Noman Sabit: As U.S. immigration policies become harsher, a growing number of migrants are heading north to Canada. Two Venezuelan friends, Nestor and José, had just stepped off a Greyhound bus from New York City and arrived at a Sunoco gas station in Plattsburgh, desperately searching for a taxi to Canada. Wearing only light jackets, without gloves or hats, Nestor’s hands were already shaking in the cold — the temperature was just three degrees Celsius, and it was forecast to plunge to minus 11 and then minus 17 in the following days.
Among migrants arriving in Plattsburgh, some try to enter Canada through official border crossings, while others — like Nestor and José — plan to trek through dangerous forest paths, risking their lives. With no taxi available, they prepared to walk the perilous route in hopes of seeking asylum in Canada.
A similar surge of migrants from the U.S. occurred in 2017, during Trump’s first term in office. Now, a similar pattern is emerging again. Canada has already begun preparing — opening a new processing center in Quebec and ramping up surveillance at the border.
Roxham Road, once a “back door” for asylum seekers, was closed by the Canadian government in 2023. Since then, many migrants have been forced to take more dangerous routes. Organizations working with migrants report that human smuggling has increased since the closure of Roxham.
This migration flow is not new — in the 19th century, enslaved African Americans used similar paths to reach freedom in Canada. Now, that same route is seeing a renewed flow of desperate migrants hoping to find safety across the border.
One tragic example is that of Ana Karen Vasquez-Flores, a pregnant Mexican woman who disappeared while trying to cross a river into the U.S. with the help of a smuggler. Her handler was later arrested.
This migrant wave is presenting North America with a complex reality involving domestic politics, national security, and urgent human rights concerns.
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