It’s a small stretch of snowy road but for them the last step of a long journey of exile. Some drag heavy suitcases, others only have a small plastic bag in their hands, vestiges of their past life.
In a hurry to get it over with, Haitians, Venezuelans, Colombians, Turks hasten their pace as they get out of the car, heads bowed, to finally cross the last border of their journey: the one that separates Canada from the United States on the road between New York and Montreal.
“Stop, passing here is illegal, if you do, you will be arrested,” Quebec police repeat to migrants who arrive in clusters day and night.
The latter, who arrived without a coat or with simple sneakers on their feet, are patient despite the snow that is falling in March. The mothers carry the youngest, soft toys protrude from the bags, the strollers roll with difficulty on the snow.
Only the children smile, fascinated by the snowflakes they often see for the first time.
Light backpack on the shoulder, Makenzy Dorgeville who fled the violence of the streets of Haiti says he is “very happy” to arrive in Canada after years on the road, an obstacle course which he summarizes by shelling the ten countries he has crossed since Brazil.
Like many migrants, the 40-year-old man with frail shoulders took the most classic route and therefore traveled all over Central America and then Mexico to arrive in the United States. He knows that even if his asylum application is not accepted, Canada does not deport Haitians.
Marcelo, also Haitian, with a weathered face, says he “suffered a lot in his country” because of gang violence, so Canada represents the hope of a new life.
Before they cross the border, NGOs give them coats, hats and a little word of encouragement. “We want people to know that there are people who support them in their search for a safe place to live,” says Bridges Not Borders volunteer Frances Ravensbergen.
In concrete terms, after being checked and registered by the police, the migrants are then taken to the nearest official border post to submit their asylum application – between 50 and 60% of applications are accepted.
– Growing insecurity –
After a few months, they get a work permit, the children go to school. They benefit from health care, are accommodated in centers or hotels while their application is being processed.
Since the reopening of post-pandemic borders, migration flows have intensified around the world, fueled by economic misery and growing insecurity in many countries.
Roxham Road is now a known crossing point and social networks are full of videos explaining how to get there, how much it costs to go between Plattsburgh, the last bus station, and the border…
In 2022, nearly 40,000 people arrived illegally by this route, twice as many as in 2017, a previous record, according to Canadian immigration. And winter does not stop the passages, they were more than 5,000 only in January.
This irregular immigration is a novelty for Canada, which is difficult to access due to its geographical location and which has a strict visa policy.
“It is among other things the speed of the system that pushes people to come. On the American side, it can take five-six years or more compared to about two years in Canada”, explains Stéphanie Valois, president of the Quebec Association of Lawyers in immigration law.
Faced with recent calls to close Roxham Road, the latter recalls that to “be safe people are ready for anything” and that Canada, a large rich country, has a responsibility. “Asylum seekers cross the Darien, it’s not the border that will stop them,” she slips.
This jungle between Colombia and Panama “is a very difficult passage physically with mountains, lots of mud…”
“The people who have been there are very marked. My clients tell me horror stories, the women have been raped, the men beaten and many die on this road”, relates the lawyer, round glasses and long gray hair, who has dedicated his life to defending asylum seekers.
– “If you fall, you die” –
This part of the trip remains a trauma for Haitian Eli (first name changed), who arrived recently and whom AFP met in Montreal.
“The jungle is the worst,” confides the young woman, long braids and large hoop earrings in her ears, who rarely loses her smile. “I saw a lot of dead people on the road. One night, we had to sleep next to corpses,” continues the 29-year-old woman who crossed with her two-year-old daughter at the time.
The narrow road, the cliffs, the wild animals… “You know that if you fall, you will die”, she adds with emotion.
And the other part that still gives Eli nightmares is the passage to the United States and in particular to the detention centers.
“It’s such a humiliation! They even forbid us to wash ourselves, to brush our teeth”, she explains, speaking of “inhuman treatment”.
This influx of asylum seekers, particularly via Roxham Road, should be on the menu of discussions between Joe Biden and Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau during the US president’s visit to Ottawa on March 23 and 24.
In Canada, unaccustomed to this type of discourse, anti-migrant rhetoric is developing. And more and more voices are calling for the renegotiation of the treaty which stipulates, like the Dublin agreement in Europe, that migrants must file their asylum application in the first country where they arrive.
Despite everything, the situation remains very different from that in the United States, believes Carolina, who recently fled with her daughter and evokes American racism. This young Colombian mother is happy to “be able today simply to go out in the street without being afraid”.