From Roxham to asylum land: a precarious path
On December 23, 2022, a storm was announced. Nothing unusual for most Quebecers. The heating is on, the doors are closed, and we are waiting for the beauties. For Fritznel Richard, however, an asylum seeker from Haiti, this bad weather will be fatal. In the days preceding, faced with great precariousness, he wanted to leave Quebec. He wanted to find his wife and child in the United States and decided to return on foot, through the forest along Roxham Road. On January 4, two weeks later, he was found not far away, freezing to death.
Like him, thousands of asylum seekers face financial insecurity and social isolation that can push them back.
To better understand their situation, we spoke to Francesca, Jonathan, and Slandie, who all crossed the Canada-U.S. border via Roxham Road. For the first time, they recounted their respective journeys, in the company of Frantz André, a member of the Action Committee for Persons Without Status (CAPSS).
Francesca's career
In 2012, Haiti signed an agreement with Brazil that allowed its citizens to obtain free visas for Brazil. The textile industry was then in full development, and the country needed manpower. This is where Francesca's migration journey begins.
The 27-year-old woman burst into tears at the mention of her trip. “My grandmother had to sell her house to allow me to leave,” she begins. “The visa was supposed to be free, but we still had to pay an amount to the person who handled the file. In total, going to Brazil cost me around $6,000 USD,” she explains with emotion.
There, she makes a living working in a butcher shop and building relationships. It is also where she gave birth to her first child. After two years in Brazil, she hit the road to Canada with her toddler on her back.
“I left Brazil with my 10-month-old baby. I took the bus to Peru and then to Colombia. From there, we took canoes, says Francesca. There are people who have died. We went through the jungle on foot in Colombia. You need to be physically fit to walk for three days and three nights, to make distance. Then, our group went to Panama, avoiding regular roads, always in the forest.”
In all, the young woman will spend 6 months on the road and cross 10 countries before reaching the United States with her baby. Within his group, rules are in place: “If you have money and you buy yourself a bottle of water, you have to buy one for everyone. That way, when you get tired, you have someone to lean on,” explains the young mother. The insecurity is permanent: “On this path, there are people who are raped, there are people who are robbed, there are all sorts of things. But afterwards, you have to continue.” Francesca also had to buy the services of smugglers at a high price. “We pay large amounts and yet, people die on the way,” she laments.
Arriving in the United States, she moved in with an acquaintance and experienced abusive situations. She decided to travel to Canada in 2017, using Roxham Road. Today, she works in private nursing homes as a beneficiary attendant.
She is currently without status, having received a negative response to her asylum request. She is now waiting for a response to her humanitarian request. She also hopes to benefit from a federal program for the regularization of persons without immigration status, which should come into force in the coming months. Although details of the program have not yet been released, the government is considering regularizing 500,000 people without status in Canada.
Francesca fears deportation. Indeed, many Haitians are harassed and kidnapped upon their return by criminals who presume that they have accumulated large amounts of money. “I cannot go back to Haiti,” she says, obviously very frightened. “Last week, a woman was martyred and killed in the public square for talking to a police officer,” she says between sobs.
Slandie and her lucky star
The story of Francesca's journey does not leave Slandie indifferent. She is worried about her brother, who has just left Brazil to also try his luck on the road. “I hear that, and it scares me,” she says.
“The coming winter is stressful, far from my family,” adds the young woman softly, shaking her hands together. She is obviously embarrassed, but a smile lights up her face.
She said that in Haiti, once her decision was made, her family helped her leave the country. She obtains an American visa and arrives in Florida, after entrusting her three children to her parents. In a few days, with the help of friends, she managed to reach Canada via Roxham Road.
Sandlie then faces a series of administrative hurdles, including receiving a hearing date without knowing how to prepare and contacting a state-appointed lawyer who, according to her, is not handling her case properly. However, the encounter with Frantz André marked a turning point in his migration journey. Today, after four years in Canada, she has just obtained permanent residence. On the other hand, she still cannot bring her three children. Despite obtaining their Quebec selection certificate, they do not yet have permanent residence.
