tbk107
09-22-2007, 09:58 AM
This could get out of hand really fast. It's not like these people are going to turn down a free lunch, shelter and health care just because they might be told to leave in a few years. Remember that this is only a story for one city and the tab for ONE WEEK is already $229,000 and that doesn't included the health care portion. Apparently some have already given birth which makes the babies Canadian citizens. I'm afraid in Canada we don't normally deport people with kids born here, irregardless of their refugee application outcome.
It is unbelievable to me that these people are even allowed to apply as refugees and in the process make a complete farce out of the process. Real refugees are scattered around the world in tent cities; not fleeing illegal status in the U.S.A.
Refugee tab $229,000
Cost of housing, care for Mexicans expected to climb
Dave Battagello, Windsor Star
Published: Friday, September 21, 2007
Nearly $250,000 has been spent so far to house and care for more than 200 Mexican refugee claimants who have streamed into Windsor in recent weeks.
"The system wasn't set up for this," Ronna Warsh, general manager of social services, said Thursday as the city released figures on what it's costing taxpayers to provide lodging and social services. "We could handle one or two or a few, certainly not on a regular basis like the numbers we are seeing."
As costs of housing the refugees threaten to destroy the city's social services budget, local politicians' pleas for help are so far being ignored by the federal government.
Mayor Eddie Francis has not yet received a response to the letter he sent Wednesday to Prime Minister Stephen Harper begging for help.He fears the unknown: Some say thousands of refugee claimants will show up on Windsor's doorstep fleeing a U.S. crackdown on illegal aliens.
"We just don't know what the numbers are going to be. It's the uncertainty that causes us concern," Francis said. "The 200 we already have is a lot. It's 200 we didn't have last week and didn't expect.
"The word has spread like wildfire. It's being advertised down south where there is a large illegal immigrant population how you should go to Canada where you get free health care and social assistance.
"We don't have the ability financially to deal with this."
Lodging has totalled $197,000, with the city's share (20 per cent) equalling $39,400 as of Thursday. The remaining 80 per cent is paid by the province.
There have been 55 applicants for social assistance, with 32 meeting the criteria. The city has paid them $32,000 so far.
Another problem is Windsor's emergency shelters are full and should any emergency occur there would be nowhere to put people, Warsh said.
"It's going to depend on the winter. If we have an emergency in winter or our economy takes a big downturn and people lose their homes, we are really in trouble."
Windsor West MPP and provincial cabinet minister Sandra Pupatello has also asked the feds for help in Windsor. She made a similar request a few years ago when she was Ontario's social services minister.
"It's been a chronic issue. Federal legislation allows refugees this type of opportunity, yet they take no responsibility when they arrive.
"We've made repeated arguments to reimburse the province and cities for this. The feds should be picking up the tab."
Ontario's costs can add up to $10 million every year supporting refugees or sponsored immigrants who can also end up on welfare, she said.
VERY CONCERNED
"We are very concerned this has fallen on deaf ears," Pupatello said. "We want to help people who need help, but if federal rules are making it happen, they should reimburse the costs. "
There was little response Thursday from Ottawa.
Staff for local MP Jeff Watson (Conservative -- Essex) said he was busy Thursday in meetings and unable to respond, referring the issue to the Prime Minister's Office.
A spokesman for the prime minister said Thursday night that the prime minister's staff could not track down the mayor's letter requesting help and had no response.
"I recommend calling the immigration minister," the staff member said. "Regarding the letter, we will let you know."
He referred the issue to the office of Immigration Minister Diane Finley. Messages left with Mike Fraser, the minister's spokesman, were not returned.
A spokeswoman for Citizenship and Immigration Canada said they were aware of Windsor's situation, "but in terms of a statement, I don't have one for you at this time," said Karen Shadd-Evelyn.
The federal government does provide an interim health program for refugee claimants and their families which lasts until they become qualified to receive provincial health coverage.
"It's the only financial part we are responsible for," she said.
APPEALING FOR HELP
Among options being discussed by city officials is appealing to major urban centres like Toronto or Ottawa for help in taking on some of the Mexican claimants.
"Cities like Toronto, Ottawa or Vancouver possibly could handle this within their budget. Our budget is not capable," Francis said.
"But we are making a case a city should not pay for this. This is an immigration issue. This is a group of individuals crossing the border seeking refugee status. That's federal jurisdiction and they should pay for it.
"It shouldn't be the city of Windsor's taxpayers."
http://www.canada.com/windsorstar/story.html?id=14d91a1a-4289-448c-9b81-560ca40d8e2f&k=27191
Fear, hope prompted migration
Don Lajoie, Windsor Star
Published: Saturday, September 22, 2007
Fear, rumour and hope make up the volatile mix fuelling the northward migration of possibly thousands of illegal Mexican immigrants and refugee claimants to Canada from South Florida.
