Canada’s policies force asylum seekers into US to face deportation, critics say

It was the threat of gang violence in Honduras that pushed Carlos and Antonia to flee their home. In 2021, with their toddler, Alejandro, and a handful of belongings, the married couple ventured north hoping to reach safety in the US. The journey, through Guatemala and Mexico , was filled with danger and uncertainty “We were in constant fear, every time we had to cross the border and travel with a young child,” said Antonia . “We were terrified.” Arriving as the US began Donald Trump ’s migration purge, their opportunity to make an asylum claim vanished. A lawyer advised them if they appealed, they risked being detained at their migration hearing and deported. Because Carlos has family members in Canada , they pushed farther north. But their arrival at the Fort Erie border crossing did not end of their precarious journey. A Canadian border agent said he would let Carlos and Alejandro in, but Antonia – who did not have family in Canada – would be sent back to the US. Or all three could return to the US and risk detention and deportation. “[I said]: ‘What am I supposed to tell my son about why they’re not going to let his mother come in with us?’ And the border officer just said, ‘That’s your problem, you’ve got 20 minutes to make a decision,’” Carlos later recalled. Antonia began crying. “There was no way I could be separated from my son. I was completely in shock,” she later said. …