Self-proclaimed “sanctuary city” Toronto is the latest destination for “asylum seeking” illegals who are crossing the New York border in record numbers.
Since January, thousands of illegals have arrived in Canada at remote border crossings in Manitoba and Quebec, claiming to be seeking asylum from President Donald Trump’s administration.
Because of a loophole in the Canada-U.S. Safe Third Country Agreement, they are subject to deportation if they arrive at an official border crossing but safe passage if they cross anywhere else.
Now the refugee flood has spread to Ontario border towns and not just at remote outposts.
Refugees are now crossing at major centers like Windsor and Niagara Falls, Ontario and claiming to be refugees from the United States.
Conservative Party public safety critic and Ontario Member of Parliament Tony Clement told The Daily Caller that “it is time for this Liberal government to apply the law.” Clement added that it is “ridiculous” to think of refugees coming from the United States.
The surge in refugees coincided with President Donald Trump’s first temporary travel freeze –which did not impact any of these “asylum seekers” because they were already in the U.S. — and the subsequent Twitter message from Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau that all refugees were “welcome” in Canada.
Just in January, 433 “refugees” showed up at Ontario border crossings, more than double the 175 that appeared in the same month in 2016.
Those numbers do not account for the numbers of undocumented crossings. Illegals can now travel to Montreal without fear of deportation as the city council of Canada’s second-largest city declared their municipality a “sanctuary city” last Monday.
Canada’s largest city, Toronto, has been a sanctuary city since 2013 and is now preparing for an influx of new arrivals as the city and its liberal Mayor John Tory are calling for more resources for the city’s homeless shelters and the added cost of illegals being eligible for city assistance and aid.
According to statistics from Toronto’s Shelter Support and Housing Administration, 810 people sought refugee status in January this year — an 80 percent jump from the year before.
Canadian Public Safety Minister Ralph Goodale will be meeting with his U.S. counterpart Department of Homeland Security Secretary John Kelly this week to discuss the mushrooming border crisis as the epidemic of asylum seekers has spread across three provinces and at least five states.
Goodale, political overseer of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police and the Canada Border Services Agency, said the Liberal government is already talking to U.S. authorities about the consequences of the asylum seekers on Canada’s battered refugee system.
“They need to be fully informed of the circumstances that Canada is dealing with for international reasons. But the very obvious one is that this flow is originating in their country and they need to be fully apprised of the consequences that we’re dealing with on our side of the border,” he told CBC.
The Safe Third Country Agreement may or may not be a subject of those talks.
“The terms of the agreement are what they are,” Goodale stated. “The fact of the matter is we have to deal with the real life circumstances that we are facing. We’ve also had confirmation from the UN High Commission for Refugees that they do not see a basis in the United States for any deviation from the agreement.”
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