Slandie juggles two jobs: a home care worker during the day and a security guard at the weekend. She says she experiences racism at work. “Some seniors told me that working hard is nothing for a black person, given our past as slaves. Others have accused me of stealing; still others leave money lying under their beds to see if I will touch it. If you are accused, it is your word against theirs,” she says. “We are not protected against these accusations in employment agencies,” she regrets.
These jobs allow him to support his loved ones back home. “Your family is counting on you to survive. There is no state there.”, She explains. Corruption and kidnapping are common there. “Even in banks, when you send money, there are agents who are in cahoots with the bandits. They identify those who receive the transfers, to take them hostage.”
Looking back on Haiti and its journey, she says she has no regrets. However, here, loneliness weighs on him. “I miss my children. I did not make friends. I work a lot to get over my pain. Sometimes I go home and drink alcohol. I know it's not good, and I'm putting on music and dancing and crying.”
Nevertheless, you can sense a great determination in her when she talks about the years to come. “When I have my children with me, I will go to school to become a nurse. I want to make them proud,” she says.
Jonathan's interrupted dream
Jonathan also went through Roxham Road in 2017. “In Haiti, girls were kidnapped, there were gangs shooting at each other,” he recalls. My dad didn't want to let us go. It was when my brother insisted that he took me aside and gave me his consent for our trip.” Jonathan left everything at the age of 22 and went to Florida with his brother, a short stop before Canada.
Once there, he was refused his asylum request. However, since 2019 and a moratorium that establishes an administrative suspension of returns (SAR), a temporary ban on deportation to Haiti allows him to remain on the territory. He also has a work permit that he renews every year.
His asylum application having been refused, the 27-year-old young man lives without status in Quebec. In Haiti, he was about to finish his studies in pharmacy. In Montreal, he is a security guard at a university. “This job reminds me that I was in the third year of my bachelor's degree,” he says with nostalgia.
He is now waiting for a response to his humanitarian request, which would allow him to obtain refugee status. He too hopes to resume his studies here. Does he regret coming to Canada? “Sometimes it happens to me, but when I see the situation in the country, I tell myself that, in the end, it's a good thing. And when I talk to my parents, they help keep me going.”
Legal aid deemed ineffective
Asylum seekers have access to legal aid lawyers to defend their case. However, Francesca, Slandie and Jonathan feel that this aid has not always been in their favor.
Slandie describes her lawyer as someone disengaged, who thought she would not get permanent residency. He would have changed his behavior when Frantz André got involved in the case. After three invitations, the young woman finally obtained her permanent residence.
For his part, Jonathan believes that legal aid and the complex administrative process that asylum seekers face have damaged his case. He notes that legal aid lawyers are overburdened and don't have time to offer appropriate support to their clients. “Before hiring a private lawyer, my brother and I were transferred to three lawyers in three years. They changed jobs often. We felt that our case was botched and that they didn't really have time for us. It's as if they were overloaded,” he recalls. Jonathan met Frantz André through one of his aunts. The latter put him in contact with a private lawyer. “I did not know that I could do that, I was simply recommended to take legal aid”, regrets the young man.
Dave, a refugee from Haiti, also went through this. “A lot of people told us that public sector lawyers didn't have time for us and that they didn't give a shit about us,” he said. This led him to seek the services of a private lawyer. However, he said that he did not notice any real difference in the treatment of his file. After three years of waiting, he obtained a selection certificate from Quebec. “I think it would be more relevant to have lawyers who have experienced the same thing as us to better help asylum seekers and understand them,” says Dave. This experience prompted him to start studying law.
An administrative labyrinth
Once the Canadian-American border is crossed by Roxham Road, migrants automatically become asylum seekers. A regular return to the United States then became impossible. Arriving in Canada, they must obtain an Asylum Seeker Document (DDA), which entitles them to free health care and a work permit that is renewable annually. But the procedures can take a long time.
“Recently, priority for DDAs and work permits has been given to Ukrainian refugees. For asylum seekers who were already in the country, the wait is longer,” says Frantz André. According to him, Fritznel Richard has suffered from this situation. “I know people who have been waiting for their work permit for over a year,” he explains.
