A municipal authority in Manitoba, Canada is concerned about the influx of dozens of “asylum seekers” who showed up to border town of Emerson Sunday morning.
“I’m scared, the bigger the numbers — if we don’t have enough officials, someone is going to slip through the crack because there’s so many people to process,” Reeve Greg Janzen, a municipal authority, told CBC News.
The illegal refugees are crossing over form North Dakota and are being processed at the remote prairie town with minimal investigation by Canada Border Service Agency officials.
Janzen said the small town of 671 residents — portrayed by the Canadian media as mostly supportive of the illegals — has become restive because of the increasing numbers and the frequency of the border violations.
Janzen has done 95 television interviews with global media agencies in the past two weeks after a twelve year drought of national or international media coverage.
Janzen suggested a confrontation between the community and a refugee is inevitable.
“It’s about to blow. I think there’s going to be confrontations,” Janzen said. “There’s going to be an incident.”
While it’s illegal to cross the border into Canada, once “asylum seekers” successfully sneak into the country they can claim refugee status.
Critics blame the federal Liberal government for the refugee flood after Prime Minister Justin Trudeau tweeted an open invitation for refugees to come to Canada after U.S. President Donald Trump’s temporary visitor ban was issued last month.
The official opposition Conservatives issued the following statement on the matter:
Canada is a safe and welcoming country, but we must also take steps to protect our border and ensure the process for entering our country is consistent and fair for all seeking refuge in Canada.
Federal Conservative immigration critic Michelle Rempel said what needs to be emphasized to people who might be considering crossing the border is that it is an illegal act.
“We shouldn’t be romanticizing this to anyone who is considering this as an option,” she said, adding, “This is something that should not be attempted.”
“Do we have the resources in place to enforce these laws? I think we have to stay on top of that.”
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