More border jumpers
EMERSON, Man. — Civic leaders in a Manitoba border town that has seen an increase in refugee claimants crossing over from the United States say the community will continue to be a welcoming place.
Politicians in Emerson met with RCMP and the Canada Border Services Agency on Thursday to address concerns after 22 refugees walked into Canada on the weekend.
“Everything’s gotten straightened out and it is good,” Reeve Greg Janzen said after the meeting.
“We are all willing to work together. There has been no negativity. If there is more influx of bigger groups coming through, they assured us that they will have the manpower to handle an influx of refugees.”
Janzen said the chief concern among residents was safety.
“Was there a safety risk for us?” he explained. “Now we understand how the process is being done, so that makes it more reassuring.”
Janzen said border services and the RCMP explained that claimants are searched and screened right away once they are picked up and before they are released to wait out the refugee process.
The town hall was opened to shelter refugees who walked in last weekend. Janzen said the border services agency will rent the hall again if it is needed.
RCMP are responsible for patrolling the border outside of official ports. The force said Thursday it is increasing resources in the Emerson area to intercept border jumpers and take them to officials should they make a refugee claim.
Spokeswoman Tara Seel said officers have no power to turn a border jumper back, only to make an arrest after they cross.
Officials in Emerson say they’ve seen more border jumpers in recent months and particularly following planned new restrictions in the United States on refugees.
It can be a dangerous trip in the winter. Two men from Ghana were severely frostbitten in December when they crossed the border at Emerson.
The Canada-U.S. Safe Third Country Agreement requires people to apply for asylum in the first country where they arrive. If they have already applied as a refugee in the U.S. before showing up at a border port in Canada, and have no blood relatives here, they are turned away.
The Canada Border Services Agency says 11,000 refugee claimants were processed at designated ports last year. Figures released this week show more than 2,000 claimants entered “irregularly,” with growing numbers in British Columbia, Manitoba, Quebec and Yukon. In Manitoba, the RCMP said they intercepted 444 border jumpers last year.
Refugee claimants are released after meeting with a border officer for a couple of hours. They have 15 days to file a claim and a hearing date is set in three to four months.
During that time, they may connect with friends or family or an immigration agency to find a place to live. But many don’t have money. Some end up in homeless shelters and rely on legal aid.
They can apply for work permits but that takes three to four months and, by then, their cases have usually been decided.