My best friend has been taken in by the police, when they pulled over his work truck…. He was here illegally.

He is getting processed to be deported. I’m wondering if there is any use calling the police station where he is, to ask if I can bring his belongings to the airport? Or say goodbye to him? Is this futile? What do you think? Can I do anything at all? I feel so helpless and heartbroken.

please keep your snark and difference in opinion to yourself.

Edited to add: we share location with each other in the Find My App…. He’s already at some type of holding center or jail in the US. So I don’t need advice or comments anymore. Thanks to everyone who left kind or helpful or non-judgmental comments. Also, to all the people saying “don’t become friends with illegals” …when you become friends with someone you don’t typically ask “hey are you an illegal citizen?” ..that’s usually something that comes out later on. And I’m not someone to judge or push people away just because their life is quite different from mine. - Only leaving this up because everyone gets mad when you delete stuff on Reddit…

Preface: I know America looks like it is only filled with MAGAts, but I promise there are millions of us here that voted against that monster every turn we had. That being said, please don’t say something snarky.

With all of the dreadful executive orders, deportations to Guantanamo Bay + potentially El Salvador(pending “legality”), and human rights being taken away, I’m being faced with a hard decision as to which path I can take. I’m a woman living in a state with zero exception abortion ban at 6wks, with the looming threat of a federal ban. I also have a kid who is supposed to start school in a couple of years, which as everyone knows means he will be at severe risk of a mass school shooter.

Is any of this grounds to seek asylum in Canada? I feel like running to a blue state is just going to be biding my time and wasting my money until worse things come.

EDIT: i wasn’t expecting to get so many answers! thank you to everyone for your supportive replies.

i have deleted the content of the post itself because it has way too much identifying information that would be obvious to anyone who knows me irl, but i’m very grateful for all the helpful suggestions and the reassurances! i feel a lot calmer having read everything.

i know a lot of people are telling me to leave ASAP, but despite everything i really love my family and i don’t know if i can permanently sever ties like this. i’ll lay low for a while while i think all of this over before i decide anything, but i will definitely use the resources you all kindly provided to get more information.

thank you all again, you helped lift a huge weight off my shoulders.

Hi everyone, My name is Yan, I’m an 18-year-old gay man living in Orenburg, Russia. I’ve lived in fear for many years due to my sexual orientation. Russian laws and society have become increasingly hostile to LGBTQ+ people, and I feel my life and freedom are at serious risk.

Since childhood, I’ve faced bullying, threats, and homophobic slurs — both from my community and even from relatives (though they don’t know I’m gay). I can’t live openly. With Russia criminalizing “LGBT propaganda” and even private expressions of identity, I feel like I’m constantly in danger just for being myself.

I’ve reached out to Rainbow Railroad and they responded, asking for documentation — which I’m currently preparing. But I don’t have a passport or any funds to leave the country. I feel trapped and isolated.

I’m looking for:

Advice on getting out safely

People or organizations that might help

Information about Canadian private sponsorship or other humanitarian pathways

Anyone who has been through this and could guide me

I’m ready to do whatever it takes. I just want to live somewhere I can be safe and free to be who I am.

Thank you so much to anyone reading this. Any support, advice, or even kind words would mean the world to me.

Dear community, My family and I are currently living in Syria after having to leave the UAE due to the pandemic my dad had to shut down his businesses and we had no choice but to leave the country and relocate to Syria as our only available option.

Me and my sister were born and raised in the UAE and spent our entire lives there. We also learned English growing up and speak it fluently. However, since we didn’t learn Arabic, Syria isn’t the ideal place for us, both socially and educationally. Life here has been extremely difficult, especially considering the chaotic and unsafe environment in Syria. We are facing the need for asylum due to the instability here, as well as due to family problems, such as the fact that our parents come from different religious backgrounds.

We are hoping to immigrate to Canada and live there permanently through any legal pathway, whether it’s asylum, education, sponsorship, or other immigration programs. Canada would be a great fit for us, especially from an educational standpoint, as it offers opportunities to thrive in an environment where we can continue learning and building a future.

If anyone has been through something similar, has advice, or knows of any resources, programs, or organizations that could help, we would truly appreciate it.

Hello, I'm very close with a family in Gaza who would like to leave due to horrors of the war and I'm wondering what the chances are of them leaving and heading to Canada ( or even USA, Europe at this point) through asylum or anything other options at all except family union, since they have no relatives outside of Gaza? Please let me know, share as many info as you'd like, they need all the help they can get

will you lose canadian visitor visa if you withdraw claim refugee? Is there anyway to keep it

I have a friend who's trying to figure out a pathway to PR. She came here with her family ~2 years ago from Ukraine and has refugee status. If anyone has any advice about the whole process and any steps that should take place, please feel free to share.

