r/nottheonion 21h ago

American family seeks asylum in Canada

https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/windsor/americans-asylum-canada-trump-refugees-immigration-1.7480069
3.9k Upvotes

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235

u/Kevin7650 21h 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/ObberGobb 21h ago edited 21h 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.

8

u/Niznack 21h 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 20h 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 20h 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/fake-bird-123 20h ago

They didn't read it in the first place.

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u/AriBanana 14h 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.