Canada shut its land border to asylum seekers. More refugees came anyway
Canada shut its land border to asylum seekers. More refugees came anyway
Many now come by air, while others sneak across the border and hide until they can apply for asylum without fear of being sent back. The numbers show how hard it is to shut the door on desperate people.
Canada prides itself on welcoming immigrants and aims to bring in a record half a million new permanent residents in 2025 to deal with an acute labor shortage. But it has sought to discourage those applying for asylum, chiefly through an agreement with the U.S. under which each country turns back asylum seekers.
Still, last year alone, more than 39,000 asylum seekers entered Canada via unofficial crossings - mostly into Quebec via a dirt path off Roxham Road in New York, prompting the province to complain it could not handle the arrivals. Asylum seekers are drawn by Canada's reputation for swifter processing and greater acceptance of asylum applications compared to the U.S.
I wonder what the average remainer sees, from the original countries the asylum seekers came from. What societal issues are driving such a massive diaspora of peoples and when does a person decides to just pack up and make the 5000 miles journey to North America? Are there just ghost towns that were once full of families? Why do we not hear anything from the governments or news organizations from their original countries? I fully support everyone and anyone's attempt to seek a better life for themselves and their families. But what is the driving force behind all of this, why do people not seem to care about countries essentially emptying themselves?