Migrants still attempting to cross at Roxham Road, with news of Canada-U.S. deal slow to spread

Arriving on buses from New York City over the weekend, dozens of migrants attempted to cross into Canada at Quebec's Roxham Road despite strict new border rules between Canada and the U.S. meaning many will likely be sent back to the U.S. and denied the right to claim asylum in Canada ever again. 

One couple from Colombia was at a loss for words when they found out they could be turned back Saturday afternoon. They'd spent thousands on making it that far with their child.

At the Mountain Mart gas station and bus stop, it had started to snow, but many were dressed in clothes better suited for summer. A man from Angola wore sandals; a girl stood outside the bus in ballet flats. After travelling thousands of miles over weeks and months, the news of the revised migrant deal had not yet made its way to them. 

Several decided to get into one of the few cabs still ferrying people from the bus stop to Roxham, about 30 kilometres away. Taxi drivers in Plattsburgh have been told to stop taking people to the border after midnight Saturday, but some have opted to do it anyway.

Under the revised Safe Third Country Agreement announced Friday, migrants can no longer claim asylum after crossing Canada's land border, save for some exemptions. Those who do cross into Canada and try to claim asylum within 14 days. of arriving will be turned back. 

Immigration experts and advocates have condemned the new rules, saying it will push people to go underground, take dangerous risks and put pressure on front-line responders to surveil and rescue migrants attempting to cross along Canada's nearly 9,000-km long border. Two men have died in recent months attempting to cross the Canadian border into the U.S. 

Sunday, another young couple, this time from Venezuela, were among the 20 or so people that took one of those rides to Roxham, after that day's bus.

The couple lingered while others walked down the short path across the border, where an RCMP officer was arresting them and leading them into the warehouse where other migrants were waiting to be processed. 

They hesitated to cross for about eight minutes. At one point, the man asked the officer if indeed the worst possible scenario was that they would be sent back to the U.S. 

"You have to ask immigration. I'm a police officer," the RCMP agent replied. No immigration services staff was present.

There have been few, if any, official sources of information at Roxham for migrants to learn the risks they face in deciding to try their luck. 

A sign was unveiled at midnight Saturday when the deal came into effect. It says, "Stop. Do not cross. It is illegal to enter Canada from here. You will be arrested and may be returned to the United States. Refugee Claimants must request protection in the first safe country they arrive in." 

RCMP officers continue to tell people they will be arrested after walking into the country, though they now point to the new sign and tell people to read it. 

Once inside, those who do not meet the exemptions to the new agreement are ferried to U.S. border patrollers at an official checkpoint, who either arrest and detain them or release them into the country. On Saturday and Sunday, the officers were not telling people that.