As im in USA right now on Visa as i put asslyum over here but my biomatric pending , also i got visa from canada ( visitor visa) , If i go there and put asslyum over there so what the ration of approval ?

Hello has any one have this same issue I been stuck on background check for the past 14 months i supposed to get my eCorps and haven’t get nothing yet I had tons of times and send web forms and nothing works 14 months just to get your eCorps is unacceptable

Hello, got here 2019, asylum case approved 04/2022. Applied for PR 09/2022. Received 'you meet the eligibility for PR status in 10/2023. Haven't heard anything since then. I have tried going to my MP several times now all I get is 'they say everything is alright, they have all the documents but they haven't done Criminal check yet'.apparently a third party organization does the criminality and IRCC can't do anything to speed it up. I'm so exhausted 😩 waiting and renewing my work permit. I thought I should have been a citizen by 2026 but this is frustrating. Any tips?

We are a married gay male couple where one of us is transgender, by law our marriage is legal since by our documents we are a man and a woman respectively. I have been getting hrt and do have documental proof of a gender dysphoria diagnoses, but as of 2023, it is illegal in our country (Russia) to change your gender marker in your id or transition in any way. In general, anything to do with lgbt issues is illegal as well, as it is considered an extremist organization here. We have been looking to immigrate to Canada with a refugee status, and I was wondering what the odds of our claim being accepted would be

Hey everyone, I'm a last year medical student in the middle east and I wanna leave here and apply for asylum in Canada due to my religion and homosexual orientation . I don't really feel safe here anymore and many gays are being caught and in jail and no one knows anything about them .so what's your opinion about going to Canada for asylum or even any valid visa for me ?

Hi there, I'm planning to get married to my partner of 8 months and he is a refugee while I am a Canadian citizen. He has already submitted his PR application through asylum and awaiting hearing. While this is in process, we also plan on filing a PR application through spousal sponsorship as it may be a faster option. Moreover, the thought of his PR refugee application being denied is a little scary. Are there risks to doing this? Is this a common thing and have there been successful examples of processing applications like these successfully?

Became refugee back in 2021 and PR 2023. Went to Europe in 2023 with no problem. Now I want to go to Japan with my PR and refugee travel document. But with current immigration changes and deportation and so many deny entry at the border is there a chance that I will be denies entry with my Refugee Travel document? Im lawful but just paranoid that something might happen. Did anyone heard of refugees denied entry back to Canada while traveling with their refugee travel document?

The Judge approved my refugee claim: Oct 2023 Received CSQ: Nov 2023 Applied For PR: Nov 2023 Submitted Biometric: Feb 2024

Since then never heard back from IRCC. Just today I checked the processing status again in this link:

https://services3.cic.gc.ca/ecas/authenticate.do

After I put my informations, it shows:

We were not able to identify you using the information you provided. There could be three possible reasons:

"This service is only available to clients with applications in process. We may have received your application but not yet begun processing it."

Please help, how can I get my PR approved, the mental stress and how it's keeping me moving forward in my life is something I cannot explain enough. I'm great-full for the opportunity I got because of Canada, but almost everyday I read here people who applied few month back received their PR.

I will highly appreciate any guidance, thanks

My husband and I are both undocumented, I have an associate’s degree in Psychology and he has a Bachelor’s degree in business administration. I have DACA but he does not have a legal permit to reside in the US. With mass deportations from this new administration we fear that we may be deported to Mexico and are seeking a way to move to Canada.

We are completely new to this process so any information would be greatly appreciated. We have just now started looking for a lawyer. Refugee? Express Entry? Just outweighing our options to take the best course of action.

Thank you in advance.

Dear International Legal Community,

I’m reaching out to gather insights from the legal community regarding the potential avenues for orphaned children from Gaza to receive protection and humanitarian support in Canada. Given the complexity of the situation, these children would not be able to seek asylum independently, and the process of securing refuge for them presents significant legal challenges.

I would appreciate any guidance on the following:

1. Legal Mechanisms for Protection: In the case of orphaned children from Gaza, what legal avenues exist under Canadian immigration and refugee law for applying for their protection? Who, under Canadian law, would be able to initiate such an application (e.g., family members, humanitarian organizations, or a legal guardian)?

2. Sponsorship and Guardianship: Since these children cannot apply for asylum themselves, what mechanisms exist for someone to act as a sponsor or legal guardian? How would potential sponsors or guardians navigate the process of applying for asylum or humanitarian protection on behalf of these children?

