Canada Wants To Curb Surge In Walk-in Asylum Seekers From US

Canadian officials warned Thursday against entering the country unchecked through backwoods in an effort to curb a surge in asylum seekers coming on foot from the United States

OTTAWA, , (APP - UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 17th Aug, 2017 ) - Canadian officials warned Thursday against entering the country unchecked through backwoods in an effort to curb a surge in asylum seekers coming on foot from the United States.

Landing in Canada "is not an automatic ticket to being accepted here as a refugee," Transportation Minister Marc Garneau told a press conference in the Quebec border town Saint-Bernard-de-Lacolle, about 60 kilometers (38 miles) south of Montreal.

The town has witnessed a recent dramatic spike in walk-in asylum seekers. "Those who might wish to seek asylum (must) fully understand the rules under which we operate, which is that unless you are being persecuted or fleeing terror or war, you would not qualify as a refugee," Garneau said.

"It is important to combat that misinformation that is out there," he said. Officials told a briefing that the government "strongly discourages" anyone from skirting border checkpoints, saying it is both illegal and dangerous.

Most of the recent arrivals are Haitians who face expulsion from the United States after President Donald Trump said that he would not extend temporary asylum granted to 60,000 Haitians affected by a devastating 2010 earthquake.

Their special status is due to expire at the end of the year. Officials noted that less than 50 percent of refugee claims by Haitian nationals in 2016, when the wave of walk-ins began, were successful.

The rest were ordered out of the country.

- Walk-ins on the rise - ======================== The month of July saw a fourfold increase in the number of asylum seekers in Quebec province from the previous month, to nearly 3,000.

The historical average is 400-500 monthly. So far in August, more than 3,800 asylum seekers have crossed the border into Quebec, and authorities believe the number will continue to rise, soon eclipsing a record set in 2008 when thousands of Mexicans fled to Canada.

A Federal police official told a briefing the recent number of arrivals is "unprecedented." "We've never seen such numbers coming" all at once, said Royal Canadian Mounted Police spokesman Claude Castonguay.

The surge has put a strain on immigration resources, provoking a backlash from opposition politicians and anti-immigrant groups. Quebec has asked Ottawa for help housing the newcomers, and to expedite work permits for refugees.

The Canadian military, meanwhile, has set up a tent city near the US border to provide a temporary shelter for the new arrivals. Montreal's cavernous Olympic Stadium and a former city hospital are being used to accomodate even more asylum seekers.

Garneau said a government site in neighboring Ontario province would be opened to create more temporary shelters. The immigration and border agencies as well as federal police have also increased patrols and staff assigned to process refugee claims. On average, Canada welcomes 300,000 immigrants and refugees each year.