x
Breaking News
More () »

Refugees flock from U.S. to Canada

Asylum claims from the U.S. to Canada doubled from 2015 to 2017 as the Trump administration pledged a hard immigration stance, according to federal statistics.

BUFFALO, N.Y. - War and violence across the world has displaced 60 million people from their home countries, representing the largest refugee crisis since World War II.

Although the United Nations resettles many of those refugees to safety, there are also other people — known as asylum seekers — who flee oppression without the help of a government agency.

Those asylum seekers who landed in the United States are now seeking to enter Canada at an unprecedented rate, according to federal statistics provided on the Canadian government's website. Nearly 6,000 people attempted to make an asylum claim in Canada in 2017, more than double the amount of people who tried to make claims in 2015 prior to the Trump administration's hard-line immigration pledge.

Mariah Walker, the Canadian services manager for a Jericho Road shelter on the East Side named "Vive," said some refugees do feel unsafe due to the administration's policies. However, many of them also simply want to reunite with family in Canada, which is legal under a 2004 treaty between the United States and Canada.

"A lot of sentiment is, 'we want to be with family'," Walker said. But she pointed out the strange feeling she gets when she realizes refugees are choosing Canada over the United States. "I never thought people would be running from my country."

What isn't allowed, however, is the free crossing of refugees and asylum seekers from one country to the other. Under the Safe Third Country Agreement, refugees must remain in the first "safe" country they arrive inside, under the theory that both countries provide safe-havens.

Advocates are now challenging that agreement, claiming the United States can no longer be considered a "safe" country for refugees. That case, which is expected to begin churning through Canadian courts as early as next year, could have significant impacts for refugees on both sides of the border.

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has been challenged from the left by the New Democratic Party, where parliament members like Jenny Kwan have said the government is putting refugees at risk by continuing to abide by the treaty.

Conservative Party members, however, are challenging the Safe Third Country Agreement because they don't believe it protects the border enough. They want to see it strengthened to crack down on illegal crossings, which has become an issue in Quebec as refugees seek to cross the unguarded border from upstate New York and Vermont.

Liz Herle, the director of development for the Buffalo Peace House in Hamburg, works closely with asylum seekers who wish to remain in the U.S. She said many of her clients and residents have felt uneasy as the Trump administration's rhetoric intensifies, but she believes many of them still remain committed to the United States.

"They're often running for their lives," Herle said. "They are exactly people like us. Professionals who got their lives turned upside down."

Before You Leave, Check This Out