Close X
Tuesday, October 8, 2024
ADVT 
National

A Trump Bump? American Refugee Claims In Canada Increased Last Month

Darpan News Desk The Canadian Press, 15 Dec, 2016 01:02 PM
    WASHINGTON — The number of Americans seeking refugee status in Canada has experienced a significant bump this year, increasing more than five times in November 2016 from the same period a year earlier.
     
    The overall numbers, however, remain tiny.
     
    Few people seek to flee the world's largest economy, and one of its oldest democracies, on humanitarian grounds: A mere 170 Americans claimed asylum at Canada's land borders through the first 11 months of this year.
     
    Yet that was more than twice the total from 2015 — and it was led by a noticeable five-fold increase in the month of November, with 28 people claiming refugee status last month compared with merely five in November 2015.
     
    Was any of this driven by politics — and Donald Trump's Nov. 8 election?
     
    The Canadian government won't touch that question.
     
     
    "Refugee claims are protected under the Privacy Act," said Nicholas Dorion, a spokesman for the Canada Border Services Agency, which supplied the figures to The Canadian Press. "Therefore the CBSA will not discuss specifics of asylum cases."
     
    On the whole, Americans represented less than three per cent of the 5,939 people who claimed refugee status upon arriving at Canada's land borders, in the first 11 months of 2016. Yet the claims from 170 U.S. citizens was more than twice the 73 who did over the same period in 2015.
     
    Mario Bellissimo, a Toronto immigration lawyer, said he's not surprised.
     
    Such bumps are often driven by political changes, said Bellissmo: "Saw some of this when Bush assumed office (in 2000)."
     
    In an interview, University of Ottawa professor and lawyer Jamie Liew said she concurs.
     
    "I don't think it's surprising at all," she said.
     
    "The rhetoric coming from the (U.S. political) discussion... was filled with a lot of concerning language, including hate; exclusion; deportation... I could see why people would be concerned for their own safety, their own lives, and evaluate whether they could live (there)."
     
     
    Liew has been involved in a handful of American refugee claims over the years. Such cases can involve victims of domestic violence, or soldiers escaping wars like in Iraq and Afghanistan. She recalled one case related to death threats against a same-sex couple.
     
    "It really doesn't matter what country a refugee comes from. That is not the central issue in determining if someone is a refugee," Liew said. 
     
    "A country could be democratic. A country could be espousing ... human rights. What really matters is how people are being treated on the ground, and protected by the state that they're in."
     
    That said, Americans don't have much success when claiming refugee status in Canada: "Obviously if you're coming from a war-torn state that is obviously an easier case to be made. But that does not make it impossible for someone from the United States to make a claim for refugee protection."
     
    Only a minuscule share of American refugee claimants get approved in Canada.
     
     
    The CBC found just two successful recent claims and hundreds of rejections in a 2010 investigation of worldwide cases. For 2015, federal data gathered by the Canadian Council for Refugees lists no successful U.S. refugee claims last year before the Immigration and Refugee Board.

    MORE National ARTICLES

    Alberta Farmer Performs C-Section On Dying Doe In Ditch Off B.C. Highway

    Alberta Farmer Performs C-Section On Dying Doe In Ditch Off B.C. Highway
    Barrhead farmer Sean Steele was on his way to visit family in Prince Rupert last week, when he came across the dying doe near Smithers.

    Alberta Farmer Performs C-Section On Dying Doe In Ditch Off B.C. Highway

    Saskatchewan Boy Making Money With Lemonade Stand To Help His Struggling Family

    Saskatchewan Boy Making Money With Lemonade Stand To Help His Struggling Family
    Ten-year-old Jayden West says he started selling lemonade and juice in front of his home in Martensville, just outside Saskatoon, to help his family pay bills.

    Saskatchewan Boy Making Money With Lemonade Stand To Help His Struggling Family

    London, Ont., Mayor, Deputy Mayor Admit 'Inappropriate' Relationship

    London, Ont., Mayor, Deputy Mayor Admit 'Inappropriate' Relationship
    Matt Brown said Tuesday in a statement that during a period of intense workload, he developed "a close working relationship and ultimately an inappropriate personal relationship with Deputy Mayor Maureen Cassidy."

    London, Ont., Mayor, Deputy Mayor Admit 'Inappropriate' Relationship

    Put Down The Phone Or Pay Up: New Distracted Driving Rules In Effect

    Put Down The Phone Or Pay Up: New Distracted Driving Rules In Effect
    First-time offenders face a minimum $543 in financial penalties.

    Put Down The Phone Or Pay Up: New Distracted Driving Rules In Effect

    Traffic Stop Yields Cocaine Seizure In Kelowna

    Traffic Stop Yields Cocaine Seizure In Kelowna
    On June 14, 2016 at 1:41 am, a Kelowna Mountie performed a traffic stop with a Cadillac Escalade in the area of Abbott Street and Bernard Avenue downtown. 

    Traffic Stop Yields Cocaine Seizure In Kelowna

    Richmond RCMP Seek Your Help

    Richmond RCMP Seek Your Help
    Richmond RCMP is asking for the public’s assistance in locating Marc Anthony TACCHI, 41 years old. 

    Richmond RCMP Seek Your Help