Snowy ditch out of the US leads to a new life for asylum-seekers

A 12FT-WIDE ditch that acts as the border between New York state and Quebec has become a magnet for refugees seeking a better life in Canada.

The ditch, at the end of an unmade road at St Bernard de Lacolle, about an hour’s drive south of Montreal, is just one of the unmanned border crossings along the 5,000-mile border between the US and Canada, which has seen a surge in the number of asylum-seekers over the past few months.

In early February, 42 asylum claims were filed in one weekend at Quebec’s land borders. In January, there were 506 applications.

“If Donald Trump goes ahead with the deportations some may decide they would rather come here than be returned to Central America,” said David Cohen, a Canadian immigration lawyer. Refugees presenting themselves at an official border crossing will be turned back because they should have applied for asylum in the US. The same rules do not apply for hundreds of refugees at unmanned crossing points.

At St Bernard de Lacolle, the normal means of reaching the ditch is to take a taxi from Plattsburgh in New York state, about 27 miles to the south. Try- ing to walk through the woods is not advised given the presence of bears and cougars.

At least one of the families told their taxi driver they were making the trip to escape Mr Trump. Once they arrive, being arrested and taken into custody is the object of the exercise. What follows is almost a ritual.

A Canadian police officer stands in the ditch and tells the new arrivals they are committing an offence should they go beyond an orange border stake.

The warnings are ignored and the refugees are arrested, handcuffed and handed over to the Canadian Border Services Agency for their asylum applications to be processed.

There was no attempt to resist being arrested on Monday when refugees from Sudan, Yemen, Turkey, Syria, Mauritania and Eritrea clambered or, given the snow, slid through the ditch to reach Canada.

The Trump administration last night revoked landmark guidance issued to schools in defence of transgender student rights. One of Barack Obama signature initiatives was to encourage schools to allow transgender students to use lavatories matching their chosen gender identity.

The Justice and Education departments last night said the earlier directive caused confusion and lawsuits over how it should be applied.

‘If Trump goes ahead ... some may decide they would rather come here than be returned to Central America’