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As Windsor
experiences
an influx of
Mexicans
entering the
country from
the Detroit
border,
immigration
lawyers in
Toronto say
that they
have been
noticing
increased
numbers of
Mexican
refugee
claimants
and
inquiries
for the past
year.
“I've
noticed a
lot more
Mexican
traffic
coming
through my
office,”
said Michael
Niren, who
has been
working as
an
immigration
lawyer in
Toronto for
10 years.
“I heard
that there
was a rumour,
that some
unscrupulous
immigration
consultants
were telling
Mexicans
that Canada
has an
open-door
policy to
immigrants
and
refugees,”
Mr. Niren
said.
“Desperate
people want
to hear the
most
positive
message
possible to
alleviate
their
circumstances.”
Mexico has
been one of
the top 10
sources for
Canadian
refugee
claimants
for the past
12 years,
and Mexicans
have
accounted
for the most
referrals to
the
Immigration
and Refugee
Board of
Canada for
the past
three years,
according to
IRB
statistics.
Immigration
lawyer Lani
Gozlan, who
discusses
immigration and refugee
laws with
callers on
her weekly
show on the
Toronto-based
Voces
Latinas
radio
station,
says the
increased
number of
Mexican
refugee
claimants in
the past six
to eight
months “is
directly
connected to
the level of
corruption
in the
country and
the lack of
safe
protection.
“They don't
seem to be
economic
refugees,”
Ms. Gozlan
said, adding
that many of
her clients
are lawyers
and business
people. “I
personally
have seen
more
politically
based
persecution
that has
resulted in
more people
fleeing the
country.”
Ms. Gozlan
described
those
experiencing
political
persecution
as
individuals
who are
involved in
politics and
whose duty
is to expose
corruption
in
government.
She also
noted that
her clients
report
increased
domestic
violence,
which she
attributed
to a lack of
protection
for women.
Ms. Gozlan
also said
that even if
claimants
can document
their
allegations
of
corruption,
many claims
aren't
heard.
“While they
have many
mechanisms
set up, and
federal
agencies and
secretariats
designed to
combat
corruption,
in reality,
they just
aren't being
implemented,”
she said.
Because
applying for
permanent
residency in
another
country can
take
considerable
time, Ms.
Gozlan said,
“those
fleeing
persecution
simply …
flee to the
first
country that
is safe, and
then make
their
refugee
claims.”
Ms. Gozlan
acknowledged
that some
will abuse
the system,
but said
this is not
the case
with her
clients.
“These
people who
come as
refugees
really don't
have other
options.”
Last year,
4,953
refugee
claims from
Mexicans
were
referred to
the IRB. In
total 3,297
were
finalized,
and 933 (28
per cent)
were
accepted. In
the first
half of this
year, 3,090
claims were
referred,
and so far
1,126 have
been
finalized.
Of this
number, 13
per cent
have been
accepted,
for a total
of 143
people.
“When is
this going
to end?”
Toronto
immigration
lawyer
Sergio Karas
asked. “The
numbers are
multiplying.
They have
not
decreased;
they're
increasing.”
Mr. Karas,
who has been
practising
for more
than 17
years,
thinks it
might be
time to
require
Mexicans
entering
Canada to
have visas.
“The problem
with Mexican
refugee
claimants is
that they
can enter
Canada
without a
visa,” Mr.
Karas said.
The federal
government
says the
situation is
not likely
to change.
“At this
time, the
government
doesn't have
any
intention of
requiring a
visa for
entrance,”
Citizenship
and
Immigration
Canada
spokeswoman
Karen Shadd-Evelyn
said.
Mr. Niren
wants the
government
to do more.
“What they
should be
doing is
broadcasting
the reality
of
immigration
to Mexicans
that we
don't have
an open-door
policy and
there is
specific
criteria
that needs
to be met,”
Mr. Niren
said, adding
that
requiring
visas would
contradict
the free
movement of
people
outlined in
NAFTA and
stifle trade
between
Mexico and
Canada. |
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