In addition, the renewal must be done four months before the expiry date of the document. However, the processing time is often longer. “Legally, an asylum seeker can continue to work with an expired DDA, if he can prove that he sent the renewal. But employers don't take that into account.” Slandie says she was already fired 15 days before her document expired. However, she had applied for renewal.
“They are left to their own devices. Organizations are not funded to provide a service to this population,” pleads Stephan Reichhold, from the Coordination Table of organizations serving refugees and immigrants. This situation is all the more difficult because, according to him, asylum seekers are not eligible for the services to which other newcomers are entitled.
Out of chaos
According to Francesca, Slandie and Jonathan, meeting Frantz André allowed them to get out of what they describe as administrative chaos. “After God, there is Mr. Frantz! exclaims Slandie. He was the only one who helped us.”
The spokesperson for the Action Committee for Persons Without Status (CAPSS) does not count his hours in fact. He estimates that he has followed 425 cases since November 2021. From submitting work permit applications, to filling out asylum claimant documents, to preparing exiles to answer questions from immigration officials, and to reaching out to them in difficult times, his tasks are numerous. He regularly calls on governments to improve the services offered to asylum seekers and to cancel theSafe third country agreement “which pushes these researchers of a new life to take risks, until they lose their lives”, he believes. This Canadian-American agreement means that once taken care of in Canada, asylum seekers can no longer legally return to the United States.
For a better transition
According to Mr. André, many exiles suffer from trauma. Resources and psychosocial support are not enough to meet the high demand. “There is not enough support. Even as Quebecers or Haitians living in Quebec, we don't have enough. Imagine then for asylum seekers! ” he exclaims.
During our meeting, listening and exchanging allow asylum seekers to confide in a caring space, they tell us. They tell us that they opened up for the first time. “I always kept my story hidden, I was afraid of being judged,” admits Francesca.
Dave found more support. He and his brother went to a school where they were able to socialize, their parents found support by attending church. He believes that newcomers would need a workshop once a month to socialize, network, and discover what resources they may have. He adds that there is a need to offer computer learning services.
Francesca, Slandie and Jonathan want more community representatives who know the Haitian reality to be able to support asylum seekers. They also believe that the creation of psychological support spaces is essential. They would also like more support from the Haitian diaspora. “It's as if they don't want to join forces with asylum seekers and people who are not in a regular situation,” says Francesca, who reiterates again that she can only count on the help of Mr. André.
“One phone away, I am available”, declares the latter with a smile for his proteges. The counsellor uses his savings to help asylum seekers. In fact, he will travel to Florida at his own expense to bring Fritznel Richard's ashes to his wife, Guenda Filius. “I didn't want her to get her ashes in a box by FedEx. It's not human,” he tells us a few days before his departure. But he is working at arm's length, he would like to hire staff and offer more services to asylum seekers. The counsellor is in the process of creating a charity that will be able to help him obtain funding for the Action Committee for Persons Without Status (CAPSS).
On the road to Roxham Road
We went to Roxham Road to talk to Jean-Philippe, who lives near the border. In 2022, he worked for four months with an agency responsible for receiving persons intercepted at the scene by the RCMP.
We discover that the path, although irregular, is marked. Here, no border post, of course, but surveillance cameras that film all the walkers. The sky is regularly crossed by a helicopter, whose passages have been more frequent since the death of Fritznel Richard. In front of the forest that he tried to cross to return to the United States, along this small country road, there is no reminder that he left his life in these woods, no plaque commemorates the memory of Fritznel Richard.
At the exact crossing point between the two countries, prefabs are installed. This is where exiles wait before being brought to the first reception center, where they are identified. “We could house up to 150 new people per day in the camp,” says Jean-Philippe. Local residents are familiar with these operations. “I greet them, I greet them, they greet me (...) I consider them neighbours, it's part of the landscape,” notes our host.
However, on December 27, agents from the Sûûté du Québec (SQ) came to his house looking for Fritznel Richard. After inspecting his land, they went to the neighbours. “I think that, if it had been a little girl from here, people would have mobilized more,” regrets Jean-Philippe.
