The Current - The stories of undocumented migrants in Canada

Episode Date: January 8, 2025

There could be as many as half a million undocumented migrants in Canada, living and working in the shadows of society. Some of those migrants have shared their stories with the CBC’s Lyndsay Duncombe, from the challenges of daily life to their fight for legal status.

This message comes from Viking, committed to exploring the world in comfort. Journey through the heart of Europe on a Viking longship with thoughtful service, destination-focused dining, and cultural enrichment on board and on shore. With a variety of voyages and sailing dates to choose from, now is the time to explore Europe's waterways. Learn more at Viking.com. This is a CBC Podcast. Hello, I'm Matt Galloway and this is The Current Podcast. The story of undocumented people living in the United States is well known. Incoming President Donald Trump is promising a crackdown and mass deportation. But Canada has an undocumented population too. There could be as many as half a million people living here without any legal status.

Today, CBC is launching a series about immigration called Welcome to Canada. And reporter Lindsay Duncombe has been looking into stories of people living here, undocumented. Every day I walk alone. Amelia is walking to her first job of the day. She's just dropped off her two-year-old son at daycare and is navigating busy streets to a downtown high-rise. She's here to clean an Airbnb.

She starts by stripping the beds. There are two bedrooms. Light streams in from floor to ceiling windows. She works quickly. Amelia isn't her real name. We're protecting her identity and where she lives because she fears she'll be deported back to Mexico. She's living in Canada without any legal status. She says she feels lucky to be doing this job. She's inside and actually makes minimum wage. That's unusual, she says. She knows undocumented women like her who work on construction sites.

And she's done that too in the past, climbing buildings to clean roofs, sometimes without even the basic equipment. It was scary, she says, but she had to, to pay rent and support her two kids. to pay rent and support her two kids. There are good people, she says, but also ones who take advantage of her status and don't pay well. On the weekends, she gets up at 3 a.m. to work at a major grocery chain stocking shelves. Then she carries on to her other cleaning jobs until 6 p.m.

Everywhere she works, it's through a a third party and she's paid cash. Amelia insists that keeping up this schedule is better than the prospect of going back to Mexico. She worked in the family business there. But increasingly the cartel was demanding something called PISOS, a fee collected from business owners in exchange for protection. She felt her life was in danger. So when her partner came to Canada in 2019, she followed. At first she had a visitor's visa.

They were trying to get work permits. But before the paperwork was complete, he went back to Mexico on his own, leaving her with a teenage daughter and a new baby. But she decided to stay in Canada. It was and still is very difficult. Amelia says she feels like a ghost. A ghost because she works so much and still can't afford basics, like decent housing. She lives in a one-room basement suite with her two kids.

She can't even go to the hospital if she gets sick. She says life is stressful. She doesn't know what's going to happen to her. She wishes the government would give her rights so she can give her kids a secure future. It's tough to count how many people in Canada may be living and working like Amelia, a workforce of ghosts. The federal government says there are as many as 500,000 undocumented migrants in the country. It's just an estimate.

I just don't know and I don't think that anyone who claims that they know really knows. Irene Blomrad runs the Center for Migration Studies at the University of British Columbia. She's studied immigration patterns in Canada and the U.S. for decades. I don't think Canadians have really grappled with the fact that there are undocumented community members living in our neighborhoods. I think that most Canadians think this is an American problem. She says, unlike the U.S., where migrants come over the border from Mexico, the most common way for people to become undocumented in Canada is to stay longer than they're legally allowed, not returning to their home country if their asylum claim is denied, or sticking around

in Canada once temporary status as a worker, visitor or student expires. I don't think people realize that there are temporary migrants working in all kinds of industries across Canada. And so it's easy to sort of say, oh, we have too many immigrants, we have too many migrants, we have to stop that. But if you look at sort of what they're doing day to day, if they suddenly disappeared, there would be big gaps in, you know, restaurant industry suddenly disappeared, there would be big gaps in restaurant industry,

cleaning, agriculture. There's all of these industries that rely on temporary and perhaps undocumented labor. Welcome to meeting number 117 of the House of Commons Standing Committee on Citizenship and Immigration. citizenship and immigration. We have with us Honourable Mark Miller, Minister of Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship. Thank you chair and hopefully we don't spend the next couple of hours... Canada's immigration minister Mark Miller is at the centre of the question of what to do with undocumented migrants in Canada. The government has limited legal immigration by capping visas and reducing the number

of permanent residents approved. We do recognize the need to pause population growth and return it to pre-pandemic levels. At a committee meeting in late November, protesters confronted Miller. We are the people who are trying to kick out of the country. We are human beings and we are not passing... They held signs saying, don't deport us and status for all. Don't push it. Don't push it around. Don't push it. Don't push it.

