Asylum seekers received by the province of New/Neuvo Brunswick, after entering via the Roxham Road, lack the necessary resources to complete their asylum application. They fear that if they remain without legal assistance, they will be asked to leave Canada.

Yesterday, more than a dozen of them gathered in the reception hall of the "Crowne Plaza" hotel in Moncton, the largest city in this Atlantic province, complaining about the lack of legal help, but they did not want to give press interviews.

However, four of them, from Haiti, Congo, Angola, and Afghanistan, said they suffer from a lack of resources. Immigration lawyer services cost them between $5,000 and $6,000.

Although they have work permits, employers require them to prove other residency, which they may not have, in order to hire them. This puts them in a vicious circle: without work it is impossible for them to pay these costs.

Also, due to the difficulty of obtaining the required legal assistance, they are forced to fill out the asylum application themselves, with fears of making mistakes in completing it.

It is noted that asylum seekers entering via Roxham Road ended up in New/Neuvo Brunswick and other Canadian provinces after the Quebec government requested help from the federal government to face the large influx of asylum seekers via this irregular entry point located in the southern part of Quebec province at the border with the U.S. state of New York.

Canada and the United States recently reached an agreement allowing Canadian authorities to transfer asylum seekers who attempt to enter its territory via Roxham Road to the nearest official entry point.

However, many who managed to reach Canada before the amendments to the safe third country agreement must quickly regularize their status.

For her part, Yael Duarte, an immigration and asylum lawyer in New/Neuvo Brunswick, strongly denounces this lack of legal assistance in the province.

"These people must, within 45 days, manage their affairs, understand what Canada is, and also fill out a very technical form, without the necessary means to do so, without anything, no computer and without having the language," Duarte added.

And since asylum seekers have 45 days to submit the application, the risk of their deportation from Canada is very real.

Also, although most of them requested extra time to be able to complete the asylum application, they are still waiting for a response to this request.

The lawyer believes that the federal government should provide financial assistance to the authorities of New/Neuvo Brunswick to offer help to asylum seekers and immigrants who need legal assistance.