Asylum seekers bused to New Brunswick left struggling to find help

Jessica arrived in New Brunswick confused and disoriented, stepping off a bus on a cold March night after a more than 10-hour journey from Roxham Road. She knew nothing about Moncton, the city where she had been sent.

"They never told me where we were going," she said, speaking in Spanish through an interpreter.

Jessica is one of more than 200 asylum seekers bused to New Brunswick after arriving in Quebec over the international border. Her relocation to Moncton was part of a scramble by the federal government to redirect migrants to other parts of the country.

Several migrants told CBC News they were directed onto buses with no idea where they were going or why, only to arrive in Moncton or Fredericton. The move has placed asylum seekers from around the world in a province where they say there is minimal legal aid, a lack of language interpreters and limited resources to help with basic needs. 

Jessica fled violence in Ecuador for the U.S., embarking on a harrowing month-long journey through Central America. Fearing for her life, she said she was robbed at gunpoint, traversed a Colombian jungle and spent four days detained in a Mexican jail before finally crossing the border on foot.

After about a month in New York City, she set her sights on Canada after researching an unofficial border crossing called Roxham Road.

CBC News has agreed to protect Jessica's identity because she fears violence to herself or family members still in Ecuador. 

Jessica is living in one of more than 100 hotel rooms reserved in Moncton by Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) to provide temporary housing to people bused from Roxham Road. 

In March, New Brunswick agreed to accept the migrants after Quebec said it couldn't handle any more.

The 243 asylum seekers in New Brunswick speak several languages, and local volunteers estimate about half are originally from Latin America. There are migrants from countries around the world, including Angola, Colombia, Ecuador, Haiti, Mexico, Senegal, Venezuela, Turkey, Zimbabwe and Afghanistan.

After arriving in New Brunswick on March 19, Jessica said no one told her information about her next steps. 

"Nobody helps you. You're in the hotel alone," she said, speaking in Spanish through an interpreter.

Jessica said shortly after crossing Roxham Road, immigration officials directed her onto a bus. About 10 hours later, she arrived in Moncton, knowing nothing about the place she had been sent.

She only speaks Spanish and initially struggled to find answers about her next steps.