What they want is something called regularization, legislation that would give legal status to undocumented workers. Finding a way to make that happen was part of Miller's mandate letter when he got the job three years ago. But the government is backing away from it. There's no consensus at this time as to what to do. In fact, speaking to reporters late last year, three years ago. But the government is backing away from it.

In fact, speaking to reporters late last year, the minister stressed Canada is deporting people who are here illegally. The number of people that are violating the terms of the visas that were accorded to them and they undertook to return, need to return to their own countries, we have methods of ensuring that federal government, people refuse to do so. We've seen significant numbers of deportation, I think historic highs are the numbers of removals from this country this year. We're very serious about that. The Canada Border Services Agency says more than 15,000 people were deported in the last fiscal year. That's close to 6,000 more than the previous year.

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Philpott offers a prescription for a healthier society focusing on hope, belonging and purpose. Available in hardcover and audiobook. Narrated by Jane Philpott. We are demanding status for all and an end to deportation. Menea Jess is risking deportation by speaking up. She was one of the protesters who confronted the minister on Parliament Hill, and she spoke at an Ottawa press conference. We meet Jess at the offices of Migrant Workers Alliance for Change in Toronto.

Jess came to Canada from Jamaica as a temporary farm worker. for change in Toronto. We're just going to get a microphone on you, just like we did in Ottawa. Jess came to Canada from Jamaica as a temporary farm worker. She worked for two seasons picking apples before the pandemic. In 2021, she applied to the program again, this time picking strawberries in Nova Scotia. For a Canadian that doesn't know about picking strawberry, it's a really hard work. How do you do it? You have to be on your knees and you have to bow down your head. Just as she got hurt her first day on the job.

While I'm doing my task, I get help and I ask for medical attention and they refuse that. So they were robbing me from my rights, what I deserve. So she left the farm and made her way to Toronto. So I became undocumented. Can you give me some examples of the work that you've done? So I cook and I clean. I work in meat factories. I work in carpet factories. How do Canadians treat you? It's racist. It's racist? It's racist. It's racist. It's racist. They will see you or see me on the bus.

And at one altercation I had, go back home. You don't belong here. There's a lot of rednecks out there. And they're not nice. Why do you stay? Why do you stay? Why do I stay? Because from the beginning I came here to help my family. And I haven't been able to do that.

I'm still trying to do that. Because I said I have kids. I have two kids. You know, my son's one is 16 and one is 7. So if I don't try, who's gonna try? So I still have to try. How are they doing? My youngest son don't try, who's going to try? So I still have to try. How are they doing? My youngest son don't know me. So there's not much relationship there because

I left him when he was so small. So it's hard. She imagines a future where her children can join her. She says she does jobs Canadians don't want to and deserves to stay legally. I don't see migrants as the problem. They are the solution. But you're just not giving them the right tool to go forward

to show you that they are the solution. Basketball fans, welcome into the half hour of power that is The Hangout. I am Akil Augustine. Basketball fans likely recognize that voice. We're all excited. We have to get an all-star panel. Akil Augustine is a Toronto sports superstar, a host on NBA TV Canada, courtside reporter for the Toronto Raptors.

National Raptors, we love you! He's the host of Jurassic Park, the Raptors' fan zone. National Raptors, we love you! But what people cheering alongside Augustine may not realize, he was once living in the shadows too, undocumented. My first memory of being in Canada was once we got out of the train station at Maine and Daft Worth and we walked down the street to my aunt's house. It started snowing.

It did. It started snowing. And it was the first time I ever saw snow in my life and I thought the world was ending. Augustine was born in Trinidad and Tobago. He grew up in Toronto, mostly living with an aunt. He didn't realize he was undocumented until he was a teenager. I was told when I was younger and I forgot.

I'm your kid, you're like, yeah, you know, we're working on your papers. But I think it was probably around grade nine or 10 when my cousin got a job at McDonald's. And I was like, can I get a job? I want some money too. And then my older sister kinda was like, oh, you know,? I want some money too. And then my older sister kind of was like, oh, you know, there's a situation

that's kind of being worked out. And as like weeks go on, you keep asking questions, then you realize, oh, no one knows what the hell's going on. And so I finally figured out, yeah, I'm undocumented. What was that realization like? Well, it's bad news, so it's scary. Your stomach drops a couple floors. Augustine knew not to tell anyone about his status.