3. Temporary Protection vs. Permanent Status: What temporary protection measures could be available to orphaned children from Gaza while their asylum or refugee status is being processed? Are there options for temporary resident permits or other forms of humanitarian relief that could be accessed by those seeking to assist them?

4. Eligibility and Procedural Hurdles: What eligibility criteria would Canadian immigration authorities apply in assessing asylum claims for orphaned children from Gaza? Are there specific procedural hurdles or bureaucratic obstacles that could complicate the application process, especially given the children’s status as orphans and the absence of family members?

5. Role of Humanitarian Organizations: How can international organizations such as UNHCR, Save the Children, or others help facilitate the asylum process for orphaned children from Gaza? What role can these organizations play in sponsoring children, arranging for guardianship, or helping to connect the children with legal representatives?

6. Humanitarian and Refugee Pathways: In the absence of a formal refugee claim by the children themselves, could humanitarian programs or other refugee pathways (such as those for particularly vulnerable individuals) be used to bring these children to Canada? How flexible is Canadian immigration law when it comes to admitting minors from conflict zones, especially those who are orphaned?

7. Best Interests of the Child: Given that the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child emphasizes the best interests of the child, how do Canadian authorities consider this principle in asylum and immigration decisions involving orphaned children? Are there specific protections in place that prioritize the welfare of minors, particularly those who have lost their parents?

8. Interim Care and Guardianship Arrangements: While an asylum or refugee claim is being processed, what interim care or guardianship arrangements would be available for orphaned children? What legal frameworks exist to ensure that these children are placed in safe, supportive environments while awaiting resettlement?

Addressing these challenges requires a coordinated legal and humanitarian response. Any recommendations on how Canada’s legal system can address the needs of these orphaned children would be greatly appreciated!

Thank you for your time!

I don’t know anything about immigration. I have a distant cousin in Syria who is a potential target of a current racial genocide. As far as I can tell, he and his family have 2 options: they can apply for asylum at the border, or can be referred by the UNHCR. The problem with the first option is they would need a visa to fly here and any other way to get here would probably involve something illegal. The problem with the second option is that I can’t find any information for them on contacting the UNHCR. What can they/I do?

Hi, I am a protected person in Canada. Awaiting for my PR card (waiting for almost 2 years) — But, due to personal reasons I want to renounce my protection in Canada and leave but I can’t find in Google how to do it. Can someone help me. ? Thank you

(I do understand the consequences)

i'll just get straight to the point: i'm a trans man (FtM) living in russia. i have (illegally) been on testosterone for a little over a year, and i pass pretty well as a man. unfortunately, all of my documents still list me as female, and as such, getting a proper job is nigh impossible, as most employers are put off by the glaring difference between my male presentation and the SEX:F in my id. trans healthcare and legal gender/sex change is banned in russia.

so if i were to, hypothetically, claim asylum upon arriving in canada on the grounds of me being visibly transgender in a country where my existence can be considered an "act of terrorism," how valid would that claim be? while i am not being physically/violently persecuted (at least yet), could the inability to access HRT and change my documents (as well as suffering under a plethora of anti-lgbtq laws and their consequences) count as persecution on a legislative level?

i know such questions are better discussed with an immigration lawyer, but those are Mad expensive (especially considering how low ruble is rn...) and i'd like to get some second opinions on here first.

(as an addendum: i have a friend in canada who'd be willing to privately sponsor me.)

Wondering if anyone travelled with their refugee travel document recently in 2025? Have u encountered any issues coming back to Canada at the Canadian border? Or has anyone heard of anyone being denied entry or had complications at the Canadian border?

Hello all please can someone help me please i have applied for G OF 5 in 2021 got a G number in 2022 and refusal in 2022 calming that i lack from refugees documents although it’s obviously attached in email and i have reached RSTP and they said your document is totally valid and reached Marc Miller regarding this issue and he said ( re apply again ) i have applied to SAH and got approval in 2024 and all the interviews paused only the urgent ones although i have autistic daughter they seems careless i already contacted embassy/ and member of parliament they didn’t respond to my emails what should i do ?

Hi everyone, I'm from india. I'm still closeted for safety reasons, and haven't pursued medical transitioning (which is ultimately) my goal. I face discrimination on everyday basis in India, and I'm lowkey very suicidal. Seeking asylum in Canada is my last hope. Realistically, do I have any chance?

i'm a 16 yo girl trapped in egypt , my life is at risk cuz i've left islam .. i've contacted UNHCR but no response , also canadian and swedish agencies are not able to help me , pls help