Thread: Illegal Immigrants Chase False Hope to Canada

Illegal Immigrants Chase False Hope to Canada
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/09/21/us/21 ... wanted=all
Fabrizio Costantini for The New York Times


Pedro Palafox Marin packed his car Thursday while moving out of a motel in Windsor, Ontario.

By MONICA DAVEY and ABBY GOODNOUGH
Published: September 21, 2007
WINDSOR, Ontario, Sept. 20 — Fleeing stepped-up sweeps by the American authorities, illegal immigrants to the United States, mostly Mexican, are arriving in growing numbers at the foot of the bridge in this Canadian border town seeking refugee status.

Still more immigrants, mostly Mexicans living illegally in Florida, have begun trying to make their way past America’s northern border at other locations, the majority of them flying into the airport in Toronto, Canadian officials said Thursday.

The arrivals here began suddenly three weeks ago, just a family or two at first, fueled by the notion — largely unfounded, the authorities here say — that Canada would grant them asylum.

The journey, some of the immigrants said, was first suggested by an organization in Naples, Fla., which charged a fee for assisting with the paperwork. Now the idea has spread on the Internet and through social networks.

By Thursday, at least 200 people had turned up here, across the border from Detroit, with as much of their lives as they could shove into suitcases, boxes and garbage bags in their cars. Thousands more, refugee advocates and Canadian officials say, may be on their way.

Advocates for immigrants issued urgent warnings to Mexicans pondering similar journeys, and expressed fury at groups that were encouraging them. In truth, refugee status for Mexican citizens is relatively unusual in Canada. Only 28 percent of such claims by Mexicans were approved in Canada last year, compared with 47 percent of claims from all nationalities.

“It’s an outrage that money is being taken to provide false information and dangerous information to these people,â€

[quote]“Maybe they’ll have compassion for us,â€

Let’s see how long Canada tolerates the invasion.

Bogus pitches lure illegal migrants to Canada

http://www.canada.com/victoriatimescolo ... 89968d7936
Adrian Humphreys, CanWest News Service
Published: Friday, September 21, 2007

TORONTO -- A sudden outpouring of illegal foreign migrants from the United States is crossing into Canada because of bogus claims by unscrupulous immigration consultants, a scam that has blossomed into an urban myth so pervasive the influx is clogging refugee services in some cities.

A fraudulent sales pitch touting an open-door policy and "economic refugee" program in Canada, aimed largely at Mexican and Haitian migrants living illegally in the United States, is proving remarkably attractive to migrants already facing crackdowns in some U.S. states.

While several hundred are said to have paid for useless immigration services, many more have heard the message and are heading north on their own.

The Canadian Council for Refugees, a non-profit umbrella organization working to protect refugees, issued a warning this week of the scams and the burgeoning myth and asked the federal government to intervene.

For some, it is already too late.

In Windsor, local refugee aid organizations have been told to brace for 4,000 to 8,000 refugee claimants entering Canada through Windsor and other border points.

"We are being inundated with them," said Wilfred Harbin, administrator for the Salvation Army Windsor Community and Rehabilitation Centre. "What are we going to do with them? We're running out of beds," he said.

In Montreal, hundreds of Haitian asylum seekers have been victimized by consultants, usually in the guise of community or religious groups who charged $400 to $500 for false promises of guaranteed refugee status, said Rivka Augenfeld, with the Canadian Council for Refugees.

In the Niagara region, there has been a marked increase in Haitian refugee claimants in the last few weeks, said Jean D'Amelio Swyer, a CBSA spokeswoman.

And in Toronto, immigration lawyers are being flooded with questions about the non-existent special programs.

The number of refugee claimants from Haiti has jumped dramatically, according to numbers from the Immigration and Refugee Board.

There were 1,008 refugee claimants from Haiti from January to June 2007, compared with 769 in all of 2006. In the first half of 2007, there were 3,043 claimants from Mexico, making it the top source country. There were 4,958 in all of 2006. The figures do not reflect the recent surge from both countries that seems to have started in earnest this summer.

The claims of an open-door refugee policy fly in the face of statistics. Only 13 per cent of Mexicans who claimed refugee status in the first half of the year were accepted. For Haitians, the acceptance rate was 66 per cent.

The sales pitch is particularly attractive to Haitian and Mexican migrants because of their unique positions when they reach Canada. Canada has a moratorium on deportations to Haiti, so they will be able to remain in Canada until conditions in their homeland improve.

Canada does not require Mexican visitors to have visas, so they too are allowed into Canada to make their claims despite having previously lived in the United States. If turned down, however, they face removal to Mexico.

Wonder if they are going to claim that Canada belongs to them, too!!

Doesn't the NAU provide for free movement of people and goods? Ooops, sorry...my mistake! The NAU only allows free movement of people and goods into the US!!! Canada and Mexico have strict immigration laws which can NEVER be compromised! The NAU is a one- way street and all roads lead to the US.

Unfortunately, these illegals will never be granted refugee status in Canada unless they can prove that they have been PERSECUTED! It takes at least 14 months to process their claims and they can stay longer if they appeal the decision. So they can relax, collect their $1148/mo, and figure out a way to escape deportation.

Maybe Canada and the US can form a seperate bilateral agreement to send ALL of the illegals back to Mexico! Just kick Mexico out of the NAU!

Well it won't take long and they will find out what the U.S. has been going through, over crowded schools, hospitals, rise in crime , special need for Engish or French lessons or the refusel for them to learn so Canadians will have to learn their language and on and on.

Going to be interesting to see how long it takes, I will say the one good thing is this should set most Canadians against the North American Union, just wait until they see these people will not assimilate and they see their towns turning into the spitting image of Mexico.

Advocates for immigrants issued urgent warnings to Mexicans pondering similar journeys, and expressed fury at groups that were encouraging them.

Wait till Mexico starts printing up maps and they have CD's made up to tell them every trick in the book to get around all their laws etc.

Originally Posted by dragonfire

Let’s see how long Canada tolerates the invasion.

Some of the Canadian officals are already saying "what are they going to do with them?".
I bet they stay and more are coming! Canada better wake up and run them out of town while they can... before 200 becomes 2,000,000!

What I can't get over is the fact that these illegals spent years collecting every benefit and freebie they could lay their hands on, walked around like they owned the place for two decades.....and now they get to Canada and complain about how they got nothing from the United States.

Guess it's all in keeping with the "persecuted refugee" act.

Canada is going to have it's hands full. I posted in another thread about how my husband and I had started hearing about this from people a few weeks ago and believe me.....the Mexicans are heading up there with their heads full of big ideas.

They fully believe that once they are there, they're permanent citizens. They are hearing that they will be paid $3,000.00/month just to reside there plus be given housing, food, healthcare, clothing allowances, etc. by the Canadian government. Some believe they are also going to be given land in addition to everything else.

Notice the key words: paid and given. Basically, they are heading up there believing that they have hit the "free everything" jackpot and all they have to do is claim that theyare fleeing persecution by the US government or are in fear of their lives from the government, ICE, hate groups, and American citizens.

Personally, we don't know of anyone who believes it. In fact the people we were hearing it from, didn't. But enough of them do believe it and all Hell is going to break loose when they found out it's not true.