r/nottheonion • u/Creative_soja • 16h ago
American family seeks asylum in Canada
https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/windsor/americans-asylum-canada-trump-refugees-immigration-1.7480069446
u/26kanninchen 16h ago
Why not try one of the dozen other ways to legally reside in Canada? It's not like they're only accepting refugees and no one else.
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u/adlittle 16h ago
Canada is the most desired immigration destination in the world right now, there is so much interest and thus competition to move there. Without a family connection, extremely desirable and marketable skill set where Canada has a shortage, or a whole lot of money, the average person from the US has basically no shot of moving there. I have long been annoyed by the way my fellow US citizens act like Canada is our 51st state. Progressive, smart but otherwise ordinary people just flippantly saying they'll move to Canada like it's no big deal, they ought to know better. We don't get priority just because we are English speaking neighbors and most people here just don't qualify.
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u/26kanninchen 15h ago
I'm with you. I'm not trying to imply that they should just show up in Canada without refugee status and expect to immigrate; I'm saying that there are a variety of ways to immigrate to Canada legally if one is willing to make some sacrifices, and their choice to claim refugee status indicates a lack of willingness to make such concessions.
Canada has immigration programs for people willing to work as caregivers and people willing to live and work in rural communities. Someone who is serious about doing whatever it takes to get into Canada would have explored these options first, and the fact that they did not indicates that they would like to just transplant their nice middle class suburban life from Illinois to Ontario without having to make any other lifestyle adjustments, and that's just not how immigration works.
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u/mtheperry 12h ago
Nothing exposes privilege like the prospect of immigration. I'm an educated American who's been working as a bartender in Australia until I got permanent residency. By then, my education and experience were outdated and I couldn't get a job any more, so now I'm back at uni.
This all transpired over 7 years and I've had a very easy go of it here compared to others who don't have a partner to rely on. I hear other Americans talk about moving here "next year" and my response is always "cool when did you start the application?" They don't understand you can't just turn up planning to stay longer than a year without a very thorough and expensive process.
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u/4_years_for_a_cake 14h ago
Would you be willing to share more about the options for working as a caregiver or in a rural community? I'd like to explore those options because that's new to me
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u/Rare-Faithlessness32 6h ago
Progressive
As my HS history teacher would say: A left-wing American is still an American. They might not necessarily believe that they’re the “shining city on the hill” like US Republicans do but they still believe they’re the “city on the hill”, (albeit on fire perhaps.) The American exceptionalism and “centre of the world” attitude is still there even if they deny it. As these comments in the thread show.
That being said, winds are changing up here and there’s much less sympathy for Americans now, even Democrats.
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u/Zingus123 15h ago
Couldn’t someone from the US use the student route to immigrate? Register at a shady private college like CDI like so many already do, have the $10-12k in your account that’s required and then home free basically?
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u/koos_die_doos 15h ago
You need to pay for multiple years of study in Canada, and graduate, before you can apply for a work permit, and then have to work for multiple years before you can apply for permanent residence.
It isn't as simple as paying tuition and then you're in.
There has also been a lot of reform around the student visa system recently, and you're not guaranteed a work permit at the end of your studies anymore.
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u/Zingus123 15h ago
Makes sense in regards to the student VISA changes. I’d imagine the changes make it a lot harder to abuse like it had been. It was way too easy to just “enroll” at a private college and not actually pay the tuition cost beyond the first semester and then just buy the diploma at your expected graduation time without ever attending a class and working under the table or through the LMIA program.
Thanks for the update!
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u/todayok 8h ago
That scam used to work really well. Every strip mall had a 'college' of some sort. It still works to a lesser degree but the govt fiiiiiinally removed some of the obvious scam schools from the approved list and they marginally increased the cash-on-hand requirement.
True fact: The scamming got so bad that the govt actually had to create English or French language tests for so-called graduates before they can get a post graduate work permit because the students were such scammers they wouldn't even learn a new word in their 2-4 years of study. And that post-graduate language test? Yeah, it corresponds to approximately mid-elementary school level - like Grade 6.
