Canada has seen a sixfold increase in US citizens seeking asylum in 2017, with 2,550 applications filed, the highest number since at least 1994. Americans were the third largest group of asylum seekers, after Haitians and Nigerians, according to Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada.
Experts say the vast majority of these applicants are children born to Haitian parents in the United States. Stéphane Handfield, a Montreal-based immigration lawyer, explained: 'Most of the Americans applying for refugee status are the children of non-residents. They are US citizens because they were born there, but they come across the border with their parents because they don’t want to be separated.'
One such family, Tiroude and Gislyne, fled Haiti for Brazil in 2014 after Gislyne was targeted for her advocacy work. They entered the US in November 2017, just as the Trump administration announced plans to end temporary protected status for 59,000 Haitians. In May, they crossed into Canada via Roxham Road in Quebec, a remote border crossing frequently used by asylum seekers.
The couple cited fear of deportation under Trump as their reason for leaving. 'We left because President Trump said he wanted to deport people,' said Tiroude. They were arrested for crossing irregularly but released to await a hearing. Their decision was influenced by a tweet from Prime Minister Justin Trudeau welcoming 'those fleeing persecution, terror and war,' though Canada’s stance has since hardened.
Despite their hopes, the odds are slim: only about one in four Haitian asylum applicants succeeded last year. The family faces potential return to Haiti, a country still unstable after the 2010 earthquake. 'Going to Haiti as a parent is dangerous. For my kids it’s worse because they don’t know it,' Tiroude said. Their hearing has been postponed twice, leaving them in limbo.
