Refugee claimants rush to beat deadline

More than 1,000 people who want to seek refugee status in Canada are expected to pass over the U.S.-Canada border near Niagara Falls Tuesday, as a midnight deadline for a new immigration law looms.

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The Safe Third Country Agreement says any refugee claimants living in the U.S. have until midnight Tuesday to apply for refugee status in Canada.

Those who don't do so will either:

• Have to file their refugee claims in the United States; or
• Apply to enter Canada as immigrants instead of refugees, a process that involves more stringent tests.

Hundreds of asylum-seekers have already made their way across the Peace Bridge into Canada over the past month in advance of the deadline.

At the peak of traffic on Dec. 23 and 24, nearly 500 individuals crammed the border crossing and had to be put in school buses to stay warm while they waited to be processed.

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Canadian officials had anticipated an even larger glut of last-minute asylum seekers, but a change in how they were being handled helped mitigate the rush.

The change allowed Canadian border officials to process claimants at a Buffalo, N.Y., shelter, which was frantically processing hundreds of refugee claims Monday.

The shelter provides food, medical attention, legal advice and a temporary place to stay to those currently living in the United States, but who eventually want to call Canada home.

"The people were all crying. It was very hard for the workers down there," said Pat Anzovino, a refugee advocate dealing with those who were waiting for appointments on Thursday and Friday.

"People were weeping and hanging on to the workers' legs. There were elderly people and newborns, so it was very emotional for all of us down there."

"We're working night and day... We've been strategizing all morning with the Red Cross and Salvation Army to make sure they're on board with us," he added. "We want to be ready for anything."

Would-be refugees are also coming across the American border at other Canadian crossings, but in lesser numbers.

In Quebec, the St-Bernard-de-Lacolle crossing in Lacolle has seen refugee claims more than triple over the past few days, said a spokesperson for the Canadian Border Services Agency.

Richard Saint-Louis said the crossing received 19 refugee claimants on Sunday and about 12 on Monday morning. On an average day, officials would process an average of five claimants.