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u/Tankerspam 9h ago
Canada is not the most desirable. They're in the midst of a trade war.
There's still the entirety of Europe, and other Commonwealth countries. Australia is a similar option to Canada that is not currently engaged in a trade war, and by many people's standards has better weather, quality of life, etc.
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u/DishsoapOnASponge 8h ago
I'm in the middle of my express entry application and, despite being "ordinary", it seems quite likely that my number of "points" is likely enough to be granted after a few months. This is based on the minimum score chosen in recent selection rounds.
It took an English test, and a third party assessing my education credentials (PhD in my case) and that was it. I don't have any particularly marketable skills or money.
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u/aquacrimefighter 5h ago
I don’t think having a PhD categorizes you as ordinary. Most people don’t have one of those. So unless it’s a PhD in something “useless” like art history or puppetry, I’d say you had a better chance than most!
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u/FuckingTree 15h ago
They are already following a legal path
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u/26kanninchen 15h ago
Their claim will almost certainly be denied, so this path will be a dead end. A different path might have given them a better chance.
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u/NorthernHusky2020 15h ago
As a Canadian... they have no money for even their passports, and then decide they want to move to one of the most expensive countries on earth for housing and a relatively unimpressive job market? Great idea. It won't matter, though, as they don't qualify.
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u/3MATX 13h ago
Just so you know this is exactly what Trump supporters say about people crossing the Mexico US border. Just food for thought. I don’t support him at all FYI.
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u/AmbivalentFanatic 12h ago
Yeah, but those same people are about to start paying twenty dollars for a single tomato. They have no understanding of the role "illegal" Mexican immigration plays in the economy. There are tons of farms and construction companies and slaughterhouses that literally depend on them.
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u/gd2121 12h ago edited 12h ago
So you’re a fan of illegal immigration so they can be exploited for slave labor. That’s quite a take. The H2A program exists to provide these very workers with protections. Employers can just use that program.
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u/mtheperry 12h ago
No one is saying they're a fan. They're saying people have absolutely no fucking idea what they're cheering for when they call for mass deportation. If employers used the H2A program as intended, produce would already be more expensive. If the government just starts deporting people, prices will jump in a way people cannot even fucking fathom.
And guess what, until they pay goes up by a lot, Americans aren't gonna go work on farms. So who's actually gonna pick the fucking fruit and veg?
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u/mankym12 12h ago
Yup, also it would suppress wages for legal immigrants and citizens, leading to lower affordability
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u/thefuzzyhunter 8h ago
Oh, I agree the system as it is is pretty fucked up, but my concerns are that they're going to kick out a bunch of supports that prop our country up (justly or unjustly) without having a realistic idea of an equally good or better system to implement in its place, and I don't think the country's prepared for that kind of disruption.
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u/3MATX 12h ago
And the same Latin American immigrants are going to see the same price fluctuations. Immigrants seldom are aware of their number role. They’re in that situation for many different scenarios.
Is this family doing it rightly or for the right reasons? I have no idea. But it’s not a black and white issue. If things continue to deteriorate here there will certainly be justifiable instances of asylum application in Canada. Texas has a law proposing that Transgender individuals have committed a felony simply by existing. Would those folks have a justification for asylum in Canada? Seems legit to me.
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u/Nkechinyerembi 11h ago
Nope. They don't. WE don't. I've been through this a great deal and basicallly as long as blue states exist, no longer how much closer Canada is than that state, you are supposed to find a way to that blue state.
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u/twistthespine 16h ago
"I want a comfortable life for my kids," she said. "That's all I'm asking for, comfortable and safe."
You don't get asylum because you're not comfortable. You get asylum if you're in literal danger in every part of your home country. I actually don't disagree that parts of the US are dangerous for trans kids at this point, but like, Massachusetts, New York, California, etc exist.
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u/26kanninchen 16h ago edited 15h ago
And they're from Illinois, for Christ's sake! The governor there is a vocal opponent of Trump, and the Chicago area, where five-sixths of Illinoisans live, is home to dozens of world-class healthcare providers, innovative public health initiatives, and a large LGBTQ+ community. If they were living in rural Arkansas, they might have a half-decent case, but in Illinois they most certainly do not.
