Frostbite and fear: Inside a journey from the U.S. to Quebec with human smugglers

Chidi Nwagbo says he made a "stupid" determination paying quality smugglers to get him into Canada that left him permanently scarred and successful the hands of the very U.S. migration authorities helium was trying to flee.    

The 57-year-old says he paid $2,000 US successful currency to a quality smuggling enactment successful New Jersey to flight the migration raids sweeping the U.S. He says the smugglers lied to him astir the dangers of the journey that astir killed him on the borderlands betwixt New York State and Quebec successful February of this year. 

"If I had known that this would person been the outcome, I don't deliberation I would person done it," said Nwagbo successful a telephone interrogation with CBC News from the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) detention centre successful Batavia, N.Y.

The Canada-US Border Rights Clinic, an enactment that provides ineligible proposal to migrants, is moving connected his case but he's facing imminent deportation to Nigeria — a state helium near 37 years ago.

He's now informing others not to travel successful his footsteps.

The prime to permission the U.S.

Nwagbo, moved to the U.S. from Nigeria successful the precocious 1980s, wherever helium built a life. He has 5 U.S.-born children from 2 marriages.

He received a bravery grant successful 2014 from the Columbus, Ohio, occurrence section aft redeeming a 10-year-old girl from drowning. Yet, helium failed to get U.S. citizenship and faced a removal bid successful 2021 aft missing an quality astatine an migration hearing, which his lawyer blamed connected a "scheduling error," according to records.

Nwagbo said helium felt helium had nary prime but to fly to Canada aft U.S. President Donald Trump's predetermination triumph past November. A person gave him a telephone fig linked to a WhatsApp relationship tally by quality smugglers from New Jersey. 

He flew from Atlanta, Ga., to Newark, N.J., aboriginal on Feb. 1, then took an Uber to a McDonald's in Paterson, N.J., wherever the smugglers told him he'd beryllium picked up. 

Nwagbo, carrying $2,000 US currency stuffed successful his pocket, says helium waited for respective hours. 

"I was afraid. I got nervous," helium said. "I thought, 'What if they were constabulary oregon ICE oregon something?'" 

Finally, helium received a substance telling him to measurement extracurricular wherever a pickup motortruck waited. He was taken to a Dunkin Donuts and transferred to the precise backmost spot of an SUV with Florida plates. They headed toward the Canadian borderline successful the aboriginal afternoon. He says the travel took astir 7 hours. 

About 15 minutes earlier the drop-off point somewhere on a agrarian roadworthy adjacent the New York State borderline with Quebec, Nwagbo says the smugglers told the radical to hole to exit the conveyance and tally into the bush. He was told to download a compass app connected his telephone and support the arrow pointing north. 

They were assured idiosyncratic would beryllium waiting to prime them up connected the different side. 

"As soon arsenic I took a fewer steps, I knew I made a mistake," helium said.

LISTEN | Diving into the past of ICE: 

The frozen way to Canada

Nwagbo recalls reasoning helium was going to frost to decease arsenic helium trudged done heavy snowfall successful the wood for hours nether a waxing crescent satellite connected that cold February night.

A pistillate from Guinea who walked with him kept losing her shoes successful the snowfall until finally, she left them and continued successful her socks. Two women from Haiti struggled down them, one carrying an 11-month-old boy. 

As Nwagbo pushed his mode done snowfall and brush, helium mislaid his gloves and each feeling successful his fingers, making it hard to reply calls from the smugglers trying to nonstop their movements. 

"These radical volition telephone maine and say, 'Just support going, you lone person 10 minutes,' " helium said. "It was expected to beryllium a 30-, 40-minute walk." 

Exhausted and numb from temperatures that dipped to -28 C overnight, they called 911 for help. Nwagbo wasn't definite wherever helium was on the border, and feared apprehension by U.S. Border Patrol agents. 

"When I recovered retired that it was Canadian [police], past it was a large relief," helium said. 

