Migrants, asylum-seekers face uphill battle to legally enter Canada and U.S., experts say

In the wake of the discovery of four people, including an infant, found frozen while attempting to cross at the Manitoba-U.S. border, a Winnipeg lawyer says some migrants may make the move south because of Canada's "broken " immigration system.

It's not known what prompted the group that died near Emerson, Man., nor the seven others who went on ahead to make the perilous journey, but Shimon Segal, a criminal defense and immigration lawyer at the firm of Gindin Segal in Winnipeg says they might have encountered considerable challenges trying to settle in Canada.

"This is not a good time to be a refugee or an asylum seeker, whether you're coming through a field or otherwise," he said.

One reason might be the 2019 amendment to the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act which stipulates that refugee claimants who have previously made a claim for refugee protection in another country will be ineligible to make a claim in Canada.

Refugee claims by people who already have made unsuccessful claims here, have been deemed inadmissible because of their criminal records or have been granted refugee protection elsewhere are also inadmissible.

"People get here with a thought that Canada is the fair place. And then they find out from someone like me, you're just not eligible. So that's the part that I find really disturbing that isn't being talked about," Segal said.

Meanwhile, people like smugglers might take advantage of desperation and naivete, he added.

Steve Shand, 47, of Florida is facing human smuggling charges related to the recent crossing of the seven Indian nationals, but was granted release from custody with a number of conditions. The charges have not been tested in court.

"Even in a community like refugees where information travels very quick and they are extremely resourceful, these are survivors, these are these are people who have skills way beyond their education in order to keep themselves alive. The one thing that they don't get often is accurate information about what they really need to know when they get here," Segal said.

The lawyer wondered if the market for human smuggling is saturated at the southern U.S. border and if there's less competition in the north.

An investigator with Homeland Security said in an affidavit after Shand was initially taken into custody that he was suspected of being involved in a wider human smuggling operation.

But going south legally is also a huge challenge, said Veena Ayer, the executive director of the Immigrant Law Center of Minnesota. 

Some of her clients have tried to go through legal channels to immigrate to the U.S. but have been deterred by exceptionally long wait lists.

Indian nationals who are close relatives of U.S. citizens have to wait over a decade to immigrate to the U.S. because of nationality-based quotas in the U.S., also known as country limits.