Being Too Liberal Could Inflict Damage

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau last week said that his Federal Liberal government is reviewing its handling of refugee claims. The statement from Prime Minister was necessitated following revelations over how the man accused of attacking a police officer and slamming into pedestrians in Edmonton had been ordered deported from the United States. Ever since the details of the accused emerged, Canadians were looking for answers.
Last week the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officials said that a man named Abdullahi Hassan Sharif was ordered deported from the United States in 2011. Investigation authorities in Canada believe that man as described by US authorities and the suspect arrested for the September 30 attack in Edmonton — Abdulahi Hasan Sharif, 30 — are the same person.
Stories of how migrants have been trying to move from United States to Canada have been there ever since President of United States Donald Trump started acting against illegal immigrants and those who have overstayed their granted visa. The stories also revealed how the flow of migrants from Africa, South America, and Caribbean had been taking place to the United States and now from United States to Canada. People have travelled by foot for months in a bone chilling environment, by bus, and train on a journey to Canada.
Last week, Canadian officials said that Sharif who hails from Somali had made an asylum claim at the Canada-U.S. border crossing in 2012, and was granted the status that year. Sharif’s journey from Mexico to United States also divulges loopholes in the system. He arrived at a port of entry near San Diego, CA on July 12, 2011, with no documents and no legal status to enter. As per the rule, Sharif was taken into custody and ordered deported to Somalia in September, 2011. But he was released two months later, that’s where he started breaching the system and failed to report for his removal on Jan. 24, 2012. Efforts to locate him were unsuccessful. U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement have claimed that Sharif had no known criminal history at the time.
Ever since these facts have been brought out by authorities in Canada and United States, former federal immigration minister Jason Kenney has been facing lot of heat. Jason Kenney ran for the leadership of the Conservative Party this year, and he served as the immigration minister from 2008 to 2013. At the very first question posed by media to him, he showed ignorance to the facts revealed but shared how the conservatives had “significantly strengthened immigration security screening”. “We did more than any government in history, and I was attacked by the Liberals and the NDP for the changes that we made.”
Now that Abdullahi Hassan Sharif has been arrested after police officer was rammed by a car, and then stabbed, outside Commonwealth Stadium in Edmonton, and a U-Haul truck led police on a chase in downtown Edmonton. The truck deliberately swerved to strike four pedestrians; and Jason Kenney makes a claim that Conservatives did more than any government in history and still Abdullahi Hassan Sharif is able to make an entry into Canada and induce damage.
Could there be any legitimate reason for anyone coming from United States to make a refugee claim in Canada? His records if checked with the authorities at United States could have shown it to the authorities in Canada that he is evading a deportation from United States! Where did the government that claims that it did better than any other government slip? Conservatives are now on back foot and will have a lot to answer. But that doesn’t give any leverage to Liberals under Justin Trudeau. Prime Minister Trudeau was prompt to say that his government was reviewing handling of refugee claims following the revelations.
The review is necessary too, as unprecedented number of asylum seekers have been crossing the borders. More than 13,000 have crossed illegally this year; more than five times the number intercepted by the RCMP in 2016. Trudeau administration has indeed been liberal in letting refugees in; and if one Abdullahi Hassan Sharif could enter without adequate checks when the Conservatives were too conformist, the present process could allow many more such Abdullahi in.
It’s definite that the processes for granting refugee status needs to be followed when someone presents themselves at the border and it’s of utmost importance to remember that the priority should be making sure that we are defending the values and rights of Canadians and our communities here in Canada remain safe.
There is lot to be done and explained to Canadians on how a man who was ordered deported by the Obama administration was then admitted into Canada as a government sponsored refugee. Putting the blame on Conservatives would not lead us anywhere; a robust system with rule by rule implementation is what the need of the hour is. Liberals under Prime Minister Justin Trudeau have a lot to do to make sure that Canadian borders are secure, and the communities live safely.