A family of four undocumented immigrants who attempted to seek asylum in Canada is now facing deportation proceedings in the United States.
They have been detained by U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) officers at the Rainbow Bridge crossing in Niagara Falls, New York.
Aracely, a mother from El Salvador who asked to be identified only by her first name due to ongoing legal vulnerability, shared with Newsweek that she, her partner, and their two daughters, ages four and 14, were confined for more than two weeks under harsh conditions.
According to Aracely, the family spent days in a locked, windowless cell with minimal access to necessities.
“They reduced us to nothing when they didn’t believe us. They destroyed all our hopes,” Aracely said. “We are so afraid.”
The family had crossed into Canada with documentation intended to prove eligibility under the Safe Third Country Agreement (STCA), which allows asylum claims if a claimant has close family legally residing in Canada.
Aracely sought to reunite with her brother, a Canadian citizen. However, Canadian border officials questioned discrepancies in their documents and denied the family entry. The family was returned to U.S. custody, where they were detained under increasingly difficult conditions.
While detained, the family was initially placed in a holding area with cots and limited facilities and later moved to a windowless cell. Food provided reportedly included frozen sandwiches that were inconsistently heated. Basic hygiene was limited to camping-style shower bags, and opportunities for movement outside the cell were rare.
After a second review of their documents, Canadian officials reaffirmed their decision to deny entry. On April 1, U.S. immigration authorities informed the family that Aracely’s partner would be transferred to a detention center in Batavia, New York, ahead of a deportation hearing in May. The family was given only minutes to say goodbye.
“We feared being separated, and now it is happening,” Aracely said.
Attorney Heather Neufeld, representing the family in Canada, criticized the Safe Third Country Agreement’s application in this case.
“Our government is now complicit in handing asylum-seeking families over to the American authorities to suffer imprisonment and solitary confinement,” Neufeld told Newsweek. “When mistakes happen at the Canadian border, there must be a quick mechanism for reconsideration.”
The Canada Border Services Agency declined to comment on specific cases.
Meanwhile, Aracely and her daughters are currently staying in a shelter in Buffalo, New York, where Aracely is required to report weekly to immigration authorities. Her deportation hearing is scheduled for December 24, 2025.
The case has drawn renewed scrutiny of cross-border asylum protocols and the effects of U.S. immigration enforcement policies under the Trump administration, which characterized all undocumented immigrants as “criminals” and intensified deportation efforts.
