not straightforward. Canada considers the United States a safe place for those who land there first, which shapes how asylum claims from the U.S. are handled. That framework limits the options available to people arriving from the American side of the border.
The central obstacle is the Safe Third Country Agreement, under which many people would be pushed back to the United States. Migrants coming from the U.S. can generally only stay in Canada if they have a family member in the country or are a minor traveling alone, a narrow set of exceptions that many advocates say should be expanded to account for the current climate.
Advocates have described the circumstances as deeply troubling, calling it an extremely alarming situation and arguing that the U.S. asylum system has broken down and is no longer working. For its part, the federal government says it takes its international obligations regarding asylum seekers seriously and that it is monitoring the border, leaving those fleeing to navigate a system that offers only limited paths to stay.