'Terrified' Wisconsin residents fleeing Trump to Canada

Archivists at the University of Wisconsin-Green Bay found themselves having to set aside all other work to tackle a growing backlog as Wisconsinites desperately requested help digging up French-Canadians who once lived in northeastern Wisconsin. All requested copies of vital records: proof of birth, marriage, naturalization, reports the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel.

“In all of my years of being here, I have never seen anything like this,” said head archivist Deb Anderson, who first began noticing an uptick in inquiries in early February, weeks after President Donald Trump assumed the White House for the second time.

The Sentinel reports four or five requests have come in daily ever since, inundating staff and forcing them to block off Fridays just to answer family relation questions.

“Like Americans elsewhere, Wisconsin residents are increasingly trying to prove their Canadian ancestry to get dual citizenship after Canada relaxed its citizenship requirements in December,” reports the Sentinel. “Most point to America’s political climate as a motivator, seeing Canada as a potential escape route.”

Canada recently decided to ease citizenship rules that prevents barring parents from passing on their citizenship status to generations born outside the country. This means if someone can prove they are a direct descendant of a Canadian ancestor they are considered “Canadian” in the eyes of the government.

But that means plunging the depts of endless family records showing an unbroken link between an applicant and a primary Canadian ancestor.

“Birth and death certificates help, plus marriage records proving a woman’s name changed, or naturalization records showing a Canadian immigrated and became an American citizen. Documents could be at a city or town clerk’s office, the state health department, or research centers maintained by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints,” reports the Sentinel.

Abigail Nye, an archivist at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, said she has several friends who are tracing their own family history, trying to prove their Canadian citizenship. There’s one common theme why: it could provide “an escape route out of the U.S.,” she said.

“It’s a really dangerous time in our country, and people have really good reasons for wanting an opportunity to leave the country,” said Nye.

U.S. resident Patty Hirthe says she and her husband have talked about moving to Canada, saying her friends and relatives are “terrified” by the Trump administration’s immigration crackdown, and she can’t believe how divided the U.S. has become.

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