Refugee applicant held by ICE says he crossed Canada-U.S. border by mistake
Refugee applicant held by ICE says he crossed Canada-U.S. border by mistake
A Canadian refugee applicant from Bangladesh who is being held in a U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement detention facility in Buffalo says he crossed the border into the U.S. by mistake — and now Canada won’t take him back.
Mahin Shahriar told The Canadian Press he entered the U.S. on May 12 after what he believes was a human trafficking attempt.
Shahriar said he was struggling with depression and “a friend” offered him a place to stay for a few days near Montreal.
“I wanted to spend some time out of my home, and he said he had a place I could stay,” Shahriar said in a phone interview from ICE custody.
Shahriar said the address he was given led to a rural road that turned out to be close to the Canada-U.S. border.
“I was instructed by my friend who was on a call. So he was guiding me for everything, like he was looking on a GPS and he just instructed me on where to go,” Shahriar said in the phone interview.
“Then I found myself in the U.S. It was not my intention.”
Shahriar said that once he realized he was in the United States, he approached some border patrol officers to explain his situation. Shahriar said he thought they would help him return to Canada, but he was taken into custody instead.
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