CHAMPLAIN, NY/WASHINGTON (Reuters) – Zulema Diaz, a 46-year-old bookseller in Peru, was kidnapped, tortured and robbed of her tragic experience. After leaving her homeland, she tried to find a safe life in the United States of America. However, what awaited Diaz in the United States was the hardship of not having a place to live, and the sexual harassment of an irregular hospital porter who managed to find her.
After hearing that New York City was offering free bus tickets, Diaz quickly boarded a bus and headed for Plattsburgh, a town near the Canadian border. From there, he took a taxi via “Wroxham Road” and entered Canada illegally and applied for refugee status.
Asylum applications from illegal immigrants to Canada are increasing rapidly, many of whom, like Diaz, arrived on buses paid for by New York City and various support groups.
Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is under increasing pressure to reach an agreement with US President Biden to tighten entry restrictions on asylum seekers arriving at the border.
Canadian Immigration Minister Fraser recently met with Homeland Security Secretary Majorcas in Washington to discuss illegal immigration. Trudeau has said he plans to discuss the issue with Biden, who will be in Ottawa on March 23-24.
Many people who would like to apply for asylum in the United States are now forced to abandon their plans because of the long processing times and the rigor of refugee status, according to several government officials and the applicants themselves. This is the truth revealed by interviewing the person.
On a snowy day at the end of February, almost 40 asylum seekers were seen walking their bags and backpacks from New York to Quebec, Canada.
For Ms. Diaz, New York City paying her roughly $150 one-way bus ticket to Plattsburgh was the perfect opportunity to do something she had been thinking about for months. After arriving in the US in June last year, he had a January 2024 appearance in immigration court. The process took a long time and he felt stuck.
Since 2007, New York City has been handing out bus and airline tickets to homeless people who can prove they can get help in other cities and countries. A number of refugee support groups also started handing out free bus tickets in August last year, but stopped in November due to cost issues.
Mayor Adams did not disclose how many such tickets the city or its partner charities have purchased.
A spokesperson for the mayor explained that destinations are chosen by those who wish to apply for asylum. “It is clear that New York City does not send people anywhere in Canada. We want to help asylum seekers find stability in New York City or elsewhere. I do that,” he said.
The US Department of Homeland Security declined to comment on how long the US asylum-seeking system should be reviewed. The Biden administration is calling on Congress to enact comprehensive immigration legislation.
In any case, last year, around 40,000 asylum seekers entered Canada illegally from the United States, a nine-fold increase compared to 2021, when restrictions to control the spread of the new coronavirus continued, and 17,000 in 2019. More than twice as many people nearby. According to government data, around 5,000 people entered the country illegally in January alone.
Also based on data from the Canadian government, the country received 46% of all asylum applications for illegal immigration in the year to the end of September last year. Meanwhile, US immigration courts granted refugee status to 14% of illegal immigrants during that period.
At the end of last year, the number of pending asylum applications in Canada and the United States was over 70,000 and around 788,000, respectively.
Almost half of all illegal immigrants in Canada come from Nigeria, Haiti and Colombia, according to data from the Immigration and Refugee Board of Canada.
Canada and the United States can send back to each other asylum seekers who pass through formal border controls under the “Safe Third Country” agreement, but the agreement does not apply to illegal immigrants, such as via Wroxham Road.
A senior Canadian official said the United States was reluctant to extend the scope of the deal across the two countries’ borders.
According to the Transactional Records Access Clearinghouse at Syracuse University, on average, asylum seekers in the United States have to wait more than four years before appearing in immigration court. The US Citizenship and Immigration Services Agency also states that it takes at least six months to obtain a work permit after applying for asylum.
Ilse Thielmann, director of the NYC TLC Team, which helps asylum seekers in New York City, said, “People are disappointed with how long it takes to get a work permit and an asylum hearing. ‘ she said.
According to the Immigration and Refugee Board of Canada, it took 15 months to process refugee status in 2019, but it increased to 25 months between January and October last year. Still shorter than the US.
Raymond Terriort (47) is one of the asylum seekers who came from Nicaragua to head for Canada. Canada is the country where my late father was born, and I wanted to rely on my relatives who are still here.
Terriorto had struggled to find steady work after authorities blocked the opening of a small seafood restaurant after criticizing the Nicaraguan government. So, last November, he entered the United States for the first time from Mexico, paid a $140 bus ticket out of his own pocket to get to Plattsburgh from New York City, and is now near Niagara Falls, where the Canadian government pays. stay in a hotel.
Theriort, who said he was satisfied with his decision to go to Canada, emphasized the difference, saying, “It[Canada]is more compassionate and offers more support. In the United States, even if you’re starving to death, it’s your responsibility.”
However, the government of Quebec, Canada, complains that the increase in asylum seekers is straining the capacity of facilities and the ability to provide basic services. The federal government said it had moved more than 5,500 asylum seekers to other states since June last year.
But if Canada were to close its borders entirely to asylum seekers, it could force them to enter the country illegally through a more dangerous route, experts warn.
Last year, an Indian family of four froze to death while trying to enter Manitoba, Canada from the United States. Jamie Chai Yuen Liu, a professor of immigration law at the University of Ottawa, said: “Yes[cau ffiniau]pushes people to make more dangerous choices and actions, and more tragedies will happen.”
(Reporters Anna Mehler Paperny and Ted Hesson)
