American family seeks asylum in Canada, citing Trump

Emma Loop · CBC News

· Posted: Mar 11, 2025 9:50 AM EDT | Last Updated: 2 hours ago

A household from Illinois is anxiously awaiting a determination from a Canadian tribunal arsenic they question asylum northbound of the border, claiming that America's authorities person made them consciousness unsafe. 

Kaitlyn and Ted Berg accidental they made the caller determination to uproot their children arsenic they witnessed the fallout of November's statesmanlike election.

"When I saw what happened, Donald Trump being elected, my gut started turning," Kaitlyn said from a edifice country successful London, Ont., implicit the weekend. "And that is erstwhile I started looking astatine however to get my household retired safely." 

Kaitlyn said Trump's assertion aboriginal successful his 2nd word that determination are lone 2 genders was of peculiar interest to the family, arsenic 1 of the older children is transgender, and different identifies as gender fluid. She said she pulled the children retired of schoolhouse 1 time aft his inauguration, disquieted astir their intelligence health.

The parents, some veterans, cited a big of different issues and situations arsenic having besides contributed to their determination to caput northbound — everything from schoolhouse shooter drills to Trump's disastrous gathering with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.

"It was precise hard to ticker the quality and TikTok due to the fact that honestly, we were conscionable seeing things unfold and unfold and unfold," Caitlin said. "And I was precise scared, getting precise scared."

Both parents person cited their ain wellness issues arsenic reasons to question asylum arsenic well. Kaitlyn said she has had aggregate miscarriages, portion Ted is diabetic.

"When [Trump] signed that enforcement bid revoking Biden's medicine program that enactment a headdress connected prices, my insulin went from $35 to $900 for a month," Ted said. 

Despite not having passports, the household deed the roadworthy successful aboriginal March, leaving their "dream home" behind, she said.

"Of course, astatine the time, it would beryllium large if we could person got our passports and each that," she said. "But similar I said, we were precise – we were struggling. No wealth to get passports and passports were backlogged respective months."

Canadian borderline agents were upfront astir the Bergs' slim chances of being granted asylum erstwhile the household arrived astatine the Ambassador Bridge successful Windsor, Ont., earlier this month, Kaitlyn said. 

Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada says those seeking asylum "must beryllium that they person a existent fearfulness of persecution oregon look superior harm, specified arsenic torture oregon cruel treatment, successful their location state oregon wherever they usually live."

Still, the household proceeded, and person been showing their travel connected TikTok. They accidental they made their mode to London, Ont., aft proceeding astir its children's infirmary —