Olivia Huynh, executive director of the New Brunswick Refugee Clinic, said she's working with around 10 applicants who've applied without a lawyer, most because they lacked legal aid.

Unlike other provinces, such as Quebec and Ontario, New Brunswick's provincial legal aid program does not extend to asylum seekers. And once they are allowed into the country, they have just 45 days to submit their base claim or file for an extension.

Olivia Huynh, executive director of the New Brunswick Refugee Clinic, is working to hire another lawyer to take on the increased caseload. (Submitted by Olivia Huynh)

Huynh said the people who filed without a lawyer did so because their 45 days were up, and they didn't want to miss the deadline and be deported. She said those initial claims will be used as evidence in their hearings, so it's important to be able to understand the forms with the help of lawyer.

"They might omit an important event, then mention it at the hearing, and the reason for that might just be because they didn't understand the form," Huynh  said. An Immigration and and Refugee Board member might see a credibility issue if something wasn't mentioned in the initial claim.

Huynh said she said she knows of several families who applied without a lawyer. 

Arlene Dunn, the New Brunswick minister responsible for immigration, said in a statement that the province had  welcomed 187 asylum claimants from Quebec as of Thursday last week.

Sixty-seven are in Fredericton, 120 are in Moncton, and all are being housed by the federal government, Dunn said.

According to Huynh, the asylum seekers are originally from countries all over the world and speak several languages, including French, Arabic and Spanish.

Arlene Dunn, the minister responsible for immigration, said the province is providing some funding so the refugee clinic can hire a second lawyer sooner. (Jacques Poitras/CBC)

Even if their asylum claims are legitimate, she said, people who make claims without a lawyer are significantly less likely to succeed because of language barriers and a lack of legal knowledge.

Jael Duarte, an immigration lawyer, has been meeting with some of the asylum seekers as a volunteer. She said if the 45-day window passes, their claim would be considered "abandoned."

"They are not going to be able to argue their case," she said. "So what is going to happen is that they are going to be deported to their country of origin [where] they are persecuted and threatened."

Jael Duarte is an immigration lawyer who has volunteered to work with some of the asylum claimants. (Zoom/CBC)

The refugee clinic is the province's only organization that provides free legal services to asylum seekers. Huynh is the organization's only paid employee and is working with the federal and provincial governments to hire another full-time lawyer to take on cases. 

She said the clinic is hoping the federal Justice Department will fund a one-year contract for a lawyer with a salary range of $70,000 to $85,000. But that process would take months, she said.

In the meantime, Dunn said, the province is providing funding so the lawyer can be hired sooner. Because the funding is still being finalized, the minister's office cannot confirm how much money it will be or where it will come from, said spokesperson Michel LeBlanc.

Huynh said the clinic has a part-time law student, five volunteer lawyers and a handful of volunteer law students who have been meeting with the individuals and families to discuss their legal options. She said they've met with almost everyone in Fredericton and have made headway in Moncton.

"We've been holding consultations with each individual or each family to make sure they understand the process and give them a chance to ask us questions," she said.

Consultations do not mean full-time legal representation, she said, and a lawyer would typically spend 30 to 40 hours to see a refugee claim through.

51 per cent of applications approved in 2022

There were 9,231 irregular applications processed last year, with around 51 per cent accepted and the rest denied, abandoned or withdrawn. The country accepted a total of 4,728 asylum claims made by an irregular crossing last year. 

Last year the board processed 45,444 claims across the country. Of those, 62 per cent were accepted and 38 per cent were denied, abandoned or withdrawn.

"Irregular border crossers" are defined by the federal government "as individuals who entered Canada between official ports of entry." Unlike undocumented migrants, people who make an irregular crossing to apply for asylum have permission to stay in Canada while their claim is being heard.

If they were able to apply through regular channels, more than half of irregular crossing applications would have been approved anyway, according to data from the Immigration and Refugee board.

Roxham Road has long been an unofficial border crossing for asylum seekers because of the Safe Third Country Agreement between Canada and the U.S.

The agreement forces asylum seekers to apply for refugee status in the first country they enter, whether it's Canada or the U.S., unless they make an irregular crossing.

Last month, the agreement was amended to designate all land borders as official border crossings, making it impossible for most people to apply for asylum in Canada if their first stop was the United States.

In February, Quebec Premier François Legault asked the federal government to redirect migrants applying for asylum at the Roxham Road to other provinces. He said Quebec can't handle any more.

New Brunswick answered the call, Dunn has said, because it could use more people and recognizes the humanitarian issues involved.

While waiting for their case to be heard, asylum seekers get work permits and can access help from local multicultural associations.