On Jan. 28, 2017, Justin Trudeau tweeted: “To those fleeing persecution, terror & war, Canadians will welcome you, regardless of your faith. Diversity is our strength #WelcomeToCanada.”
In the 18 months since Justin Trudeau tweeted that, Canada has seen an influx of people entering by land, crossing the border from the United States between official entry points. The number of new claims for refugee status recorded by the Immigration and Refugee Board of Canada (IRB) in 2017 was the highest number (50,000 refugee claimants) since record-keeping began in 1989. On a monthly basis, the recent peak was in August 2017, with an average of 184 asylum seekers a day.
Canada screens all asylum seekers who cross into the country at designated border checkpoints. But across the northeastern United States, there are “unofficial” border crossings: towns that straddle the border, roads that run from upstate New York into Quebec, and unprotected forest areas where immigrants can simply cross through to Canadian soil. Once they’re through an “unofficial” border crossing, immigrants can request asylum, and the Canadian government promises they may stay in Canada while their case is investigated, sometimes up to two years, according to Toronto immigration lawyers Lorne Waldman and Max Berger, in an interview with the Toronto Star.
According to Reuters, Canada’s refugee system is now in “turmoil” as more than 20,000 undocumented immigrants have jumped the U.S. border into Canada, “including thousands of Haitians and Nigerians and hundreds of Turks, Syrians, and Eritreans” who are trying to avoid having to navigate Trump’s immigration system.
Recently, Canadian immigration officials have determined that the United States remains a safe country for asylum seekers, despite the Trump executive orders regarding refugees and immigration. So, if an asylum seeker comes to Canada at an official border crossing from the U.S. and tries to claim refugee protection, they will be refused entry and encouraged to make their claim in the U.S. — the supposedly safe country from which they just came.
How do we make sense of Trump’s immigration system and does the U.S. still uphold safe-country criteria?
First of all, Trump’s immigration policy is not a Muslim ban. If it was a Muslim ban, there would be also be a ban on Muslims from other Muslim majority countries, plus a ban on Muslims living in Europe and Canada. The executive order states that the visa-issuance process requires review because of failures leading up to 9/11, and further attacks afterward. Indeed there have been a notable number of high-profile terror attacks on American soil from refugees and others approved by the American visa system: the Boston Marathon bombing; the Ohio State terror attack; the St. Cloud, Minnesota machete attack; the New York/New Jersey bombing attacks in September 2016.
Every year the U.S. accepts around 100 thousand refugees and asylum seekers — people who claim to be fleeing political or personal strife abroad, according to USA Today. From 2008 to 2017 the U.S. gave green cards to well over a million people for humanitarian reasons, which allows them to live and work there permanently. If all of them enter the U.S. legally, it would not be a problem. In fact, considering their standing, the U.S. still maintains generous immigration policies. But it is of the government’s concern when people don’t comply with the law.
It is also the government’s responsibility to protect its citizens and determine who comes in and what qualities and qualifications they bring. Therefore it is understandable that refugees or asylum seekers looking for entry into the U.S. or Canada need to be reviewed and scrutinized to make sure they meet all the requirements to be granted asylum.
Since some failed to seek asylum in the U.S. or avoid dealing with Trump administration, more and more have been turning to Canada. Since the Safe Third Country agreement only applies at the official border entry points, more migrants tend to cross the Canadian border illegally between ports of entry. This creates an obstacle to the government in keeping track of and scanning who comes into their country.
Because of that reason, during the past 18 months, Canada had the luxury of being extremely selective in which refugees they take. It can take years for the system to push through the required paperwork, and refugees and asylum seekers moving from the U.S. must have something of value to offer Canada just to be considered for permanent residency.
Reuters says Canada simply wasn’t prepared for this surge of border jumpers. There has been a great need for government subsidy for Canadian border patrol. So far Canada has allocated an additional $150 million, apparently coming from taxpayers, to tighten security at most of its border crossing. They’ve also had to hire more security screeners and personnel due to background checks on refugee application, to ensure that no dangerous extremists or people with false intentions might slip through the cracks due to quickly processing immigrants.
With this ongoing trend, will Canada be able to accomodate all the refugees and asylum seekers without exhausting its budget and neglecting its citizens?