He worried he would be deported if he got sick or pulled over by police. Well, I think one of the most important things about childhood is imagination. And you believe you can be anything. And then someone tells you, well, you can't do a lot of things. And it kind of stunts the imagination because now you're like, okay, well, you can't do a whole lot of things. And it kind of stunts the imagination because now you're like, okay, well, what can I do and where can I go and what can I be? So I think there's the psychological impact upon your imagination. But then there's just, you know, you have to hide.

You have to, I couldn't go to the doctor. So I couldn't, when I got sick, I just had to be sick. What did you do for money during that time if you weren't able to legitimately work? No comment. Why can't you say? I did what I had to do, man. You know, you do what you do. You ask, beg, borrow, steal.

Augustine worked on getting a citizenship for a decade. It wasn't easy. Community Connections put him in touch with lawyers who worked for free. He bugged his member of parliament. I gotta give a huge shout out to Jack Layton, rest in peace, because he wrote a letter for me that was absolutely pivotal.

He was my MP, he worked blocks away from my house, and I just used to harass him all the time. And after tons of meetings he was finally like, alright I'll write this letter for you. And I think that was a big part of why the judge gave us the go ahead. Alright, so this is a collection of some of my most prized possessions. He became Canadian thanks to a process that can provide status on compassionate or humanitarian grounds. Well, this is probably the most important thing I own, which is my certificate of Canadian citizenship, which I got.

Augustine wants to see more undocumented people get that same chance. I can provide anecdotal evidence that if you bring a little kid from Trinidad who doesn't know much and raise him in Canada under the great education system and support systems that we have, he can flourish and add things to our society. That's what I know. He also sees attitudes towards immigration changing in Canada. If the economy is shrinking and you may not be gainfully employed and new people are coming into your neighborhood and taking, you know, government money for social services and stuff

that you feel you should be entitled to, that will bother government money for social services and stuff that you feel you should be entitled to, that will bother somebody. And I don't know that that's based solely in racism as much as it's based in the fight for survival for you and your family. When I'm re-elected, we will begin, and we have no choice, the largest deportation operation in American history. That fear is fueled by the situation in the United States. Donald Trump promised to deport 11 million undocumented workers there.

I will terminate every open borders policy of the Biden administration. It's an idea that's gaining popularity in Canada, too. A recent Leger poll done for the Association of Canadian Studies shows that 48% of Canadians believe mass deportations are needed to stop illegal migration. That's just 1% lower than the views found in the U.S. in the same study. Still, UBC's Irene Blomrad says more undocumented people could end up in Canada if Donald Trump follows up on his promise of mass deportation We don't know how many people might come up from the United States

Especially even though in Canada. There's now this rhetoric that we have too many immigrants and we have to reduce the number We probably are seen as still somewhat more welcoming than the United States is going to feel and so it's uncertain more welcoming than the United States is going to feel. And so it's uncertain whether that's going to also be an attractive feature. And she says new rules limiting the number of people granted permanent resident status could mean more people overstay their visas. Where we might be going is down that road like the United States

had and other countries where if you start a temporary program and then you try to tamp it down, some people are going to stay. How do you think the number of undocumented people in Canada could change in the near future? I think it's definitely going to go higher. How much higher? We don't know. That means more people living in fear, like Amelia.

She says every day she wakes up wondering what's going to happen to her. But she says she has roots in Canada, is feeling at home, and is proud of what she's doing. She hopes it will help her kids get ahead in life. And she hopes, for the next interview, she'll be able to speak English and have status. She says she's working with a legal aid lawyer to make a claim just like Akhil Augustin that would allow her to stay on compassionate grounds. But for now, she survives by working seven days a week with the occasional lucky tip.

Like the time someone left her a hundred dollar bill. She bought diapers for her son. I don't know, life gives you things and good signs. Sometimes, she says, life deals you a good hand. That documentary was produced by Lindsay Duncombe with Liz Hoth at the CBC Audio Documentary Unit. This story is part of a CBC series about immigration. It's called Welcome to Canada. It brings the voices of immigrants themselves to the forefront of a conversation that has been kind of bubbling away in the background, but certainly has become a huge issue in Canadian

politics and many people believe will be one of those issues that will be top of mind for people when the next election comes, whenever that is. The series will feature dozens of personal stories of everyone from underemployed newcomers to new Canadians who are considering leaving this country after finding that the reality The series will feature dozens of personal stories of everyone from underemployed newcomers to new Canadians who are considering leaving this country after finding that the reality in Canada

is very different from their expectations to others who are quite happy here. And the series continues through January and beyond and includes a unique survey of 1500 newcomers. You can find out more about all of this on the website, go to cbcnews.ca slash welcome to Canada. For more CBC podcasts, go to cbc.ca slash podcasts.