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Roxham Road
DCHP-3 (Mar 2023)
n. — Immigration, Federalism, Canada-US Relations
a route that crosses the Canada-US border in Quebec, used as an illegal entry point into Canada.
Type: 1. Origin — Although the road itself has existed since the 19th c. (see the 2021 quotation), the name Roxham Road began to gain traction in the mainstream Canadian press in the late 2010s (see the two 2017 quotations) as a result of the political climate in the US under the Trump administration. Since then, the term has been increasingly used as a metonym for the action of illegally crossing over into Canada from the US at this specific location (see Images 1, 2 and 3). There was a spike in activity in the use of Roxham Road in late 2022-early 2023 (see Chart 1), when it became an increasingly controversial matter in provincial-federal politics (see the 2022 and 2023 quotations).
This street enters Canada in the province of Québec and is known in French as chemin Roxham or rue du Roxham.
Quotations
2017
In the predawn hours, the first two migrants emerged from the forest behind the RCMP checkpoint at Roxham Road. They were quickly handcuffed and taken into custody. A couple of hours later, two more people made a simpler crossing on the five-metre path across a ditch. The crossing was quiet for the rest of the day.
2017
CHRIS HALL (HOST):
Early August, asylum seekers reached a new level in terms of crossing. Hundreds of people crossing at the border at Roxham Road, near Saint-Bernard-de-Lacolle. Which famous Montreal landmark had to be used to temporarily house them?
2021
Portion of 1856 O.J. Lamb map of Clinton County, NY, USA showing Roxham Road (unnamed on map) in the northwest corner of the town of Champlain. This is the earliest map online on which a street following the course of today's road is shown (although other documentary evidence suggests it was in existence as early as the first decade of the 19th century).
2022
Those claiming refugee status in Canada aren't permitted to do so at Canadian land border crossings, prompting streams of refugees lining up to illegally enter Canada at a number of "irregular" border crossings, most notably the notorious Roxham Road crossing straddling Quebec and New York state.
Images
Image 1: A family of asylum seekers crossing the US-Canada border at Roxham Road in Aug. 2017. Photo: D. Case.
Image 2: Tents set up to process asylum seekers crossing the Canada-US border at Roxham Road in Aug. 2017. Photo: D. Case.
Image 3: Looking north towards Canada on the Roxham Road in Aug. 2017. Photo: D. Case.
