Family Arrested by US Border Agents While Trying to Relocate to Canada

Source: Newsweek

Published Apr 26, 2025 at 4:52 AM EDT


The mother of a family of four undocumented immigrants who were arrested by U.S. Border agents while fleeing to Canada has told Newsweek they spent more than two weeks in a locked windowless cell. "My four-year-old would wake up crying. She dreamed of running free in the park and going to McDonald's," Aracely told Newsweek.

Aracely is only being identified by her first name because she remains in a precarious situation in the United States. "They reduced us to nothing when they didn't believe us. They destroyed all our hopes, all our happiness that we would have a life of safety in Canada after so many years of fear. We are so afraid," she said. Newsweek has contacted Customs and Border Protection (CBP) for comment.

Why It Matters

The Trump administration is looking to remove millions of undocumented immigrants as part of a hardline strategy to carry out mass deportations. The White House has said anyone living in the country without legal status is considered by the administration to be a "criminal." The Safe Third Country Agreement between Canada and the U.S. mandates that refugees must request asylum in the first safe country they reach. Canada typically turns back claimants arriving from the U.S. at land borders unless they meet specific exceptions—such as having a close family member legally residing in Canada.

In March, the family crossed the Rainbow Bridge into Canada from the United States. Aracely was accompanied by her partner and their two daughters, aged four and 14. Aracely, who is from El Salvador, intended to meet her brother, a Canadian citizen. "We fled danger in El Salvador. Because I have a Canadian citizen brother living in Canada and we knew we qualified to make an asylum claim in Canada under the Safe Third Country Agreement, we decided to make our asylum claim at the Canadian border," Aracely told Newsweek. Canadian border officials denied the family entry and returned them to the United States, where they were held in detention at the U.S. port of entry in Niagara Falls, N.Y., for nearly two weeks, Aracley said.

Read more: https://www.newsweek.com/family-us-border-relocate-canada-ice-agents-arrest-immigration-2064075