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If the past is any indication, roughly half of the Haitian asylum claimants who have arrived in Quebec over the last few weeks will be rejected, and eventually sent back to Haiti or the U.S.

But acceptance rates over the last few years also suggest that half will be recognized as refugees, a sign that they are not all just economic migrants, says lawyer Eric Taillefer.

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Of 412 refugee claims made by Haitians and finalized in 2016, 207 were accepted.

“Their stories are very varied so we can’t put them all in the same basket,” said Taillefer, who has represented several claimants from different countries who have entered from the U.S. since January. “There’s an economic aspect (to the migration) but there is also fear for their physical security, especially because it’s been several years that they haven’t lived in Haiti. So their resettlement and adaptation will be difficult.”

The families showing up at Maison d’Haiti in Montreal-North looking for help finding apartments and furniture while navigating Canada’s complicated refugee protection system certainly fit that picture, says Marjorie Villefranche, the director of the centre that has become a lifeline to Haitians in Montreal.