'I was scared' — American man seeks asylum in Windsor after kayaking into Canada
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After kayaking across the Detroit River earlier this month, an American asylum-seeker stepped into Canada unsure of what to expect, but considers the reaction so far positive – including a stranger giving him $100.
“I hate the fact that I did what I did, but what was my choice? I was scared,” said Dan Livers, 51, of Michigan. “I hope to become a citizen.
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“I would love to Stay in Canada.”
Livers told the Star that he set out from Michigan on Aug. 5, in a kayak he bought for $25 on Facebook Marketplace, paddled across the international border and landed at a spot in the Town of LaSalle, about 12 kilometres south of the Ambassador Bridge.
“It was a ‘junker,’ but hey, it was only going to make one trip,” Livers said of the kayak, adding he had made a prior scouting trip to check potential landing spots south of the border.
“I don’t recommend anybody do that.”
After pulling his kayak onto the sand, the U.S. Army veteran said he headed across the street to a very Canadian location, Tim Hortons, got a cup of coffee, and tried to “calm down.”
He tried to declare himself at a fire station, but staff told him they couldn’t assist.
“I was looking for a cop,” Livers said, recalling the six-hour wait before encountering one in LaSalle. “I wasn’t trying to hide from anybody — I turned myself over as soon as I could.”
According to LaSalle police, at around 1 a.m. on Aug. 6, an officer conducting routine commercial property checks in the 1800 block of Front Road, spotted Livers at the water’s edge.
“The officer investigated and discovered the man was attempting to illegally enter Canada,” police said in a statement in at the time. “The 51-year-old man from the United States was detained and turned over to the Royal Canadian Mounted Police.”
The RCMP, which oversees border security beyond official crossings, confirmed Livers’s identify in an email to the Star on Friday.
A spokesperson said officers attended the scene to investigate and later handed him over to the Canada Border Services Agency for processing.
“Police of jurisdiction will call the RCMP or CBSA when they locate someone who has failed to present themselves on arrival at a customs office,” the statement read.
“In this case, LaSalle police called the CBSA who provided them direction and instructed them to call the RCMP.”
Livers, who has been granted temporary refugee status in Windsor, said he fled the U.S. fearing retaliation after criticizing a Michigan non-profit connected to state service dog programs.
“I left the country because I was afraid for my life,” he said. “Nobody wanted to live like that. I wanted to go somewhere that is peaceful.”
Drew Porter, a Windsor immigration lawyer licensed in Ontario and Michigan, said asylum seekers must demonstrate a “well-founded” fear of persecution to have their claims considered.
“In terms of obtaining Canadian citizenship, he would first have to go through the process of applying for asylum,” Porter told the Star. “If approved, it would then situate him as a lawful Canadian permanent resident.
“After three years — or 1,095 days — he can then apply for citizenship.”
Livers will need to prove that he faces a real threat of serious harm in the U.S., and that he cannot safely remain anywhere in the country.
That decision will likely fall to the Immigration and Refugee Board of Canada, the independent tribunal responsible for making decisions on immigration and refugee matters.
In the first six months of 2025, more Americans sought refugee status in Canada than during all of 2024 — and more than in any full year since 2019, according to new figures cited by Reuters from Canada’s Immigration and Refugee Board.
Still, U.S. claims make up only a small fraction of the overall total — 245 of about 55,000 — and Canada has rarely accepted them.
Under a bilateral agreement, most asylum seekers who enter from the U.S. are sent back on the grounds that they should apply in the first “safe” country they reached.
Reuters noted that 204 people applied for refugee protection in Canada last year, claiming persecution in the United States. Numbers also rose during Donald Trump’s first presidency.
It could take months, even years, before Livers learns whether his asylum bid will succeed, as Ottawa works through a backlog of refugee claims.
For now, Livers calls the Downtown Mission home, as he prepares for his first appearance with the board on Sept. 2.
Besides lodging and food, Livers enjoyed another benefit while staying at the Downtown Mission. Someone anonymously dropped off an envelope with a $100 bill inside, specifically for Livers.
He said he felt choked up by that act of generosity from a complete stranger.
“I love Canada,” he said. “I’m right where I want to be. These are the sweetest people I’ve ever met in my life.”
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