The woke masses fled Trump’s America in a blind panic. Now their liberal safe haven has doomed them all

Liberals seeking refuge from Donald Trump’s America have been dealt a crushing blow as their favorite sanctuary issued a brutal crackdown.

Almost 500 fleeing US citizens have tried to claim asylum in Canada since the billionaire’s re-election, Daily Mail can exclusively reveal.

The Canadian government is bringing in emergency powers to make it easier to block applications and its border agency says the proposed overhaul is to ‘protect the system.’ 

Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) spokesman Matthew Krupovich told the Daily Mail: ‘The government of Canada is introducing important reforms to strengthen migration integrity and modernize the asylum system.

‘We are also protecting the integrity of the asylum system by introducing new ineligibilities.’ He added: ‘Canada’s asylum system is not a shortcut to immigration.’

The move will come as a hammer blow to the Americans who have already arrived claiming that they face persecution, because the new rules apply retrospectively.

This means they could face a greater chance of being deported.

The Canadian government is scrambling to bring in emergency powers to make it easier to block asylum applications. Pictured: Vancouver 

Canadian border agents have been forced to explain to Americans claiming to be refugees, some of whom are transgender, that US citizens are rarely granted asylum.

The planned rules are part of Bill C-2, which includes the Strong Borders Act, and was introduced in House of Commons earlier this month.

They will block those who are trying to extend their stay in Canada through asylum applications and not allow requests after a certain time frame.

If approved, requests dating back to 2020 could be affected. 

A total of 544 people were intercepted at border crossings between January and April this year, IRCC data showed. Of those, 455 were US citizens, Krupovich said. 

Hannah Kreager, 22, who is transgender, has fled America in favor of Canada as she claimed the US is no longer safe for transgender citizens

Lena Metlege Diab, the Canadian immigration minister, has defended the changes, saying the country needs to ‘act fairly’ while dealing with the influx in applications

The proposed ineligibility rules include blocking those who have lived in Canada for more than a year, including students, from claiming asylum, even if their countries have since become violent.

Those coming from the US border who make a claim after 14 days will not be referred to the Immigration and Refugee Board (IRB). 

Applicants who face deportation under the proposed rules are allowed to apply for a pre-removal risk assessment. 

This ‘prevents people from being sent back to a country where they face risks like persecution or torture’, Krupovich said. 

However, some Americans already fear they will face irreversible harm if they return.

Katie Berg and her family pulled up to the US-Canada border at 3.30am on March 3 to claim asylum, to the confusion of border agents, Katie told Daily Mail in March. 

But for Katie and her husband, who are both veterans, it was ‘time to leave’. 

‘If you are not white, not male, you’re going to be a target,’ the Illinois mom said. ‘It’s literally going to be Nazi Germany.’ 

Despite Americans rarely granted refuge, many are trying. Katie Berg and her family (pictured) claimed asylum in March to protect their transgender and gender-fluid children 

Between January and April, 455 Americans have escaped the US and claimed asylum in Canada, IRCC spokesperson Matthew Krupovich (pictured) told Daily Mail 

Their biggest concerns were their kids, especially their transgender and gender-fluid children who are 13 and 12, respectively.

They left the country over Trump and fears that their children would no longer be safe and have rights in the Land of the Free. 

‘It was going to get really bad, really quickly,’ Katie told Daily Mail. ‘That’s basically why we left, for our kids.’

Hannah Kreager, 22, who is transgender, has also fled the country in favor of Canada as she claimed the US is no longer safe for transgender citizens. 

Trump declared only two recognized genders and his administration has recently banned transgender soldiers from US troops. 

‘I have fled in hopes of finding safety, security, and the freedom to continue to live my life, and access/take my medications as prescribed,’ Kreager wrote on GoFundMe.

Both the Berg family and Kreager’s claims, if granted, could be landmark cases. 

However, those who claim asylum in Canada coming through America must meet certain requirements due to the Safe Third Country Agreement (STCA).

Anna Triandafyllidou, a professor, said Canada’s new migration bill is essentially trying to modify rules around safe third countries

STCA does not affect US citizens. However, for foreign migrants traveling through America to Canada, it would require them to first seek asylum in the States. 

The only exceptions are to have a Canadian family member, be an unaccompanied minor, have a work or student visa, or have been charged with or convicted of the death penalty in the US that does not break international rights. 

Anna Triandafyllidou, the Canada Excellence Research Chair in Migration and Integration at Toronto Metropolitan University, told Daily Mail that the bill is essentially trying to ‘modify STCA without modifying it’. 

‘I understand the thinking,’ she told Daily Mail, but ‘the way to deal with backlog [in the immigration system] is not to stop migration to Canada’. 

Some claims can take three years to reach a first hearing, meaning asylum seekers typically stay in the country while they wait. 

‘Applications have increased,’ she told Daily Mail. ‘Resources need to go to refugee system, not the border.’ 

