- Writing
- BBC News World
image sources, Getty Images
For some people who enter the United States irregularly, the “American dream” lies even further north: in Canada.
This is the case of many Latin American migrants who arrived in New York as the city is plunged into an “unprecedented humanitarian crisis”, as the town hall described it late last year.
New York Mayor Eric Adams declared a state of emergency when the shelters began to be crowded due to the large number of asylum seekers arriving by bus in the metropolis, most after crossing the border from Texas or Arizona.
image sources, Getty Images
Many migrants, like this Venezuelan, are left behind when they arrive in New York.
Some of the thousands of migrants who arrive each month in New York in search of a better future are despairing of the difficulties in finding housing, legalizing their papers or working, and decide to try their luck in Canada.
They are joined by those who had already planned in advance to travel to Canadian territory.
Tickets paid by the city
Local media reports that migrants in New York are I receivedgoing free bus tickets in Plattsburgh, New York, located just 20 miles from the Canadian border.
From there, these people take taxis to Roxham Road, an informal border crossing by which they reach the Canadian province of Quebec.
image sources, Getty Images
New York City Mayor Eric Adams acknowledged that his city council pays for tickets for migrants to other destinations.
Mayor Adams acknowledged in statements Monday to Fox 5 that city officials provide free bus tickets to immigrants.
“If your intention is to go somewhere else, we help with the ticketing process,” he said.
Adams claimed that his administration is only trying to help migrants who arrive in mainland France but who are actually looking to go to other destinations Inside and outside the country.
“Some want to go to Canada, some want to go to warmer states, and we’re here for them as they pursue that dream,” Adams said.
A legal vacuum
But the Canadian authorities have a different point of view on this question.
During a meeting with the press in Montreal, the Quebec Minister of Immigration, Christine Fréchette, described as “astonishing” that the city of New York sends migrants to the gates of the border with Canada.
He said it underscored the need to “solve the problem of Roxham Road”, where thousands of asylum seekers pass through the northern United States every year.
image sources, Getty Images
More than a hundred migrants take the Roxham Road every day, which connects New York State (United States) to Quebec (Canada), according to Canadian media.
“I think it makes the urgency of the situation even more apparent,” Fréchette said.
The Quebec representative assured that Canada and the United States are in negotiations to update the so-called Safe Third Country Agreement.
The treaty, signed in 2002, specifies that migrants can only apply for asylum in the first country they enter, either the United States or Canada.
But this only applies to official border crossings, so those crossing Roxham Road irregularly are exempt.
This loophole allows Canadian immigration authorities to process the asylum cases of immigrants arriving illegally from New York State.
The immigration crisis in New York
The current immigration crisis in New York is attributed in part to the policies of some southern states bordering Mexico, which redirect newly arrived migrants from their territory to the most populous city in the United States.
image sources, Getty Images
In addition to the absence of a home, there is the work permit to advance to the United States.
During a visit to Texas in January, Mayor Adams told reporters that “there is no room in New York” for more migrants.
A few days earlier, he had released a statement in which he assured that since the spring of 2021, New York had taken in 40,000 asylum seekersto whom he provided food, shelter and other resources.
“We are on the brink of saturation,” the statement said.
“Based on our projections, we anticipate that we will not be able to continue to house asylum seekers on our own and have submitted an emergency mutual assistance request to New York State,” he said. -he declares.
Remember that you can receive notifications from BBC Mundo. Download the new version of our application and activate them to not miss our best content.
“Amateur introvert. Pop culture trailblazer. Incurable bacon aficionado.”