Carina Gonzalez, 26, who arrived with her family at the Windsor-Detroit border the morning of Sept. 4, in one of the first waves of hundreds of Mexicans seeking refuge in Canada after living illegally in the U.S. for years, said anxiety hung in the air in Naples, Fla., in the days leading to her decision to leave.
"In my situation it started two months ago," she said, standing outside Windsor's downtown YMCA where she had gone for information on how to file a refugee claim. "It was the first time I'd heard strong rumours there was going to be an immigration sweep to deport Mexicans. It was like a ghost town. People were afraid to go outside, the streets were empty. Everyone was afraid, staying out of sight."
She estimated about half the migrant Mexican population in her neighbourhood were illegals, dreading immigration authorities and the threat of immediate deportation. After living in constant anxiety since she first crossed the U.S. border in Arizona as a 16-year-old 10 years ago, she said the latest panic was all she could take.
Speaking in a Spanish accent blunted by years living in the southern U.S., she said there was a second rumour floating in Naples. An acquaintance passed along information that Canada was welcoming refugee claimants and people were headed north.
Despite the rumour's tenuous reliability, she said staying was increasingly risky. At the very least, she believed her husband and two daughters, four and two years old, would have to flee Florida and look for a new hiding place in the U.S.
She feared for the status of her American-born children. Would they be deported too or kept behind as U.S. citizens? She believed they would have no citizenship rights until they turned 18 or 21.
The hope the Canada rumour offered, that her young family would be able to finally live free in the open, proved too potent to dismiss. They used family savings to buy a used car, load it with whatever possessions they could carry, fill it with gas and headed north on I-75.
They drove straight through, 20 to 24 hours, stopping as infrequently as possible, taking care not to attract police attention. Her nerves, she said, were similar to those she felt when she paid $2,500 to smugglers in 1997 to be brought from Pueblo, Mexico to the U.S. frontier, only to run across the border.
"We went to Arizona, then Georgia for two years, then Florida. It was hard in Florida, very hard. We tried to find a place to live but you had to have work. If you had no job, no apartment. It took me about a month to find a job. But at that time we were never really secure. As illegal immigrant you're never really secure."
She said her husband worked itinerant jobs as a construction worker, paid under the table, for $8 an hour. She worked several jobs, finally landing a more secure position in "customer relations for the Sweet Bay Store."
But that was all behind them as they drove north and started to believe they just might make it.
They crossed the northern border at the Ambassador Bridge without incident and arrived at Canadian customs and immigration at about 11 a.m. They spent 11 hours waiting, answering questions, receiving information on where to go and who to see. Then they were released.
"When we made it to Canada I took a deep breath," she said. "I felt free... Canada feels totally different I don't feel like I'm being chased...Everywhere I go people want to help."
With the aid of the YMCA, Gonzalez found accommodation and is now seeking work. In the meantime there is a refugee claim to file, a process she knows could take months. Gonzalez is asked if she believes she really has a chance. As a so-called economic refugee, she does not fit the definition of a UN convention refugee, fleeing her country due to war, political, ethnic or religious persecution.
She replies her father and uncle were kidnapped and held for ransom by Mexican criminals, that a cousin was attacked and killed "in front of his kids" by a gang. She insists her family would not be safe if returned to Mexico.
When asked if she realizes she may have to go back to Mexico if her application is denied and if she understood that risk when she left Florida, she replies it was a chance worth taking.
"I will try to get a work permit. Get my kids in school. My husband will work. We want to be good for the community. I will take whatever i can get. Any job I can do I will do, but legally."
http://www.canada.com/topics/news/national/story.html?id=61a9991e-e518-45f8-ab3b-01ea9ced9e7c
It is unbelievable to me that these people are even allowed to apply as refugees and in the process make a complete farce out of the process. Real refugees are scattered around the world in tent cities; not fleeing illegal status in the U.S.A.
Refugee tab $229,000
Cost of housing, care for Mexicans expected to climb
Dave Battagello, Windsor Star
Published: Friday, September 21, 2007
Nearly $250,000 has been spent so far to house and care for more than 200 Mexican refugee claimants who have streamed into Windsor in recent weeks.
"The system wasn't set up for this," Ronna Warsh, general manager of social services, said Thursday as the city released figures on what it's costing taxpayers to provide lodging and social services. "We could handle one or two or a few, certainly not on a regular basis like the numbers we are seeing."
As costs of housing the refugees threaten to destroy the city's social services budget, local politicians' pleas for help are so far being ignored by the federal government.
