LACOLLE,
Que.—After surviving winter's wrath to reach this desolate border
post on the way to Montreal from New York state, about 20 refugee
claimants huddle inside a large waiting room, waiting to be buzzed in
by an immigration official. Most looked terrified earlier this month
as they waited for their names to be called. Their concerns were not
unfounded.
Refugee claimants have overwhelmed Canadian border posts since
December when the American Department of Justice added Pakistan to a
list of mostly Muslim nations, and North Korea, as countries whose
visitors must undergo special registration.
Men aged 16 and older from these countries, who are not permanent
residents or United States citizens, are required to report for
interviews where they are also fingerprinted and photographed, steps
the U.S. government has said are necessary to fight terrorism and
track illegal aliens.
Fearing deportation, more and more refugee claimants — mostly
from Pakistan — are seeking shelter in Canada.
Jalil Mirza was among hundreds of other Pakistanis fleeing the
post-9/11 crackdown on illegal immigrants. He quit his job, packed up
his possessions and headed north rather than face a forced return to
Pakistan.
After a 16-hour bus ride from Virginia with his wife and seven
children, he crossed into Canada from Burlington, Vt., hoping to gain
asylum.
Besieged Canadian officials told him to come back in two weeks.
But when he dragged their suitcases back to the American side, U.S.
immigration agents promptly arrested him and his two teenage sons,
leaving the rest of the family wailing in despair in the icy cold.
The Mirzas are part of an unusual and chaotic exodus that has
jammed land crossings from the U.S. into Canada over the past two
weeks, overwhelming immigration officials and refugee aid groups on
both sides of the border.
In Ontario alone, 871 people applied for asylum in January, nearly
double the number in November. Pakistani refugee claimants represented
only 5 per cent of claims in November, surging to 49 per cent in
January.
In Buffalo, it now takes at least 14 days just to get an
appointment at the Canadian border. It used to take a few days.
Once in Canada, refugee claimants can expect their cases to be
referred to the Immigration and Refugee Board, a quasi-judicial
tribunal whose members hear evidence during a face-to-face hearing,
then render a decision on the refugee claim. Only about 55 per cent of
refugee applications are accepted.
Rejean Cantlon, a spokesperson for Immigration Canada, said many
more claimants are sent back to the U.S. with future appointments
because "there are not enough translators or immigration
officials available."
Back on American soil, hardship awaits.
Some are arrested by immigration officials for the same reason they
seek refuge — not having proper paperwork — and return much poorer
after paying bonds that start at $1,500 (U.S.).
A few are simply jailed.
But most head for emergency shelters, hoping for assistance until
their hearings.
"It's an outrage. It's not the thing a great nation is
supposed to do," said Patrick Giantonio, who helps run Vermont
Refugee Assistance.
"I am crying, my wife is crying," said Samir Sheik, a
Pakistani who had been working as a street vendor in New York City and
was arrested at a checkpoint on his way to the Canadian border for
having overstayed his visa.
Sheik said he could not return to Pakistan because he and his wife
married against the wishes of both their families and he feared his
wife would be killed by her father.
His wife, Erim Salim, shuffled silently around the crowded
Salvation Army centre in Burlington, where they had been reunited
after she borrowed from friends and neighbours to pay his $5,000
(U.S.) bond.
"She is sick now, mentally," said Sheik, nodding toward
her sadly. "Millions of people live here and are overstays. Why
is it only for Pakistanis and Muslim people that they do this?"
Hiraj Zafer, a Pakistani cook from Salt Lake City who was also
trying to enter Canada, gave an answer. "After 9/11, people hate
us," Zafer said.
Sheik said: "Yes, they hate us. But we love America. We feel
free here."
Mirza joined the refrain, saying he loves America and does not want
to leave.
A former restaurant manager in Virginia with four children born in
the U.S., Mirza, 45, managed to scrape together the $4,500 (U.S.) he
needed to get himself and his older sons out of jail. His family
stayed two weeks in a shelter in Burlington, until yesterday when they
had an 8 a.m. appointment with Canadian immigration officials.
With files from the New York Times and the Hamilton Spectator
