A 57-year-old Nigerian man, Chidi Nwagbo, has shared a heartbreaking account of how he lost several fingers to frostbite while trying to flee deportation from the United States to Canada earlier this year.
Nwagbo, who had lived in the U.S. since 1988, attempted to cross the border through the snowy forests between New York and Quebec in February. His journey, arranged by human smugglers in New Jersey for \$2,000, ended in tragedy and disappointment.
“I made a stupid decision,” Nwagbo said, speaking about the journey that not only left him scarred but also returned him into the hands of U.S. immigration officials.
He said the smugglers gave him false hope about a “quick” walk through the forest, promising that someone would pick him up on the other side. But as he stepped into the freezing woods, Nwagbo knew he had made a terrible mistake.
The temperature dropped to minus 28 degrees Celsius. Nwagbo lost his gloves in the snow and was unable to keep using his phone to follow directions from the smugglers. Other immigrants with him, including women from Guinea and Haiti — one carrying a baby — also struggled to keep going.
After hours in the snow, the group called 911. Luckily, they were rescued by the Canadian police, not U.S. border agents.
Though he was relieved to be found, the damage had already been done. Frostbite forced doctors to amputate several of Nwagbo’s fingers on both hands.
Nwagbo said he was motivated to flee after former President Donald Trump’s re-election, fearing intensified immigration crackdowns. A friend gave him a WhatsApp number linked to smugglers, and he took the risk.
“I didn’t have all the information I needed to make the right decision,” he said. “If I had known, I would never have done it.”
Nwagbo, who has five U.S.-born children and once received a bravery award from the Columbus, Ohio, fire department for saving a drowning girl, now faces deportation. His immigration troubles began in 2021 when he missed a court hearing — a “scheduling error” his lawyer blamed — leading to a removal order.
Nwagbo now warns other immigrants not to take the route he chose.
“Don’t do it. It’s risky,” he said. “Smugglers only care about money. They don’t care about your safety.”
He was among 99 people intercepted by the Royal Canadian Mounted Police at the border in February.
As he awaits final decisions on his case, Nwagbo hopes others learn from his mistake — and avoid trusting their lives to smugglers with empty promises.
