Among the first wave of immigrants to Canada in the wake of Trump’s measure was a two-year-old boy who reportedly begged his mother to let him to die in the snow because he could walk no further.

Two others lost their fingers to frostbite in -20 degrees Celsius (-4 Fahrenheit) temperatures when they made the same trip in December.

Wayne Pfiel works at the Emerson hotel steps from the boundary. Asylum seekers, he said, often stop here for a moment of respite after walking up to 12 kilometers (7.5 miles) from the United States, coming in to ask if they have reached Canada.

Others have called police for help, and are taken to the closest border outpost, where they can file an asylum claim.