Asylum seekers, many here via a Quebec border crossing, say Windsor feels like home now

Asylum seekers from Colombia, Nigeria and Uganda say they feel welcomed in Windsor, Ont., even as local leaders say the city needs help to deal with an influx of refugee claimants. 

Speaking on Thursday at Matthew House, a facility that provides support services to refugees, Alvar Mauricia Levaza explained how he and his family were initially disappointed to be sent to Windsor by Canada Border Services Agency officials, as they had hoped to end up in Toronto.

But that disappointment turned to happiness when they discovered a welcoming city, a clean hotel room, support from social services, and a Spanish-speaking case worker at Matthew House who has helped them understand their immigration paperwork.  

Now, Levaza said through an interpreter, "staying in Windsor is the plan."

The Canadian government confirmed to CBC News last month that hundreds of asylum seekers are staying in hotels in Windsor, many of whom have entered the country with tickets purchased by agencies in some Republican states to send people northeast, and then from New York City to a small town near the Quebec border.

Many, including Levaza and his family, have come through Roxham Road, a controversial and irregular border crossing between the U.S. and Quebec.

Levaza and his wife, who are both university-educated accountants, had nothing but praise for the city's support.

Members of a Windsor city hall committee voted Wednesday to write to Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC), saying the city can't handle any more asylum seekers without federal help and asking it to appoint a lead agency to support the refugee-claimants. 

Windsor MP Irek Kusmiercyzk organized a meeting between the federal immigration minister and Windsor's mayor this week.

"We are having conversations at the federal level [about] how else we can support municipalities and provinces in their work to settle the asylum seekers," said Kusmiercyzk.

Mike Morency, who runs Matthew House, admits the current number of asylum seekers needing help in Windsor is challenging.

He's worried there's too much focus on the numbers instead of what the claimants could offer.

"We need to be able to welcome these precious people in order to help them very quickly get assimilated," he said.

Idemudia Keinde arrived in Canada with her three children from Nigeria in January. 

Matthew House is just so lovely. Windsor is just so lovely.- Idemudia Keinde

The farmer and nursing assistant said she cried on the train to Windsor because she didn't want to go, but arriving at Matthew House completely changed her perspective. 

"Matthew House is just so lovely. Windsor is just so lovely. … Windsor is very easy," she said.

"Matthew House has been there for me. … The first day, I was saying, 'How am I going to sleep?  How am I going to survive here?'  … They gave me everything."

Now, Keinde said she never wants to leave. 

Ugandan asylum seeker Kassim Damusi also called Windsor "his home" after arriving in Canada a month ago. 

A social worker in his homeland, he said he is now receiving the kind of support he once provided to others.

"So I thank Matthew House," he said.

Helping people is Damusi's calling, he said, and he hopes to do the same in Canada.