Families, single mothers, teenagers traveling alone, and many others, are using a small, illegal border crossing at the end of Roxham Road in Plattsburgh, New York, to initiate the asylum process in Canada. Knowing that they would be denied asylum if they arrived in Canada directly, the method of crossing illegally and being arrested forces the process to begin due to a loophole in Canadian law. The ordeal is relatively easy and has become so popular that some are applying for visitor visas to the United States of America with the intention of crossing into Canada. Others have lived in the United States previously and have been denied asylum or fear deportation by ICE. The area has a long history with the Underground Railroad, and a small community of people assisting the asylum seekers see this situation as a modern day version of the network that existed in the first half of the 19th century.

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