border visit, february 16, 2020

Sunday, February 16th, 2020. Afternoon at Roxham Road, USA.

A mild, grey and damp winter's day.  Only two people crossed into Canada during the time we were there (over 2 hours).  One of us arrived early and spoke with the RCMP officer who said to her - '' You know it is illegal to help refugees.'' This is the first time an officer has said this. We presume he meant - to help people cross irregularly, not to greet people and give out warm things. 

A taxi arrived at about 3.45 pm bringing a young couple from Nicaragua who spoke a bit of English. The taxi driver told us they had been very scared during the taxi ride and he hoped he had helped them feel calmer.

The young woman did not show her fear and seemed quite upbeat. Both she and her male companion accepted warm things and hugs.   The woman went first to the border followed by her partner. The RCMP officer (four officers were present) spoke to them in Spanish and she simply said OK and went bravely across. 

​The RCMP behaved appropriately although it seemed to us that the officer had said to her
in Spanish ''You cannot cross here to claim asylum.''  Under other circumstances (e.g. no witnesses present) this might have prevented someone from crossing. It is also not true since clearly people do cross here to claim asylum.