Once they arrive in British Columbia, the boys are absorbed into a sophisticated drug operation that police estimate includes 400 Honduran adults. New arrivals get help filing for refugee status, applying for provincial welfare, finding housing and learning the ropes of crack dealing. Canada's generous immigration laws and welfare benefits are part of the reason Honduran drug traffickers have set up shop in this mountain-studded metropolis of 1.8 million.
New arrivals can apply for refugee status from within Canada, even if they entered illegally.
To get their new papers, young Hondurans are not required to show any proof of their identities or their ages. Most claim to be at least 18 in order to avoid attention from child-welfare workers. But that means if they are charged with a crime, they are treated like adults. Unlike in the United States, illegal immigrants in Canada are rarely detained while awaiting their refugee hearings. And the claim process is so backed up that the Hondurans can count on up to two years before a decision is made.