Out of US, welcome in Canada!

Canada is witnessing a large number of people from United States flocking to Canada. Canadians woke to the reality with a tweet of Montreal Mayor Denis Coderee- “According to my sources: 2,500 new arrivals in July.” While he didn’t make any specific mention to any race but the buzzword is that at least half of the estimated 6,500 asylum seekers that have arrived since January are Haitians with their freedom under threat in United States.

They have been forced to move from the United States to Canada by a hard stance adopted on immigration by President Donald Trump. The number of those moving from United States to Canada also includes individuals from several Muslim –majority nations banned by President Trump. In the first six months of 2017, officials noted almost 4,500 illegal border crossings across Canada—3,350 such crossings were made in Quebec. Also the number of people seeking asylum in Quebec has tripled in the last two weeks: while there were roughly 50 requests a day during the first half of July, the number has since surged to 150 a day.

The increase in the asylum seekers has a lot to do with the decision of Trump Administration to grant Haitians only a six month extension of Temporary Protected Status when it expired on July 22. The decision was taken in the month of May. A devastating earthquake in Jan 2010 impelled the then US administration to grant a special status and it allowed 58,000 Haitians to legally work and live in United States without any concern of deportation. The latest decision of Trump administration was followed by another announcement by John Kelly-the White House Chief of Staff who was the secretary of the Department of Homeland Security in 2010, that he would revisit the Haiti’s Temporary Protected Status ahead of January 22 expiration date to determine if another extension is required. However, he also added that Haitians should prepare to return home.

These individuals and families have been forced to move from their own homes, once by the fury of the nature and this time by the furious nature of the President and his new set rules which at time defy logic and go contrary to the history of the country. These twice displaced families are not criminals, but have been made to believe that they are displaced in a country that asked them to move and now are facing the blunt due to change of policy. If the program isn’t extended, as many as 60,000 Haitians could be sent back to their homeland.

A lot of them are moving to Canada leaving everything they owned behind including homes and jobs, to come to Canada with a handful of clothes and other necessary items in bags, suitcases to avoid deportation from the United States, making the picture grim.

Canada in its utmost sincerity to the refugees has transformed the Olympic stadium into a make shift refuge to accommodate the asylum seekers from the United States. Prime Minister Justin Trudeau however sounded a word of caution too. He made it clear that anyone who is caught trying to enter the country illegally would be required to navigate the proper immigration channels. “We want migration to Canada to be done in an orderly fashion; there are border checkpoints and border controls that we need to make sure are respected,” Trudeau said during a visit to the Glengarry Highland Games in eastern Ontario. “The people coming now irregularly will still have to go through all the proper processes,” Prime Minister said, thus sounding a warning to those trying illegal means to enter the country.

For Haitians who moved as refuges to United States, the country seems to be closing the doors, and is in a process to send them back. On the other hand Canada going by its policy of being fair to plight of refugees has extended a helping hand. Though Prime Minister has sent a message that Canada remains an open and compassionate country when it comes to refugees, however the government needs to ensure that the system is followed and Canada is turned into a “Sanctuary Country”, and rights of all are treated equally. We have had cases where refugees granted permission to stay have indulged in illegal activities and have put additional burden on the exchequer.