Nigerian
migrants, others flood Canada
Some 57,000 asylum seekers from Nigeria, El Salvador,
Honduras and other nations crossed the U.S. border into Canada last year, in
some cases citing a fear of persecution by the government of U.S. Donald Trump.
They are allowed to stay until their cases have been heard.
Given Canada’s clogged judicial system, that could take years.
Canada said on Tuesday it planned to spend an additional
C$1.2 billion ($902 million) over five years to stem the flow of irregular
migrants from the United States, which has become a political threat to the
Liberal government ahead of an October election.
Court orders 50 years old man be remanded in custody for raping his 16-year-old daughter
Court orders 50 years old man be remanded in custody for raping his 16-year-old daughter
Canada began prioritising the deportation of asylum seekers
who walked across the border last year, in a bid to tackle the politically
sensitive issue.
In the annual budget, Finance Minister Bill Morneau said
Ottawa would implement a comprehensive border enforcement strategy “to detect
and intercept individuals who cross Canadian borders irregularly and who try to
exploit Canada’s immigration system.”
Most arrive in the populous provinces of Ontario and Quebec,
which have spent hundreds of millions of dollars taking care of the newcomers.
Critics complain that Ottawa is not doing enough to deter the migrants and
Liberals concede the issue is hitting the party’s popularity.
According to the budget, the government will start spending
the C$1.2 billion in the 2019-20 fiscal year to strengthen the border and speed
up the asylum process. Ottawa will also try to “better manage, discourage and
prevent irregular migration,” the budget text said.
Canadian officials have over the past two years visited
Nigeria, as well as various ethnic communities in the United States, to try to
persuade would-be migrants to stay put.
The officials have said that although the people driving the
migrant surge claim that everyone who crosses the border is allowed to stay,
most are sent back once their cases have been handled. (Reuters)