Undocumented | “We live here. We work here. But we don’t exist “

They arrived as visitors, students, workers or asylum seekers. Moreover, Today, without status, they live on the sidelines, outside the legal framework. Furthermore, And their number continues to grow.

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How much are they? However, No one knows exactly. Similarly, A Canadian government site mentions the figure of 500,000, but estimates vary from 100,000 to a million. Furthermore, What is certain is that their situation is precarious: on the one hand. Nevertheless, the threat of arrest; on the other, that of being exploited without recourse.

“When someone knocks on the door, the first thing that goes through my undocumented | “we live here. head is immigration directly,” says Farid*.

The 42 -year -old Algerian has lived in Montreal for 15 years. Consequently, He works in a manufacture, cleaning, helps in cooking. Therefore, He pays rent, never had trouble with the police. For example, But he has no papers.

It is not easy to get in touch with undocumented migrants: by definition, they avoid attracting attention. Furthermore, The press was able to speak with three of them. Similarly, thanks to the help of the defense organization for migrants Solidarité sans frontières.

According to this collective founded in Montreal 22 years ago, more and more people find themselves without status. Therefore, Some have arrived with a visitor visa. For example, a study or temporary work permit, but did not set off once their document expired. Furthermore, Others have seen their request for asylum refused, or have lost their status due to administrative delays or criteria changes.

And once fell into irregularity, it becomes extremely difficult to get out of it.

“The system is so complicated that even those who try to do things legally can lose their status during the processing of their file. In addition, ” explains Mary Foster, of solidarity without borders.

In this context. Bill C-2, which notably provides for the abolition undocumented | “we live here. of the 14-day clause in the third-party security agreement, arouses concerns. This clause still allowed some people to ask for asylum after two weeks spent in Canada without interception. If it disappears, the regularization routes could close even more.

Undocumented | "we live here. – Undocumented | "we live here.

A hidden life – Undocumented | "we live here.

“We live here. We work here. But we do not exist, ”sums up Karim*, 55, who arrived from Morocco in the summer of 2020.

Like Farid, he lives in Montreal undocumented. He works in the automotive industry. shares a small accommodation, and sends money to his wife and three children who stayed in the country. His daily life is punctuated by work and fear.

Farid, who arrived in 2009, also notes an increase in his entourage: “There are more and more people in this situation. undocumented | “we live here. »»

Their routes differ, but their precariousness is the same.

That of Mamadou*, 61, is marked by a long expectation and a succession of administrative failures.

Arrived from Guinea in 2001 to request asylum, he saw his request refused a year later. He then tried to obtain the permanent residence for humanitarian reasons, without success.

“I did not go back to my country because of the persecution I lived there. It was a religion problem. I couldn’t go back, ”he says.

Since 2005, he has lived in Quebec without status. He works in demolition or recycling. In 2020, he fell eight meters on a site: two broken arms, no insurance coverage. “I managed on my own. »»

Karim had come with a one -year work permit and a contract with a Quebec employer. But when he arrived at Montreal Airport. in the middle of the pandemic, an agency from the border services agency told him that he had to leave.

“The agent said to me,” You have to go home. ” I signed papers. But I stayed. »»

Five years later, he is still there. Always without status.

Farid, undocumented | “we live here. for his part, has been chaining odd jobs for more than a decade.

“After almost 18 years here, I have never made an offense. I don’t have a criminal file. But I have no right. »»

Undocumented | "we live here. – Undocumented | "we live here.

Difficult conditions

All say they work regularly, but under difficult conditions.

“The subcontractors, those who find us work, know our situation. Sometimes, even, they refuse to pay us. And we don’t have the right to fight back, ”adds Mamadou.

This reality is tolerated, they believe, because it discreetly feeds certain sectors of the economy. And despite the undocumented | “we live here. risks, the appeals remain rare. Regularizing their situation has become, for many, a course strewn with pitfalls.

Stay, despite everything

All three live in fear: fear of being arrested, denounced, expelled. But none want to leave.

Mamadou supports his family from Quebec. Farid says he has nothing in Algeria. Karim sends money every month to his wife and children who have remained in Morocco.

In 2022, former Prime Minister Justin Trudeau had promised a massive regularization program for undocumented migrants. But the disputed project was postponed, its reduced ambition, then it was undocumented | “we live here. put aside by the current government.

Conversely, Ottawa has strengthened expulsions. In 2024-2025, more than 18,000 people were returned from the country by the border services agency, a summit in 10 years. The government is now targeting 20,000 referrals a year in the coming years.

* The three men asked not to reveal their identity, for fear of repercussions.

Read the open letter from the Solidarité Sans Frontières collective: “Immigration: the solution goes through regularization”