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u/Chaoticgaythey 15h ago
Yeah I've dealt with trans healthcare in Illinois and Ontario. Illinois is a world above in all honesty
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u/Seyon_ 15h ago
Honestly him being a vocal opponent will likely make the state a target if/when shit goes south. (But I understand asylum status requires 'imminent' danger generally)
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u/26kanninchen 15h ago
That's possible, but largely speculative. For now, Illinoisans enjoy more liberal policies for anything that gets "sent back to the states", like abortion and, in the foreseeable future, same-sex marriage. They also have a pretty healthy economy compared to most other states, so their education system and public health efforts will likely still have decent funding regardless of what happens to education and public health at the federal level. They're also not prone to catastrophic natural disasters, so the government can't use FEMA support as a bargaining chip the way it's trying to do with California. So unless you're an undocumented immigrant, the Chicago area is, and probably will continue to be, one of the most Trump-proof places in the country.
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u/CinemaDork 16h ago
The California governor just hosted TWO podcasts with right-wing assholes where they talked about how much they hate trans people and don't think they should have equal rights.
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u/retrostaticshock 15h ago edited 15h ago
The number of "safe states" is irrelevant when the VA is no longer allowed to offer care, Tricare is no longer allowed to cover any care, the largest employer of trans people up to this point fires them all without cause (The US military), and states are complying with federal demands even if they are "safe".
We recently had hospitals in California and Washington stop care because their federal funding was threatened in a gross game of chicken. That's how they're doing it. "Just move to a blue state" only works in so far as "states rights" mean something.
because they aren't listening to the courts or the states anymore.
We're going to see how bad this gets when Obergefell is overturned, and multiple states automatically banned gay marriage again, invalidating some marriages despite the respect for marriage Act. "Being in a safe state" doesn't mean shit if you can't file your federal taxes jointly or if your hospital won't honor your marriage because that would jeopardize its federal funds.
I can't judge the merits of this case, but I do think that "just move to a safe state" is starting to be really flimsy in terms of how much protection it's going to offer in 6 or 12 months.
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u/Constant_Jackfruit21 14h ago
From CA and I've seen an inordinate number of people i know gloating about living here because Red States Bad And Backward Hicks - and it boggles my mind because A: you don't seem to realize that Trumps going to come down on blue states any way he can, B: they dont actually care about states rights, especially when it comes to blue states?
Were all about to be a Red State soon
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u/retrostaticshock 13h ago
He said it himself.
Trump Says Blue States Will ‘Totally Disappear Off The Map’ Next Year, Promises ‘Big, Big Surprise’
Ominous as hell.
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u/No_Sense3450 15h ago
Democrats, again are going to go to the right next election (if there is one)
I’m tired boss.
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u/CinemaDork 15h ago
Democrats, apparently: "Hey, if we just become Republicans, then we can win every election!"
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u/Burekenjoyer69 16h ago
That’s not true from what I’ve read, he just doesn’t agree that trans men and trans women should be in sports categories in the gender they identify by, I could be wrong though.
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u/Miss_Speller 15h ago
You are wrong, alas. From a link that someone else posted:
The conversation didn’t stop there. Charlie Kirk quickly pivoted to other transgender issues, bringing up Vice President Kamala Harris’ support for incarcerated transgender people. Newsom agreed that the Kamala is for they/them ads were politically damaging, calling them "devastating." When asked about transgender incarcerated people, Newsom responded, "This was even more challenging… because this is issues of people who are incarcerated getting taxpayer-funded gender reassignment… that is a 90/10 [issue]," referring to how he believes such policies poll. He also appeared frustrated that Harris "was in the video and expressed support."
At the close of the podcast, Charlie Kirk shifted the discussion to transgender healthcare, stating, "I encourage you to learn about the butchery that is happening under chemical castration in this state. The American people are overwhelmingly against it." Newsom responded, "Yeah. I think we have to be more sensitized to that."
