Chidi Nwagbo, a 57-year-old Nigerian man facing deportation from the United States, has recounted how he lost several fingers to frostbite while attempting to cross into Canada with the help of human smugglers.
Nwagbo, who has lived in the US since 1988, said he felt compelled to flee after Donald Trump’s re-election in November. In February, he paid $2,000 to smugglers in New Jersey, who promised him safe passage to Canada through the snowy borderlands between New York and Quebec.
The journey, however, turned into a life-threatening ordeal. Nwagbo and other migrants, including women and a baby, were forced to trek through deep snow in freezing temperatures as low as -28°C. He lost his gloves along the way, and frostbite later led to the amputation of multiple fingers.
“It was supposed to be a 30 to 40 minutes walk. These people (smugglers) kept calling, saying, ‘Just keep going, you only have 10 minutes,’” Nwagbo recalled.
Nwagbo and 98 other migrants were eventually intercepted by the Royal Canadian Mounted Police at the Quebec-US border. He now regrets his decision, warning others against using smugglers: “Don’t do it. Smugglers only care about money. They don’t care about your safety.”
