The end of the “American dream”?: the reality of migrants in the US who cross into Canada in search of asylum


An unprecedented number of arrivals at the border of USA in a context of state failures driven by regimes in VenezuelaCuba, Nicaragua and Haitiunprecedented records of migrants in the Darién jungle, measures to curb irregular immigration and historic exoduses are among the events that have marked recent times.

The deterioration of the already difficult economic and political situation in Latin America triggered in 2022 one of the worst regional migration crises in recent decades, in which millions of people embarked for the United States with the belief of a common idea: that a better life awaits them.

However, contrary to what may be believed, hundreds of migrants pass through the irregular passage of Roxham Road every day, leaving the United States and looking for a better future in Canada.

Just last year, nearly 40,000 migrants crossed into Canada to seek asylum at an unofficial border, a record number, according to CNN.

Migration wave in Canada

According to the aforementioned medium, this option is the product of the belief that this country will give them a better reception than North America. Some believe their sudden popularity stemmed from fear of deportation under the Trump administration.

Others point to a tweet from Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, which read: “To those fleeing persecution, terror and war, Canadians welcome you.”

Immigrants from the United States bound for Canada. Photo: EFE

On the other hand, another factor that has influenced this new migratory flow is related to the fact that the mayor of New York, Eric Adams, launched a strategy that he called “decompression” of the migratory wave, in which the city’s mayor’s office is financing the “voluntary” trip of those who wish to leave the Big Apple to any destination in the United States.

In the case of the border with Canada, the trip is financed to whoever wants it in buses that leave from New York to Plattsburgh. The buses continue the journey from there to Montreal, but almost all travelers get off first to cross the illegal crossing.

How many people cross the border between both countries?

Despite the harsh Canadian winter, the flow of people arriving on the Roxham road does not seem to stop. Within an hour and in the middle of a freezing night, a hundred immigrants from Venezuela, Nicaragua, Colombia and Haiti entered Canada, but also from places as remote as Nigeria, Turkey and Pakistan, according to the EFE news agency.

A reality that has generated growing frustration on both sides of the border and increased concern for road safety.

The number of asylum seekers crossing from the United States into Canada is at its highest level in at least 12 years. In 2022 it climbed to 39,540 people and only in January 2023 the number continued to rise in that area and 4,975 migrants were intercepted, almost 300 more than in the previous month.

The ‘American dream’ is now in Canada

The influx of migrants has come as a surprise to Canadian authorities. In this context, even the Olympic Stadium in Montreal was briefly converted into a shelter for migrants.

New arrivals are also facing a growing backlog of asylum applications, which rose from 56,300 in January 2022 to almost 71,000 in December 2022, an increase of 26%.

“The American dream died many years ago,” a migrant told the BBC.

Migrants who spoke to the BBC said they increasingly view the United States as a non-viable country for refugees. This is because asylum applications can take years to be analyzed.

Likewise, they maintain that in the North American country they do not feel welcome, and, nevertheless, Canada welcomes them. “Canadian papers take a few months, not years like in the United States; I entered on December 1 and in just two months I am already living in my three-bedroom house,” Venezuelan Aurimar Medina told EFE.

“Other countries are not so friendly with irregular migrants,” another Venezuelan migrant told the BBC. “The American dream died many years ago,” he said.

Source-larepublica.pe