There is new insight into the underground railroad bringing asylum seekers into Manitoba.

For many of the refugees in the United States, their journey to Canada involves a stop in Minneapolis.

Bashir Yussuf travelled from San Diego to Minneapolis before meeting Badal Macalin Mohamed. The two Somali men got a ride to the Emerson border, before making a three hour trek into Manitoba earlier this month.

“We make it or we die,” said Yussuf.

“People are now trying to find out any means available. Taking a cab, cab drivers. taking a bus from here to Grand Forks, then renting a vehicle from Grand Forks to the border,” said Omar Jamal, Somali community activist from Minneapolis.

Jamal said he has talked with up to 30 families, mostly from Minneapolis, and some from Ohio.

He said they're all worried they’ll be forced out of the U.S., so they are willing to pay up to $1,000 for transportation to the Canadian border.

Jamal said some have spent time in a detention centre, convicted of a petty crime and others even have a green card.

They get dropped off south of Emerson, and when the sun goes down, they walk.

“They don't know where they're are going, what they are doing, so it's sad sometimes,” Jamal said.

Numbers provided to CTV from the Canada Border Services Agency show more than 400 people illegally crossed the border near Emerson between April 1, 2016 and Jan. 31, 2017. More than half of those have Somali citizenship.

Mohamed Mualim had been in the U.S. for four years. He said he was working as a truck driver, but feared he would be deported.

“We have been walking 5 hours. Through the snow,” he said. “As soon as we came to the road, to the highway, we were not feeling our fingers”.

Back in Minneapolis the Somali Citizens League said Canada's welcoming message from Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and the immigration crackdown is driving the desire.

“What's next? What's the agenda of the new administration,” said Jibril Afyare with the league.

Both Jamal and Afyare encourage people not to make the cross border trip, and to have faith in the U.S. system.

"If you don't have any conviction on your record you have the best chance of getting your documents here," said Jamal.

RCMP said 69 people have illegally crossed the United States-Canada border in Manitoba near Emerson so far this year.

Police said when a person illegally crosses the border, officers make an arrest. If they want to make a refugee claim, they are taken to the CBSA for processing.