The current backlog sits at 280,000 applications, with the government processing 80,000 claims per year. 

This means the backlog currently sits at 3.5 years, Alex Stojicevic, an immigration lawyer and past chairman of the National Immigration Law Section of the Canadian Bar Association (CBA), told Daily Mail. 

‘It is difficult for someone in the United States to have a successful asylum claim,’ he said. 

In total, only four American asylum claims have ever been successful – outside of wartime – and three of them were minors. Another was a gay activist who left the country before his claim was fully processed. 

Those four are the rare cases among the ‘thousands of refusals’, Stojicevic said. 

Some protesters waved signs reading ‘F**k ICE’ as police struggled to push the crowd back behind barricades in New York City over immigration debacle 

In the first year of Trump’s first term, 2,550 Americans applied for asylum, according to data. It was a significant increase compared to 2016, where 395 Americans applied. 

In 2023, there 655 Americans who applied. In 2024, there were 700, Krupovich said. 

Canada has previously accepted American asylum seekers during the Vietnam War for those who opposed it, as the country did. Many resisters and draft dodgers took it. 

Triandafyllidou said she could see Canada moving in a similar fashion as the US’ political tensions escalate. 

‘I don’t think we’ve gotten to that situation, but I wouldn’t be surprised [if it were to happen],’ she said. 

However, this bill wasn’t designed to attack Americans, said Stojicevic, who said: ‘Does it affect Americans? Yes, but there’s nothing here to specifically bar Americans. They have a hard time getting asylum anywhere.’ 

But he agreed with Triandafyllidou that Canada could potentially become more open to accepting Americans’ claims. 

‘It’s a different time,’ he told Daily Mail. ‘Trump [Term] Two has proven to be a lot different than Trump One.’ 

The immigration lawyer does believe American asylum claims will rise. 

Constance MacIntosh, a Dalhousie University law professor, agreed, saying this is a ‘live question’ that is currently playing out as US citizens continue to oppose mass deportations.

‘A few days ago, I would have pointed to the existence of sanctuary cities, and the fact that the United States is a huge country where there is a lot of political diversity, with many states having taken strong positions that expressly support populations like transgender citizens,’ she told Daily Mail. 

‘But now we are seeing unprecedented federal intrusions into state situations, which raises questions about individual safety.’

The Strong Borders Act also proposes giving minors assistance through representatives, speed up voluntary departures, and only have those physically in Canada appear before the IRB, Krupovich said.

It would also gives officials the power to cancel, suspend, or change immigration documents or stop accepting new applications. 

Many are saying the bill is similar to US policy under Trump, as it proposes allowing the Canadian government – run by Mark Carney (right) – to cancel applications 

‘As global migration patterns evolve due to conflicts and crises, the government is committed to restoring balance and trust by building a more flexible and responsive system that safely manages the flow of people entering the country,’ Krupovich said.

The Canadian Parliament will consider the proposal under Bill C-2, which contains more than just immigration changes. It is currenting undergoing its second reading, but many are already opposing it. 

‘The bill shows Canada is turning its back on asylum seekers,’ MacIntosh said. 

She said these proposals do not allow immigrants their day in court to argue their asylum claim and it will lead to abuse.  

‘This means that people will not self-report to the Canadian government, and instead are likely to go underground, to live in hiding. This is a boon for people smugglers, and will leave asylum seekers even more vulnerable to exploitation and abuse.’ 

Stojicevic said the CBA opposes many things in the bill, including the Canadian government giving themselves the power to cancel applications. 

‘[The government] is just looking for easy fixes,’ Stojicevic said. ‘They would say this is housekeeping.’ 

CBA mainly opposes to the ‘two tiers of rights,’ where time constraints don’t allow residents to claim asylum after the year mark. 

‘What happens if something happens in their home country?’ Stojicevic questioned. ‘It doesn’t make any sense.’ 

However, CBA recognizes that other parts of the bill are set up to directly work with the US on border efforts and ‘some parts’ of the bill are reminiscence of Trump Term Two policies. 

MacIntosh agreed, saying: ‘I think we are seeing Canada trying to bring its asylum practices more in line with those of the United States, to try to improve the political relationship with the American president.’ 

Amnesty International Canada called it an ‘attack on refugees’ rights to seek asylum’. 

‘At least one of the provisions would make it virtually impossible to have their refugee claims heard by Canada’s Immigration and Refugee Board,’ Amnesty’s Media Officer, Cory Ruf, told Daily Mail. 

‘These groups already face a fairly broad ban on claiming asylum in Canada.’ 

Lena Metlege Diab, the Canadian immigration minister, has defended the bill, saying the country needs to ‘act fairly’ while dealing with the influx in applications. 

‘We need to be more efficient in doing that. At the same time, Canadians demand that we have a system that works for everyone,’ she said.