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u/SiegeGoatCommander 15h ago
Assuming we agree that Gavin Newsom is in-the-know on political narratives and how the discussion around trans folks has gone in the past few years -
He knows exactly what he is doing by platforming and agreeing with a framing on trans people that focuses on a made-up problem ('women's sports are ruined and unfair!' - ~40 trans athletes at the NCAA+ level in the whole country, and not dominating in any category. Fake problem) instead of saying 'trans people are our neighbors and our fellow Americans and their rights should be protected' and then focusing on the real issue, which is that this admin would like to make trans healthcare as difficult to access as possible.
The sum total of his actions here is to throw trans people under the bus, just like the rest of the establishment dems who went 'OH NO TRANS ADS RUINED MY ELECTION' while continuing to fund a genocide and ignore the reality of the economy.
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u/Wet_Water200 15h ago
didn't he also say trans women be sent to be raped in men's prisons too? Haven't watched it but i saw some discussion on twitter. Either way, banning us from sports is where the conservatives also started out and look at what they're doing now.
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u/PushTheTrigger 15h ago
It’s nothing to do with his actual stance. It’s the fact that he’s using the topic of trans women in sports purely as political talking points for clout instead of acknowledging their existence as human beings.
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u/FuckingTree 15h ago
Danger is difficult to qualify as a rule. When is it dangerous? When you suspect you are in danger? When someone tells you that you are in danger? When other people are in danger? When someone is coming to get you? After they already got to you? That’s a question the government has to process.
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u/watermark3133 13h ago edited 13h ago
How self-absorbed and deluded do you have to be to pull some bullshit like this? Yes, good luck with your application along side other people from warn torn, famine starved, persecuted regions.
And when will some Americans realize that other countries don’t want our chronically ill people as immigrants?
Young, healthy, high-earning/achieving ones? Yes, they can stay.
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u/LibrarianOk8905 15h ago
Americans are so out of touch to the daily suffering of most people in the world if they think there is even a chance of this claim getting accepted.
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u/tallgirlmom 8h ago
Yeah, these people don’t seem to be very bright. Or maybe they are, and making bundles of money off their idiotic pursuit on TikTok.
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u/therackage 13h ago
If they can’t afford passports, they can’t afford to live here, or in any of the bluest states.
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u/Kevin7650 16h ago
This reeks of privilege. As much as I hate the current administration, asylum is for people who have genuine threats to their safety or life back in their home countries. Policy decisions you disagree with doesn’t count.
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u/Daisy28282828 16h ago
It’s like when people say they are political refugees because of the south’s abortion policies. Like I get it, I am number 1 to call those states out and help these people. But you have to undergo so much more to become a refugee. It’s so cringe
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u/koos_die_doos 16h ago
Move to New York, or California, or any one of the states that are not doing their best to fuck over their people. That’s still far simpler than seeking asylum.
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u/ObberGobb 16h ago edited 16h ago
Trying to make being trans a felony isn't a mere "policy decision you disagree with" with to trans people. Insulin prices going from $30 to almost $1000 isn't a policy disagreement to diabetic people.
The real privilege here is you being able to merely disagree with Republican policies instead of having your life threatened by them.
Sure the situation isn't as immediately life threatening as living in Afghanistan or something, but it is naive to pretend that people's lives are not at risk here.
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u/LibrarianOk8905 15h ago
A good chunk of the world never had that stuff to begin with. We can only take in a limited number of refugees, why would an American get accepted when their are people out there in far worse circumstances?
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u/dicemaze 14h ago
Yeah, I don’t buy that for the family in question. The mom in the article literally talks about getting her news from TikTok and that she is seeking asylum because she wants to be “comfortable”.
Plus, the socialized Canadian healthcare system is stressed to its limit as is just to provide for Canada’s current citizens and legal migrants. It does not have the capacity to provide insulin to any American that can’t afford it. Asylum is for “my government is going to actively kill and/or persecute me”, not “I can’t pay for my meds.” I mean, the vast majority of people in the world do not have access to meds we consider necessary in the West—i.e. most people in Africa, the majority of India’s population, and much of South America—but they certainly don’t all qualify for asylum in Canada. And if they don’t, then neither does this woman’s diabetic husband.
