By Nick Eagland, Vancouver Sun |
Settlement groups are bracing for a rush of asylum claimants crossing by foot into B.C. as protections lapse for citizens of countries in crisis who sought refuge in the U.S.
By Nick Eagland, Vancouver Sun |
Settlement groups are bracing for a rush of asylum claimants crossing by foot into B.C. as protections lapse for citizens of countries in crisis who sought refuge in the U.S.
People with temporary protected status in the U.S. are those considered unable to safely return home to countries torn by war or hit by a major natural disaster. They can’t be deported or detained by the Department of Homeland Security.
The U.S. federal government is now considering whether to extend the protected status for residents of countries whose designations are set to expire next year. Based on President Donald Trump’s administration’s decision in May to grant Haiti a shorter-than-average, six-month extension, immigration experts are guessing these designations will lapse.
Earlier this month, Global News reported that it had obtained an intelligence analysis sheet showing that the Canada Border Services Agency considers extensions unlikely for Haiti, El Salvador, Nicaragua, Honduras and Syria, whose designations expire between January and March.
The CBSA identified the Pacific region as one of three places, along with Quebec and southern Ontario, where ports of entry are expected to have “significant increases in claims in the month leading up to and directly after each expiration date,” Global said.
Groups that work with refugees in B.C. say there are already signs the province is attracting some of the 195,000 Salvadorans and 60,000 Hondurans in the U.S. who may soon lose their status.
El Salvador was given protected status designation in 2001, following a series of earthquakes, and Honduras in 1999, following Hurricane Mitch.
“We’ve had a number of clients from Honduras and El Salvador,” said Julia St. Pierre, special projects coordinator for the Inland Refugee Society. “I don’t know about the other countries, but not as many.”
St. Pierre said the society has seen a “huge upsurge” over the past six months of Latin Americans crossing into B.C., mostly by foot.
They’ve lived in the U.S. for five or more years but didn’t have citizenship, and told the society that they fear deportation under the current administration.
Through word of mouth and media reports, people hear that moving to Canada is simple, St. Pierre said. They do their research but when they arrive, they learn these claims are false. They struggle to get government ID, work permits or open a bank account.
“People think it is going to be a lot easier, that they’ll get housing, they’ll get support, that they will be welcomed when they come,” she said. “They have no idea that there’s really no support for them.”