Mexican refugee influx will 'shatter' budgets in Windsor, Ont.: mayor
http://canadianpress.google.com/article ... Wrfvg27Y0Q



WINDSOR, Ont. - The mayor of Windsor, Ont., says an influx of Mexican refugees into his city will "shatter" the annual budgets of social services.

Eddie Francis says as of Thursday, about 200 Mexicans fleeing a U.S. crackdown on illegal immigrants had ended up in the southwestern Ontario border city.

Windsor's emergency shelters can't handle the load, so Francis says the Mexicans have been put up in hotels at a cost of $200,000 so far - a large chunk of the $1-million annual shelter budget.

Francis says he has contacted Citizenship and Immigration Minister Diane Finley's office to ask for support.

The mayor also would like to see the Immigration and Refugee Board of Canada expedite the refugee claims to ease the strain on Windsor, which Francis expects will only get worse.

Francis says the problem is that word is "spreading like wildfire" among illegal immigrants in the U.S. that they will be granted asylum in Canada.