The United States used to be the gold standard for refugees setting out for a better life.

But ever since President Trump took office, and started cracking down on immigration, fearful refugees and asylum seekers have started illegally crossing into Canada in hopes of trading their American dreams for maple leaves.

This has had a profound effect on the small Canadian towns situated near the U.S. border, which have seen refugees from Sudan, Turkey, Syria and other corners of the world show up cold and hungry from difficult border crossings in the dead of winter.

Since the start of the New Year, 69 people have applied for refugee status in Canada after illegally crossing into the country from the U.S.

Dozens of refugees have been crossing from America into Canada over concerns about Trump's travel ban and stricter immigration policies. Above, a family from Yemen are taken into custody by the Royal Canadian Mounted Police after walking across the border into Hemmingford, Quebec on Tuesday

Since the start of the New Year, 69 people have applied for refugee status in Canada after illegally crossing into the country from the U.S. Above, a man from Yemen crosses into Hemmingford from New York on Tuesday

In order to claim refugee status in Canada, people refugees already in the U.S. need to cross the border illegally. Above, a family from Yemen arrives in Hemmingford on Tuesday

The majority of these crossings have happened near Emerson, Canada - which shares a border with North Dakota and Minnesota - and the neighboring towns of Hemmingford and Saint-Bernard-de-Lacolle in Quebec, on the New York border.

Some come with children, others with frostbite wounds sustained on the journey through snow-covered fields.

The reason these wanna-be Canadians are crossing into the country illegally is because Canada is part of an agreement that bars refugees that have already arrived in another 'safe' country from trying to trade up to another country.

The towns of Hemmingford and Saint-Bernard-De-Lacolle have become popular crossing points for refugees into Canada

Another popular crossing point has been into Emerson, Canada from North Dakota and Minnesota

This has put refugees and asylum seekers already in the U.S. in a tough position, since many of them have become fearful about what will happen to them if Trump's travel ban is reinstated, or he crafts an even tougher executive order.

The only way for these refugees already in the U.S. to gain refugee status in Canada is for them to physically cross the border illegally.

In fact, as soon as they arrive in the country, these refugees have been tracking down police officers to arrest them.

While the adults may be briefly handcuffed, they are not detained and instead are taken to a police or border station where they can officially apply as refugees.

But with 28 people crossing into Manitoba alone this weekend, locals are struggling to help these newcomers settle into Canadian life.

Many of the refugees making the crossing are not prepared for the bitter bold weather and snow. Above, a man from Mauritania walks down a road in Champlain, New York on his way to Hemmingford on Monday

Canadian police must inform illegal immigrants that they will be arrested before crossing over. But immigrants are only briefly handcuffed so they can be taken to a station to declare themselves refugees. Above, officers help a man from Mauritania cross into Canada Monday

Other groups have been helping find refuges shelter after they are done applying as refugees. Above, a man from Mauritania is arrested in Canada on Monday

Many of the refugees entering Canada are bringing their children. Above, a woman from Sudan helps her daughter up a snow pile as she arrives in Hemmingford on Sunday

A woman who told police that she and her family were from Sudan is taken into custody by Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) officers after arriving by taxi

The children of a woman who told police that she and her family were from Sudan are placed in a vehicle in Hemmingford

A man from Yemen is taken into custody by Royal Canadian Mounted Police officers after walking across the U.S.-Canada border into Hemmingford on Tuesday

A Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) officer talks to a man exiting a taxi, who said he was from Yemen, as he walks towards the U.S.-Canada border into Hemmingford on Tuesday.

Rita Chahal is the executive director of the Manitoba Interfaith Immigration Council, which has set up 'Welcome Place' to provide a temporary shelter for refugees coming over the U.S. border. Lately, Welcome Place's staff have been making up to three shuttles back and forth between the border a day, picking up refugees and bringing them back to the shelter where they can warm up, eat and get the help they need to start their immigration process.

As of Sunday, Welcome Place was completely full and Chahal had no alternate locations to place more refugees. She says her organization needs more donations to help with the influx of refugees and assistance from other agencies who can give them temporary shelter.

'The numbers, if they keep growing, I don't have the financial resources to hire more staff,' she told CBC on Sunday.

Residents in these small towns have been mostly open to the refugees flooding into their hometowns, but the influx was so drastic that in prompted an emergency town meeting in Emerson.

Some are afraid that, as the weather warms, refugees will become come in even larger numbers.

'I have seen them walking around town, more than a number of times, where I've seen five people coming across, walking down the highway, sleeping on the side of the highway,' Emerson Fire Chief Jeff French told CNN.

Wayne Pfiel (pictured on February 9) of the Emerson Inn in Emerson, Manitoba. Pfiel said he has seen many refugees walk across the border from the United States

Jean Pierre Venegas, Manager of Manitoba Interfaith Immigration Council, brings blankets and pillows into a community hall for refugees that may walk across the border in Emerson, Manitoba on February 9. Refugees have been crossing into Canada at Emerson and authorities had a town hall meeting in Emerson to discuss their options

Fadel Alshawwa, Manitoba Interfaith Immigration Council, brings blankets into a community hall for refugees that may walk across the border in Emerson, Manitoba on February 9

Rita Chahal, Executive Director of Manitoba Interfaith Immigration Council, Greg Janzen, Reeve of Emerson-Franklin, Tara Seel, Royal Canadian Mounted Police and Jeryn Peters, Canada Border Services Agency Chief of Operations Emerson speak to media after a town hall meeting in Emerson, Manitoba on February 9

A border marker is seen at the U.S.-Canada border into Hemmingford, Quebec, Canada on Tuesday

Because they need to report to the authorities within three days of entering Canada, in order to claim refugee status, some have been banging on locals' doors to use the phone at 2 or 3am.

'It started with a trickle and has now increased to a flood stage,' resident Brenda Piett said. 'Some people are scared, nervous. Locking their doors. This town most people never locked their doors. But recently they are.'

Last week, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau admitted that he was 'very concerned' with the amount of refugees crossing into rural areas. But he did not say whether he would seek to suspend their agreement with the U.S. and perhaps try start allowing these people to apply for refugee status at official borders.

The majority of these crossings have been happening on the New York-Quebec border, which authorities attribute to its closeness to the major East Coast cities.

Some even take Ubers all the way up from New York City to the border so they can cross over.

François Doré, a retired Sûreté du Québec officer, lives in Hemmingford and told the Montreal Gazette he has seen much more activity at the border lately, with more sensors being installed and police patrolling 24/7.

Janet Cunningham lives a few hundred feet from the border and says it's become common to see refugees crossing the snow-covered fields outside her house.

She recently spoke with an Eritrean man that she saw come over the border and helped direct him towards Montreal. But by the time he reached the corner, the police were already on the scene to arrest him.

'I feel sorry for all these people who have to go to such extremes to get a better life,' she said. 'As long as they're not terrorists, they are welcome in this country.'