Roxham Road

Roxham Road was a Canadian port of entry in Quebec, on the border with New York that operated until the late 1950s. In the late 2010s, it became the site where many asylum seekers crossed from the United States to Canada.[1] Prior to the COVID-19 restrictions, thousands of migrants made unauthorized entry into Canada on foot at this location so they could request asylum. The RCMP had established temporary facilities at this crossing to aid in processing the surge in asylum seekers.[2]

Dead end of Roxham Road
Asylum seeker entering Canada from Roxham Road
RCMP officers giving directions to asylum seekers.

History

The building on the Canadian side formerly used for border crossing officials, is now a private residence. The U.S. never had a border station at this location. This crossing has been barricaded since the 1970s in security operations supporting the 1976 Summer Olympics.[1][2][3][4]

Asylum seekers

Crossing at Roxham Road is not illegal under Canadian law as "Our immigration law does not make it illegal to enter Canada using informal border crossings, as long as a person reports to border services without delay.".[5] The reason so many people choose to cross here rather than at a legal port of entry is a loophole in the "Safe Third Country Agreement", signed by the United States and Canada in 2002 and entered into force in 2004, which requires that people seeking political asylum in either country must do so in the country where they arrived first. For those wishing to cross from the U.S. to Canada, at a port of entry, Canada Border Services Agency officials would follow Safe Third and in most cases send them back to the United States. Canadian police at Roxham Road however, arrest the asylum seekers and cannot send them back to the United States, whereby those crossing may claim asylum in Canada, and they, hope, eventual legal status in Canada.

Location

The unauthorized crossing point is located in Saint-Bernard-de-Lacolle, Quebec on the Canadian side and near Perry Mills, Champlain, New York on the U.S. side. It is less than a thirty-minute taxi ride from Plattsburgh, New York where dedicated "border line taxis" wait at the bus station.[6]

References
  1. Ross, Selena (2019-04-17). "In a twist, Canada asks U.S. for help cracking down at its southern border". The Washington Post. Retrieved 5 July 2019.
  2. "Why Illegal border-crossers to Canada target Roxham Road". The National. CBC News. 2017-09-26.
  3. "Many of these small uncontrolled crossings like this in western Vermont [Henry Rd, Alburgh, VT], and upstate New York were barricaded for security purposes in the 1970s, in preparation for the 1976 Olympic games held in Montreal, less than 35 miles away from this point". THE CENTER FOR LAND USE INTERPRETATION. Retrieved 27 March 2020.
  4. Kifner, John. "Olympic Fears Stir Border Patrol Shift". New York Times (July 27, 1976). Retrieved 27 March 2020.
  5. https://ottawacitizen.com/opinion/columnists/sadrehashemi-four-myths-about-canadas-border-crossings/
  6. O'Shei, Tim (December 1, 2019). "At Roxham Road, refugees find a loophole and safe passage to Canada". Buffalo News. Retrieved 19 March 2020.
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