WATCH | A surge successful asylum claims astatine the Quebec-U.S. border:

The terms of the journey

The travel exacted a terms connected Nwagbo's body. Frostbite forced the amputation of his pinky, ringing and mediate digit on with the apical of his thumb connected his near hand. He mislaid the apical of his mediate and ringing fingers connected his close hand. 

Quebec RCMP said officers received a telephone successful the evening of Feb. 1 that a pistillate and her children were mislaid successful a forested borderline country astir 30 kilometres southbound of Salaberry-de-Valleyfiel, Que. 

The RCMP told CBC News that officers found a radical of 3 women, 1 antheral and a kid who were "illegally crossing from the U.S. to Canada." 

The radical was taken to infirmary and treated for "various frostbites," according to the RCMP. They were past transferred into the custody of Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA) astatine the Saint-Bernard-de-Lacolle larboard of entry, about 64 kilometres southbound of Montreal. 

Nwagbo was 1 of 99 radical intercepted by the RCMP successful February crossing irregularly implicit the Quebec-U.S. border, according to information from Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC). 

The latest information says RCMP intercepted 329 radical crossing into Quebec from the U.S. betwixt January to April. That fig is trending somewhat higher implicit 2024 levels. 

'They mightiness destruct him' 

Nwagbo said helium chose to use human smugglers due to the fact that helium wrongly believed helium needed to spell done U.S. customs to scope a Canadian larboard of entry. 

"I didn't person each the accusation that I needed to marque the close decision," helium said.

Nwagbo made an asylum assertion astatine the Saint-Bernard-de-Lacolle larboard of entry, saying helium had a member who was a Canadian citizen. This is 1 of the exemptions nether the Safe Third Country Agreement (STCA) betwixt the U.S. and Canada.

Under the agreement, exile claims indispensable beryllium submitted successful the state wherever radical archetypal arrive. For this reason, Canada turns distant astir asylum seekers who effort to participate from the U.S. astatine land-border crossings, but determination are exceptions to this rule.

His asylum assertion was rejected aft a CBSA serviceman determined helium couldn't beryllium the narration with his older member Jolly Nwagbo, 74. 

"He had nary transcript of his commencement certificate to corroborate the relation," work the CBSA determination obtained by CBC News. 

The CBSA serviceman wrote they could not scope Nwagbo's member by telephone contempt 3 attempts. Nwagbo was transferred into U.S. custody astatine the Champlain, N.Y., larboard of introduction aboriginal that day, according to records.

Jolly Nwagbo, who lives successful St. Catharines, Ont., says he ne'er received a telephone from CBSA.

"The concern close present is deplorable," helium said. 

The writer and world says his family faces information successful Nigeria arsenic a effect of his book, Nigeria for Sale, astir corruption successful the country. Jolly says his brother could beryllium killed if he's deported to Nigeria. 

"They mightiness destruct him due to the fact that he's my brother," helium said, noting that different household members are successful hiding.

The household is besides portion of the Igbo people that has historically faced persecution successful Nigeria.

Gauri Sreenivasan, co-executive manager for the Canadian Council for Refugees, says they've received reports that CBSA has been taking a harder enactment connected asylum claims made nether exceptions to the Safe Third County Agreement. 

"We person seen a large displacement successful however the borderline rules are being enforced, with superior consequences," said Sreenivasan. 

Between Jan. 1 and July 7, CBSA has ordered the removal of 620 radical who crossed irregularly betwixt ports of introduction and were recovered ineligible nether the STCA, according to the latest CBSA data. The bureau ordered the removal of 645 radical betwixt Jan. 1 and July 31 nether the aforesaid circumstances successful 2024.

Nwagbo, who is inactive awaiting connection astir erstwhile helium volition beryllium deported, says helium regrets his determination to usage smugglers to travel to Canada and is present informing others. 

"Don't bash it. It's risky."

He says smugglers "only attraction astir money. They don't attraction astir your safety."