That the City of New York is providing free bus tickets to migrants heading north to enter Canada through the unofficial border crossing on Roxham Road to claim asylum has caught Quebec’s immigration minister off guard..Speaking to reporters in Montreal this week, Christine Fréchette, said "We are going to check if what is mentioned is true and if so, I would say I would be surprised that such a thing would be offered." ."There is an overflow of these people in a very short period of time," she said of the recent influx of migrants making their way into Quebec, adding officials "hadn't planned for this increase" and Ottawa needs to "solve the problem of Roxham Road," just south of Montreal and used by tens of thousands of people last year to claim asylum..The migrants heading north arrive in New York City in buses, after illegally crossing over the US/Mexico border, which has seen millions of illegal crossings since Joe Biden became president..The majority of migrants arrive at infamous Roxham Road crossing about twenty miles north of Plattsburgh, NY. There is no fence separating the Canadian end of the road and the field on the American side, so migrants can simply walk into the country, where they are met by members of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police and processed..New York’s Mayor Eric Adams told Fox 5 TV his administration helps in the "re-ticketing process" for people who arrive in the city but want to go elsewhere. Adams said the city does not force people to leave, but some express a desire to move on to other places, including Canada..The New York Post reported some migrants are being given free tickets to Plattsburgh, NY. From there they can travel about half an hour by shuttle or taxi to cross into Quebec..An official with Adams' office confirmed the city works with community organizations to "re-ticket to help get people to their final destination." The municipal administration doesn't treat requests for bus tickets to Plattsburgh any differently than those for other American cities, the official added..Eric Durr, a spokesman for the US National Guard, said its members are present at New York City's biggest bus terminal to ask disembarking migrants what services they need, whether it's housing, medical care or help getting to another destination. However, the military force only connects people to resources and does not hand out bus tickets, Durr said..Canada and the US are in negotiations to modernize the Canada-US Safe Third Country Agreement, which stipulates people seeking refugee protection must claim asylum in whichever of the two countries they arrive in first..But the agreement only applies at official border crossings, leading many people to use unofficial crossing points such as Roxham Road to reach Canada. .Fréchette urged Ottawa to expand the agreement so that it applies across the entire border, from "coast to coast."."I think it makes the urgency of the situation even more apparent," she said of the bus ticket story..The Quebec government recently announced $3.5 million in aid for community organizations that have been struggling to provide food, clothing and housing for the rising numbers of asylum seekers..Fréchette said that while Quebec is prepared to help support refugee claimants, it wants the federal government to ensure other provinces take in a bigger share..Federal data shows that Quebec, with less than 25% of Canada’s population, received more than 39,000 of the country's 92,715 asylum claims last year..All but a few hundred of the 39,540 people who crossed, as the Trudeau government calls it, "irregularly" in between official border points did so in Quebec, overwhelmingly at Roxham Road..Fréchette has urged Ottawa to speed up work permits for asylum seekers so they can begin supporting themselves and their families more quickly..During Question Period on Monday, Quebec MP Alexis Brunelle-Duceppe sarcastically mentioned the activity at Roxham.."Tired of the hustle and bustle of the life in the Big Apple?" he said. "The solution for you is the all-inclusive Roxham Package; a free bus will take you to Plattsburgh, where a taxi will be waiting to take you to Roxham, and once you've crossed the road, you'll be offered free accommodation, welfare, healthcare, and school for your children!".But then, "We have to be serious," said Brunelle-Duceppe. "We have a moral duty to welcome asylum seekers, it's a matter of humanity, but what's happening with Roxham Road is ridiculous. Americans are using this irregular route to absolve themselves of their own responsibility."
