Turned away, then jailed, family makes third attempt to enter Canada
Aracely Serrano arrived in the parking lot next to the U.S. port of entry in Niagara Falls, N.Y., early on Monday morning, pulling a light blue suitcase and a black backpack from the trunk of a vehicle. She had recently been detained along with her common-law husband and two daughters in a windowless holding cell for two weeks. The trio walked past the stone walls of the port of entry, beneath the watchful eyes of surveillance cameras and through the metal turnstiles below the sign that read, “Entry to Canada.”
“I have hope that this time, yes, it will happen,” she said, her daughters by her side. Serrano had felt this hope once before, when she attempted to cross into Canada with her husband and daughters in March. Originally from El Salvador, they had been living undocumented in New Jersey and decided to make an asylum claim in Canada to escape the fear brought on by the Trump administration’s immigration crackdown.
However, Canadian border officials questioned the validity of the documents Serrano presented, claiming she had an anchor relative in Canada. The family was sent back to the U.S. and held in detention for two weeks, before being sent back to Canada and rejected once again. Serrano’s brother, Israel Serrano, worked tirelessly to secure their entry into Canada while they were detained in the U.S.
After weeks of uncertainty, Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada finally agreed to allow Serrano to enter Canada and make her asylum claim. Accompanied by her lawyer, Heather Neufeld, Serrano made her way across the Rainbow Bridge to Canada for the third time. Despite facing renewed questioning from Canadian border officials, she was eventually granted entry and allowed to stay with her daughters in Canada.
Outside the customs building, against the backdrop of Niagara Falls, Serrano was reunited with her brothers, Israel and Miguel Serrano. There were tears, hugs, and celebrations as the family embraced each other under the cool night sky. Serrano expressed immense joy and relief at finally being able to start a new life in Canada with her daughters.
While Serrano and her daughters were released into Canada, her husband, Marcos Guardado, remains in detention in the U.S. Neufeld is working to bring him into Canada so he can join his family and enter the asylum process with them. The family’s journey has been filled with challenges and uncertainty, but they are now looking forward to building a new life in Canada, free from the fear that plagued them in the U.S.
