From Our Bureau
NEW DELHI: In January, a family of four froze to death as they tried to cross into the U.S. from Canada. They were just about 15 meters from the border.
Jagdish Patel, 39, and his wife, Vaishali, 37, had been teachers in Gujarat until Covid-19 shuttered schools there. With few options, they traveled to Canada on a visa and paid to be smuggled into the U.S. with their 11-year-old daughter and 3-year-old son.
The New York Times reported how the smugglers dropped a group of migrants, including the family, about five miles (eight kilometers) from the border, despite a blizzard warning. As the group trudged through knee- to waist-deep snow for 11 hours in whiteout conditions, the temperature neared -20 degrees Fahrenheit (-29 Celsius), and the Patels got separated from the group.
Context: As the U.S. tightens controls on its southern border, hundreds of migrants a year are trying their luck from Canada, where the boundary is less fortified.
Background: In Gujarat, which has a long history of immigration to the U.S., smuggling enterprises masquerade as travel agencies.