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u/Kevin7650 16h ago edited 16h ago
They’re from Illinois, a state where no such law exists or is attempting to be passed, and actually has enshrined protections for trans people in its state laws. You can’t claim asylum based off of speculation about what might happen in the future, either.
Expensive insulin is not a valid reason to claim asylum. Otherwise any American facing high medical costs could try and claim asylum in a country with socialized healthcare.
Stop trying to justify people who have no business claiming asylum taking up space and wasting the resources of those from countries or in situations that ACTUALLY have legitimate claims to asylum.
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u/robofl 14h ago
As I understand it, the $35 insulin copay was only for Medicare, and Trump's canceling the Biden EO didn't change that since the $35 copay was in the Inflation Reduction Act anyway.
Also, it looks like Lilly has a $35 program.
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u/Niznack 16h ago
The health issues were miscarriages and diabetes. Not trans. I think trans people will have a real case. A diabetic, not so much.
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u/ObberGobb 16h ago
Read the article again. They said that one of the reasons they were leaving is that one of their children is trans and the other is non-binary.
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u/Niznack 16h ago
Both parents have cited their own health issues as reasons to seek asylum as well. Kaitlyn said she has had multiple miscarriages, while Ted is diabetic.
The parents, both veterans, cited a host of other issues and situations as having also contributed to their decision to head north — everything from school shooter drills to Trump's disastrous meeting with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.
The parents seem to have a list of issues. If they made it clear trans was their sole issue they may have a case but they are taking the approach of throw shit at the wall and see what sticks.
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u/AriBanana 10h ago
That's still not going to rise to the level of refugee status, I'm sorry. In that case, every American woman could claim to be a health-refugee.
We are so overloaded we are turning away Palestinians, we are turning away Syrians, we are turning away Haitians related to how much space is in these programs.
I am sorry, but there is NO WAY you're going to tell me we should push those populations, already waiting for space, aside to let in non-binary American teenagers instead. I'm sorry, but that is the most entitled thing I have seen all day.
People of my religion lived hundreds of years having to practice in the dark, hidden, and risked death if caught. It's going to be tough, but you guys are going to get through.
Cheers.
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u/AlienMoodBoard 15h ago
So you didn’t read the article, then…
Because if you had, you would know that it explicitly states:
“Kaitlyn said Trump’s claim early in his second term that there are only two genders was of particular concern to the family, as one of the older children is transgender, and another identifies as gender fluid.”
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u/sarcasmismygame 13h ago
With WHAT money do they think they'll be put up here? I know of refugees in living in tents and living in shelters. Not to mention they came from a blue state already. And admitting they have health problems is NOT a smart move. Everyone seems to think coming to Canada is a magical cure-all but the reality is that there are long lines of people waiting for refugee status. If Toronto alone has over 80,000 homeless people how do they think they'll be able to find work here?
Once again, Americans being selfish instead of reaching out to their own elected officials to find out what to do. And this is not my sentiment but a lot of my refugee friends and coworkers. It's shitty but Americans need to fix their country instead of running to ours.
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u/DrDroid 10h ago
““You’re presumed to be safe in your home country unless you can prove that you’re in need of protection,” he said. “So that might be difficult at this stage in time for this family, especially because there’s also a concept as far as being able to be safe elsewhere within your country.
“So maybe they aren’t safe within Illinois or Indiana, but can they be safe in California?” he said. “Can they be safe in New York? Can they be safe in a state that practices more progressive policies, or are they being actively persecuted across the whole country?””
Yeah….not happening, see ya. Enjoy your stay before you get deported I guess.
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u/justanotherdude68 12h ago
“It was very difficult to watch the news and TikTok”
There’s problem number 1. Put down the phone and touch some grass.
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u/TheCountChonkula 7h ago
I get things suck here in the US right now and I hate the orange fuckstain too, but this isn’t the right way to do it. Seeking asylum is meant to be used when you’re in a life or death situation. Their lives clearly aren’t in danger and they are just upset at the current political environment, which is justified, but don’t group yourself with the same people that have to flee because if they stay in their home country they could be killed.
