U.S. border agents warn against crossing in freezing temperatures.
The Mexican man who died Feb. 19 shortly after crossing the border into the United States near Stanstead — in the Eastern Townships region of Quebec — had travelled from Toronto, where he and his family had been living for less than a year.
Jose Leos Cervantes, 45, had been struggling to make a living in the Ontario capital when he decided to try his luck in the U.S., his wife said in an interview with a Mexican radio station.
The family moved to Toronto in June, hoping to get better pay and better work conditions.
But she said Leos Cervantes lost his job two months ago and struggled to find another that could pay for their rent over the winter months. The couple have three children.
One of Leos Cervantes’s daughters, Yanahi Leos Reyes, posted on Facebook last week about her father’s death, asking for donations so the family could pay to have his body repatriated to their home city of Aguascalientes in central Mexico.
Another daughter wrote: “I’ll never forget you. You were always my role model. I love you so much, Dad.”
After struggling in Canada, many have tried their luck heading south. Others have come to Canada to avoid stricter policies at the U.S. southern border.
Source: cbc