The reception center is a five-minute drive away, and exiles stay there for a maximum of four days before being cared for by relatives or placed in hotel rooms by immigration services. Jean-Philippe had to take care of their basic needs: toiletries, sheets and food.
“I felt like I was the first person to answer their questions,” explains the young man. “Because when they go through Roxham Road, they are arrested by the RCMP, there is no Map that is given at that location,” he says. Then, Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA) officers take over. Photos, fingerprints, identification numbers — the operation is carried out by employees in uniform. “Sometimes, there were people who were very afraid of that,” recalls Jean-Philippe. According to him, these procedures anonymize the beneficiaries. “We don't know what their names are, he says. Staff use the term “DA”, for “asylum seeker.” I preferred to call them “users,” he reports about the method he preferred to avoid reducing them to their experience.
The ex-employee then mentions recruitment and logistical difficulties. “That's why I left. I found it too hard not to have the resources to do the job,” he confides. He also laments the lack of staff training. “Few people worked there by vocation. This could lead to a slightly harsher treatment of a certain clientele, something that could simply be attributed to a lack of love. Some wore more of a prison guard's hat than someone who's there to do humanitarian work.”
According to him, the reception of asylum seekers would benefit from being entrusted to the CBSA rather than to the RCMP. “The first face they would see would be that of people trained in reception.” He also pleads for more resources and support. “If we let these people in, we must accompany them and give them resources to leave their lives”, he declares.
“Crucified to serve other migrants”
A tribute to Fritznel Richard, an asylum seeker who lost his life in the forest along Roxham Road. Illustration: Nia E-K
Fritznel Richard was not so lucky. A final tribute was paid to him on 22 January. Family and friends came together to honor his memory. His wife, Guenda Filius, attended the ceremony via video conference with her young child on her lap. Several members of the Haitian community in Montreal were also present. Magnus Poirier funeral home paid for the ceremony. Jacques Laurent, director of the funeral home in Montréal-Nord, is also from the Haitian community. He did not hesitate to help. “Unfortunately, you always have to have a Jesus Christ.
It was Fritznel who was crucified to save other migrants, so I think it will pay off. But I think there will always be things like that,” he continues. “It takes these kinds of unfortunate events to give meaning to life. I would like everyone to become aware of what is going on, ask questions, and not be afraid to be informed, because we have the right to do so. In the best of all worlds, just ask people to be careful and apply our national motto in Haiti: Unity is strength ”, he concludes.
To go further...
- On January 24, about fifteen organizations that welcome asylum seekers united their voices to ask for more financial resources, considering that the community sector is experiencing a “crisis”, with teams that “border on the brink of exhaustion”. In order to be able to meet the demand, organizations therefore require more resources. They also want legal support services to be strengthened, as well as the annulment of a 1996 government decision that limits access to public services for asylum seekers.
- Haiti is considered by the United Nations to be a country experiencing one of the worst humanitarian and human rights crises. The country has also been subject to economic sanctions from the Canadian government and other countries since November 10, 2022, the date on which the Regulations implementing the United Nations resolution on Haiti came into force.
- The Safe Third Country Agreement is a Canadian-American agreement that requires migrants to seek asylum in the first safe country they set foot in. In concrete terms, this means that those who pass through the United States or who live there are turned back at Canadian border crossings. On the other hand, this text — contested in court — does not target migrants who use passages deemed irregular, such as Roxham Road.
- Asked about the processing times for asylum seekers' files, the Canadian government's Department of Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship indicates that on September 13, 2022, it implemented a new asylum application method. According to the ministry, “the new application platform contributes to making the registration and receiving process more efficient.” He also claims to have implemented, on November 16, 2022, “a temporary public policy that allows asylum seekers to quickly obtain open work permits, allowing them to access the Canadian labor market sooner.”
- The ministry also indicates that the federal government provided nearly $698 million in assistance to Quebec in 2021-22 to enable the province to offer settlement and integration services, especially to asylum seekers.
- With regard to the Safe Third Country Agreement, the Department confirms its intention to maintain the agreement between Canada and the United States. “We continue to work with our American counterparts to ensure that the Safe Third Country Agreement remains a humane and fair approach to processing asylum claims between our two countries,” said the department.