In the United States, Donald Trump is courting voters by promising mass expulsions of undocumented immigrants. On the European Union side, member states have agreed on a reform to strengthen control of migrant arrivals. Canada, for its part, dismantled the RCMP building which housed asylum seekers on Roxham Road in September.
Entry into a country through unofficial channels – irregular crossings – is a source of concern for many governments.
But as measures are put in place to make borders less clandestinely accessible, smugglers are finding new ways to allow migrants and asylum seekers to reach their destination.
“Receiving countries, transit countries are taking actions to close borders and this diverts passage routes, migratory routes,” explains François Crépeau, professor at the Faculty of Law at McGill University, specializing in domain. “And it’s constantly like that because from the moment we close one road, another opens,” he said.
Word of mouth and social networks allow migrants and asylum seekers to find out about “new” crossings. Often more dangerous: 2023 was the deadliest year on migration routes in 10 years of data monitoring, according to the International Organization for Migration (IOM), a UN agency.
In Canada, as in many countries, most asylum seekers go through regular channels. But thousands of others, unable to use official channels, turn to clandestine avenues. It remains difficult to calculate the number of irregular entries into countries, except when migrants are intercepted or request asylum.
But their volume does not seem to be decreasing, on the contrary: the United States has recorded a jump in interceptions at the southern border. Crossings in the Mediterranean Sea increased by 17% in 2023 compared to the previous year, according to Frontex, the European border and coast guard agency. In Canada, 31,475 people requested asylum in 2023 after crossing an irregular port of entry, compared to 20,896 in 2022.
Here are some of the main routes that these migrants take, despite obstacles and sometimes with their young children, in the hope of a better life.
Lexicon
Migrant : generally speaking, this term refers to a person who moves from his country to another.
Asking for asylum : a person who seeks refuge in a country. Asylum seekers turn to irregular crossings because they do not have the necessary documents to cross an official entry point, for example.
Irregular passage : when a person crosses a border without going through an official entry point controlled by the authorities.