Wave of refugees leaving U.S. for Canada forcing officials to take new measures

The sun was just beginning to set at the border between the United States and Canada when a blue taxi cab from the nearby town of Plattsburgh, New York, made its way down a dead end road toward a series of white tents.

The lone passenger was a single man who could have been in his mid-thirties. He seemed to be on a mission and, in broken English, indicated that he did not want to stop long enough for a longer interview.

But in the brief moments we spent with him as he removed his suitcases from the trunk we learned that he was originally from Yemen but fled that country a year ago. He’s been in the U.S. ever since...

He’s joining the record number of people—thousands, according to Canadian officials—to seek asylum and cross into the country ...

 another major reason refugees are choosing to cross at illegal crossing points is that when a refugee coming from the U.S. asks for asylum at an official border checkpoint, they will likely be denied because of an existing agreement that the U.S. and Canada already have regarding refugees. And once you’re denied asylum by the Canadian government, you can never apply again...

The two men stood facing each other for over two minutes on that one stretch of dirt, before the Yemeni man finally took the walk across the line.

“You are under arrest for illegally entering Canada,” the officer said...