For more than four decades, Canadian-born Christopher Landry has lived in the United States and holds a green card.
The 46-year-old moved to America as a toddler, and now has a wife, five children, a job, and a home in New Hampshire.
If you ask him where his allegiances lie, he describes it as split between the two countries.
“I’m a Can-American, I would say. I’m deeply rooted in my Canadian pride, and I also have a deep love for the United States as well,” he said.
He visits family in New Brunswick annually, and this summer was no different. But when he tried to cross the border with two of his daughters in Houlton, Maine, last week to re-enter the U.S., he was stopped by border agents.
“Long story short, after three hours of interrogation … I was told to turn around and seek a pathway to have my case reviewed by an immigration judge,” he said.
Landry says the agents had questioned him about prior convictions from 2004 and 2007, which were related to cannabis possession and driving with a suspended licence.
He says he was told if he tries to go back to the U.S. again, he will be detained while waiting for the case to be heard — which could take months or even years.
“There’s really no easy pathway to an immigration judge outside of the country. And the quickest pathway right now is through detainment. And that’s a scary thought in itself,” he said.
“So I’m looking for a legal pathway to try to get this exonerated and be able to go back to the U.S.”
His daughters have since been able to re-enter the U.S, but he remains in Grand-Barachois, N.B., and is staying with his grandmother for now. He’s also concerned about getting back to his job, and earning income for them.
“It feels like death. It’s hard. I miss them a lot,” he said about his wife and children. “Can’t even think about it. I just got to stay focused on what I got to do.”
Landry says he’s made many trips since 2007 and he wasn’t aware this could be an issue.
In the meantime, he’s been fielding calls from lawyers and his senator to try to find a way out of this mess.
“I’m a third-generation green card holder. We’ve always lived as green card holders in peace and alongside with all our American neighbours,” he said.
“And we never felt threatened as far as our status was concerned. ”
His grandmother, Clara, who also holds a green card said she was surprised this happened to her grandson.
“We travelled back and forth on a green card for 40 ears. Never had any trouble, they said, as long as we had the green card,” she said.
“We didn’t need a passport. We don’t need anything else.”
Nova Scotia-based immigration lawyer Blair Hodgman, who does not represent Landry, says controlled substance convictions always meant people were inadmissible, but that there may be more careful attention nowadays.
“If you have … controlled substance conviction, you’re inadmissible and you’re required to be detained. So I think the only difference is I guess they didn’t catch on to it before,” said Hodgman.
“They probably weren’t scrutinizing him, but now they’re trying to catch everyone they can.”
While Landry was not permitted to vote in the U.S. elections, he was a Donald Trump supporter.
Since his story was made public, he says he’s received negative comments from “both sides” of the political spectrum.
“I don’t agree with (Trump’s) policies right now. He’s hurting a lot of people and a lot people that haven’t done anything wrong … people make mistakes but it’s what you do after you make those mistakes that really counts,” he said.
“I don’t support illegal immigration, I don’t support breaking the law. All I wanted was a better economy and a better future for my kids, and it’s, it’s really a … we’re feeling the backlash of it right now, and it’s been hard.”
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