Thread: Mexican migrant workers turned away at Vancouver airport

June 25, 2008
Mexican migrant workers turned away at Vancouver airport
Source: CBC News


The Mexican Consulate in Vancouver has launched an investigation after 80 people from Mexico were turned back at Vancouver International Airport Monday, even though they may have had the legal paperwork to allow them to stay.

Juan José Salgado, the deputy consul general for the Mexican Consulate in Vancouver, said he is investigating who was responsible for bringing to Canada dozens of people who were expecting to work when they got here .

"Somebody told me that this person put an ad in a newspaper in Mexico, saying if you want to work in Canada, just contact me," Salgado said.
It's illegal for a third party to charge migrants in return for finding them work in Canada.

The Canadian Border Services Agency (CBSA) called the case highly unusual, and would not comment on whether the Mexicans had temporary work visas.

Internal government documents obtained by CBC News revealed that even if the Mexicans had the right permits, they most likely would have been turned away upon arrival.

An internal e-mail sent to CBSA employees last year instructs customs officials to ask temporary workers whether they paid a recruitment fee.
The document was obtained by Richard Kurland, a Canadian immigration lawyer, who then gave it to CBC News.

If a fee has been paid, according to the e-mail, temporary workers are unlikely to leave Canada when their visa expires, particularly if they are a low-wage labourer.

Kurland said he agrees with the policy, as it protects migrant workers from exploitation, but he said they should be spared from being turned back once they get to Canada. He wants to know why there isn’t a checkpoint in Mexico to prevent migrants who are likely to be turned back from getting on a plane.

"It wouldn't hurt to have on the website of Immigration Canada the warning to third party recruiters luring these foreign workers to Canada that it's not going to happen," Kurland said.

Kurland said he expects more deportations like this one will happen, as new legislation passed this month in Ottawa gives customs officials greater discretion.

http://tinyurl.com/3vm37q

Juan José Salgado, the deputy consul general for the Mexican Consulate in Vancouver, said he is investigating who was responsible for bringing to Canada dozens of people who were expecting to work when they got here .

"Somebody told me that this person put an ad in a newspaper in Mexico, saying if you want to work in Canada, just contact me," Salgado said.
It's illegal for a third party to charge migrants in return for finding them work in Canada.

Was anyone of these "dozens of people from mexico" able to provide the actual newspaper article which would substantiate this claim? Was anyone able to provide a name or contact for this mysterious Canadian recruiter. How about an address or street number, Anything which could shed light on this situation other than, "somebody told me?"

Certainly, you wouldn't fly to another country on the promise of work without being able to verify and confirm the offer.

Who could be that ignorant?

If a fee has been paid, according to the e-mail, temporary workers are unlikely to leave Canada when their visa expires, particularly if they are a low-wage labourer.

Signal International learned their lesson the hard way with their guest worker program.

Workers on Hunger Strike Say They Were Misled on Visas --excerpt

The workers, who walked off jobs in Gulf Coast shipyards in early March, say they were victims of human trafficking when they were brought to the United States under a temporary guest worker program. The hunger strike is meant to pressure federal officials, and comes as Congress is debating an expansion of the guest worker program, known as H-2B for the type of temporary visa the workers receive.

The Indian workers say they were deceived by Signal International and labor recruiters when they paid as much as $20,000 for visas they believed would allow them to work and live permanently with their families in the United States. In fact, the H-2B visas are for short-term contracts.

http://www.alipac.us/ftopict-118520-signal.html+indians