Immigration out of control

Dear Editor: Our merit-based immigration system, with its provisions for refugees and asylum seekers, has served us reasonably well. But, the situation at the border with illegal migrants is out of control.

We’ve seen hordes of asylum seekers from the U.S. and it’s not stopping. These people aren’t refugees by any stretch. They’re illegal migrants and economic opportunists who want to settle for Canada as second best after being thwarted by the Americans.

Real refugees don’t get to pick their destinations. And, the Liberals should stop calling them “irregular entrants”.

Nigerians are now getting U.S. visas and making a beeline from airports to our border with the aim of claiming asylum.

Justin Trudeau’s welcoming tweets last year flashed migrants the green light. They all have cell phones so news of an easy mark travels fast. Advocates who want to re-cast this as a refugee exercise are a contributing factor. Trudeau is unwittingly working for Trump by taking in America’s illegal aliens, and we’re the ones paying for it.

We should brace for some of the 45,000 Haitians, 57,000 Hondurans and 200,000 Salvadorans who are losing their temporary protected status in the U.S. and will be looking elsewhere.

Toronto, Montreal and Winnipeg declared themselves sanctuary cities for migrants, and now they’re bleating about being overwhelmed.

This is unfair to people who want to immigrate to Canada through legal processes. They’re being elbowed aside by the illegal migrants. Migrants shouldn’t be allowed to force the system to react to them.

We’ve admitted 30,000 illegals to this point, but the number of deportations is miniscule. We’re stuck with them for extended periods, pending the outcome of their asylum claims. Speeding up denials and deportations is a deterrent to other people who want to crash our border.

We should retain the Safe Third Country Agreement, even with the loophole that lets people make asylum claims when they illegally cross our border. But, we should modify our definition of border posts to include temporary CBSA posts, not just brick and mortar border stations.

CBSA and the RCMP are already established at illegal crossing hot spots. This would let CBSA intercept illegal migrants and hold them in custody pending speedy deportation. The asylum charade would stop abruptly.

The Liberals have now established a Minister of Border Security which at least recognizes that they have a problem with illegal migrants, but not a solution. John Thompson

Kaleden