Almost half of Canadians want illegal border crossers deported

Hundreds of asylum seekers of African and Middle Eastern origin have been entering Canada from the United States in recent months.

Royal Canadian Mounted Police officers arrest an asylum claimant and her two daughters after they crossed the border into Canada from the United States on March 17, 2017, near Hemmingford, Quebec. PauShow more

WINNIPEG, Canada // Americans are not the only ones who are worried about migrants. Next door, nearly half of Canadians want to deport people who are illegally crossing into Canada from the United States, according to a Reuters/Ipsos opinion poll released on Monday.

Four out of 10 people polled said the border-crossers could make Canada “less safe”.

The increasing flow of hundreds of asylum seekers of African and Middle Eastern origin from the United States in recent months has become a contentious issue in Canada.

For decades, both main parties have broadly supported high levels of legal immigration. But Mr Trudeau is now under pressure over the flow of illegal migrants. He is questioned about it every time he appears in parliament, from opponents on the left, who want more asylum seekers to be allowed in, and critics on the right, who say the migrants pose a potential security risk.

Canadians appeared to be just as concerned about illegal immigration as their American neighbours, according to the poll, which was conducted between March 8-9. Some 48 per cent of Canadians said they supported “increasing the deportation of people living in Canada illegally”.

When asked specifically about the recent border crossings from the United States, the same number – 48 per cent – said Canada should “send these migrants back to the US”. Another 36 per cent said Canada should “accept these migrants” and let them seek refugee status.

In a separate poll conducted in the US in the same week, 50 per cent of adults supported “increasing the deportation of illegal immigrants”.

Illegal migrants interviewed in Canada said they had been living legally in the United States and had applied for asylum there. But they had fled to Canada for fear of being caught up in Mr Trump’s immigration crackdown.

Support for deporting the border-crossers was strongest among men, older people, higher earners and non-graduates. “There are so many people in the world who want to come in and go through the right channels,” said Greg Janzen, elected leader of a Manitoba border municipality that has seen hundreds of border-crossers. “That’s what’s upsetting people. These guys are jumping the border.”

Forty-one per cent of Canadians feel the migrant influx would make the country less safe.

“Refugees are much more welcomed when we have gone and selected them ourselves as a country, as opposed to refugees who have chosen us,” said Janet Dench, executive director of Canadian Council for Refugees.

Of those polled, 46 per cent disagreed with how Mr Trudeau was handling the situation

Mr Trudeau faces no immediate threat, since the next elections are not until 2019.

But Brian Lee Crowley, head of the Macdonald-Laurier Institute public policy think tank, said that could change if the number of illegal migrants increases as the weather warms up.

“If people become convinced there’s a large uncontrolled flow of illegal immigrants, I think that will be a very serious political issue for the governmen,” he said.

Canadian authorities dismiss the idea they are being lax. All asylum seekers are detained.

“Trying to slip across the border in an irregular manner is not a ‘free’ ticket to Canada,” said Dan Brien, a spokesman for the public safety ministry. “If they are found to be inadmissible without a valid claim, deportation procedures are begun.”

According to a separate Ipsos poll in Canada, nearly a quarter of Canadians listed immigration control as among the top national issues in March, up from 17 per cent in December, ranking behind health care, taxes, unemployment and poverty as top concerns.

The Canadian government’s immigration target for 2017 is 300,000, or just under 1 per cent of the population, the same level as last year, when Canada took in 25,000 refugees from Syria.

* Reuters