Somali community warns asylum seekers not to make journey through Emerson

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This article was published 13/02/2017 (2829 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Somali asylum seekers in Minneapolis planning to make the dangerous winter trek on foot across the border into Canada are being warned that it’s too cold to take the risk, says a community leader.

“We had a meeting today with the community,” Omar Jamal, director of the Somali Community of Minnesota, said by phone Tuesday. In a press release, the community said it’s urging Somalis not to make the journey to North Dakota and try to walk over the border into Canada.

“I will be on the Somali radio (Tuesday) and all other social media,” Jamal said. An estimated 200,000 Somalis live in metro Minneapolis — the largest Somali population in the U.S. It’s become a crossroad for Somalis and other asylum seekers throughout the U.S. wanting to get to Canada via North Dakota and the well-worn back roads and trails to Emerson. Jamal hopes it will be seen as a potentially dangerous winter route that should be avoided.

“The word is getting out,” Jamal said from Minneapolis. He said another group left Minneapolis Monday night headed toward the Canadian border at Emerson, likely wearing clothing not warm enough for the hours they’ll spend slogging through the snow.

“They are not properly dressed for the cold, freezing weather,” and don’t have proper boots and gloves, the press release said. Some of the immigrants are taking children with them, it said.

“There is a potential chance of death” from hypothermia, and of losing limbs to frost bite, the Somali community warning said.

“Please don’t do this before it is too late.”

The Somali community leadership may be telling refugee claimants in the U.S. to stay away but Mother Nature, over the next week along the border near Emerson, appears to be saying “come hither.”

Greg Janzen, the reeve of Emerson-Franklin, appreciates Jamal’s efforts but isn’t convinced it will keep refugee claimants from coming this weekend.

“I don’t think it’s going to work,” Janzen said Tuesday. “If they check the weather, it’s warmed up quite a bit.”

Environment Canada has forecast above-normal temperatures for southern Manitoba the rest of the week. At Emerson, overnight lows aren’t expected to drop below 0 C overnight on Thursday and Friday, which has been the busiest time for “border jumpers” arriving there.

“We are having warm weather, so I am expecting a big influx,” Janzen said.

“The biggest thing right now is (asylum seekers) in the U.S. are uncomfortable,” he said.

Trump’s travel ban is on hold for now but there are fears U.S. immigration officials could swoop down at any time and arrest anyone who is undocumented.

Janzen said Somali community leaders warning people about the cold isn’t enough to allay those fears.

“I think it’s going to happen anyways. They’re that scared no matter what anyone says.”

Janzen said he thinks the community hall in Emerson will be available this weekend if there’s another big influx of arrivals who need to take shelter.

Overnight from Sunday to Monday, the RCMP say they intercepted seven people — a group of four and a second group of three — crossing the border near Emerson. That brings the weekend total to 28 people who made their way into Canada on foot — including a family of five with a baby and two young children. The RCMP said Monday they’ve picked up 69 asylum seekers crossing the border so far this year.

The asylum seekers are checked, then taken to the Canada Border Services Agency in Emerson. After they’re processed — including being fingerprinted, photographed — they’re cleared to go.

The Manitoba Interfaith Immigration Council, which operates Welcome Place, has been shuttling refugee claimants to Winnipeg where they find them shelter and provide them with counselling and paralegal help to file their refugee claim. The executive director of Welcome Place on Monday held a press conference and asked the public for financial donations to help the non-profit organization help the asylum seekers.

carol.sanders@freepress.mb.ca