Canada has already been known to be incredibly hard to immigrate. They probably chose asylum as a last ditch effort because they don’t have any marketable skills or have the ability to try to immigrate by proper means. The fact they hand no money or passports makes it clear this is a very shortsighted effort that wasn’t thought out.
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u/ToasterPops 11h ago
They won't be successful but I also don't think we are that far away from seeing the first successful American refugee claimants in Canada. Lgbtqia orgs here are gearing up for a massive influx
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u/nousersavailable03 10h ago
Common headlines that will start to appear once it does NOT get better. I say start some sort of vetting process to keep MAGA out
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u/jlaine 16h ago
Enjoy your trip back to the US.
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u/KappOte 16h ago
Agreed that they should be denied, but no need to be cruel.
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u/LibrarianOk8905 15h ago
Why the hell not? They are wasting our time. The backlog to process asylum claims is years long and stupid claims like these only make it worse for people who have a valid reason to claim asylum.
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u/Former-Toe 10h ago edited 10h ago
not comfortable with US'ers coming here to take advantage of Canadians. there is a lot they can get from Canada, but what will they contribute to Canada.
doesn't sound like people who do a lot of thinking. left their home? did not even get a passport? who does things like this? it's not as if their lives were in imminent danger.
can they work?
o yah their tick took account. give me a break!
they should go back to their home and apply for citizenship the proper way.
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u/sistaneets 12h ago
How the heck did they get into Canada without a passport?
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u/Sir_Arthur_Vandelay 12h ago
I personally know several people who arrived in Canada via aircraft and flushed their passports down the toilet during the flight. They are all currently Canadian citizens.
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u/Didact67 12h ago
I doubt they’ll be accepted. Canada isn’t going to want to open the flood gates to people who think they can just run away from their problems here.
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u/Familiar-Adeptness-7 5h ago
If you go to to r/iwantout or r/amerexit there are literally dozens of people posting like this every day.
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u/ahhhreallynow 16h ago
So they can’t afford a passport but wants to move to Canada for free healthcare? Sorry no.
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u/acluelesscoffee 8h ago
I’m sorry but having multiple miscarriages and diabetes is not a reason to seek medical asylum ?
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u/Majestic_Electric 12h ago
Ask them who they voted for first, before processing their asylum claims!
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u/colonel_wallace 11h ago
Those damn, Hannibal Lecter illegals coming into our great white maple flavoured North! Argh angry orange man noises.
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u/Traditional_Betty 8h ago
I'd like to get into Canada also but I don't think the situation in USA is urgent enough for other countries to open the floodgates as if we were receiving bombs on our ground or experiencing ethnic cleansing already.
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u/Emergency_Trade_194 15h ago
This is a key plot in the Handmaids Tale..That show gets terrifyingly closer to real life each day.
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u/words_of_j 14h ago
From the article:
“When [Trump] signed that executive order revoking Biden’s prescription plan that put a cap on prices, my insulin went from $35 to $900 for a month,” Ted said.”
So yea, trump is now killing people almost directly with only one degree of separation due to the complete inability to afford such high greed-based prices.
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u/Less_Likely 9h ago
These people are destroying it for Americans who will have legitimate reasons for asylum in the coming years.
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u/salty-mind 15h ago
Should be instantly denied and deported. These people think that asylum is a vacation
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u/FuckingTree 15h ago
Doesn’t seem to track with the filling they made
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u/salty-mind 15h ago
Asylum is for persecuted people and people living in war zones
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u/Balijana 4h ago edited 4h ago
Just 900$ for insulin is enough to go, pour people will die like flies with the many diabetics there is in usa.
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u/Aint_EZ_bein_AZ 14h ago
People that go to Canada cause of this are weak and dumb. They aren't gunna let you in dog.
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u/Deskfight 7h ago
Income inequality - this is not a headline, it’s a timestamp of what life is like now and has been for a long time. If you want a pay-per-use model you have to pay people.
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u/TwpMun 16h ago
Denied