Mayor Eddie Francis has not yet received a response to the letter he sent Wednesday to Prime Minister Stephen Harper begging for help.He fears the unknown: Some say thousands of refugee claimants will show up on Windsor's doorstep fleeing a U.S. crackdown on illegal aliens.
"We just don't know what the numbers are going to be. It's the uncertainty that causes us concern," Francis said. "The 200 we already have is a lot. It's 200 we didn't have last week and didn't expect.
"The word has spread like wildfire. It's being advertised down south where there is a large illegal immigrant population how you should go to Canada where you get free health care and social assistance.
"We don't have the ability financially to deal with this."
Lodging has totalled $197,000, with the city's share (20 per cent) equalling $39,400 as of Thursday. The remaining 80 per cent is paid by the province.
There have been 55 applicants for social assistance, with 32 meeting the criteria. The city has paid them $32,000 so far.
Another problem is Windsor's emergency shelters are full and should any emergency occur there would be nowhere to put people, Warsh said.
"It's going to depend on the winter. If we have an emergency in winter or our economy takes a big downturn and people lose their homes, we are really in trouble."
Windsor West MPP and provincial cabinet minister Sandra Pupatello has also asked the feds for help in Windsor. She made a similar request a few years ago when she was Ontario's social services minister.
"It's been a chronic issue. Federal legislation allows refugees this type of opportunity, yet they take no responsibility when they arrive.
"We've made repeated arguments to reimburse the province and cities for this. The feds should be picking up the tab."
Ontario's costs can add up to $10 million every year supporting refugees or sponsored immigrants who can also end up on welfare, she said.
VERY CONCERNED
"We are very concerned this has fallen on deaf ears," Pupatello said. "We want to help people who need help, but if federal rules are making it happen, they should reimburse the costs. "
There was little response Thursday from Ottawa.
Staff for local MP Jeff Watson (Conservative -- Essex) said he was busy Thursday in meetings and unable to respond, referring the issue to the Prime Minister's Office.
A spokesman for the prime minister said Thursday night that the prime minister's staff could not track down the mayor's letter requesting help and had no response.
"I recommend calling the immigration minister," the staff member said. "Regarding the letter, we will let you know."
He referred the issue to the office of Immigration Minister Diane Finley. Messages left with Mike Fraser, the minister's spokesman, were not returned.
A spokeswoman for Citizenship and Immigration Canada said they were aware of Windsor's situation, "but in terms of a statement, I don't have one for you at this time," said Karen Shadd-Evelyn.
The federal government does provide an interim health program for refugee claimants and their families which lasts until they become qualified to receive provincial health coverage.
"It's the only financial part we are responsible for," she said.
APPEALING FOR HELP
Among options being discussed by city officials is appealing to major urban centres like Toronto or Ottawa for help in taking on some of the Mexican claimants.
"Cities like Toronto, Ottawa or Vancouver possibly could handle this within their budget. Our budget is not capable," Francis said.
"But we are making a case a city should not pay for this. This is an immigration issue. This is a group of individuals crossing the border seeking refugee status. That's federal jurisdiction and they should pay for it.
"It shouldn't be the city of Windsor's taxpayers."
http://www.canada.com/windsorstar/story.html?id=14d91a1a-4289-448c-9b81-560ca40d8e2f&k=27191
Fear, hope prompted migration
Don Lajoie, Windsor Star
Published: Saturday, September 22, 2007
Fear, rumour and hope make up the volatile mix fuelling the northward migration of possibly thousands of illegal Mexican immigrants and refugee claimants to Canada from South Florida.
Carina Gonzalez, 26, who arrived with her family at the Windsor-Detroit border the morning of Sept. 4, in one of the first waves of hundreds of Mexicans seeking refuge in Canada after living illegally in the U.S. for years, said anxiety hung in the air in Naples, Fla., in the days leading to her decision to leave.
"In my situation it started two months ago," she said, standing outside Windsor's downtown YMCA where she had gone for information on how to file a refugee claim. "It was the first time I'd heard strong rumours there was going to be an immigration sweep to deport Mexicans. It was like a ghost town. People were afraid to go outside, the streets were empty. Everyone was afraid, staying out of sight."
She estimated about half the migrant Mexican population in her neighbourhood were illegals, dreading immigration authorities and the threat of immediate deportation. After living in constant anxiety since she first crossed the U.S. border in Arizona as a 16-year-old 10 years ago, she said the latest panic was all she could take.
Speaking in a Spanish accent blunted by years living in the southern U.S., she said there was a second rumour floating in Naples. An acquaintance passed along information that Canada was welcoming refugee claimants and people were headed north.
Despite the rumour's tenuous reliability, she said staying was increasingly risky. At the very least, she believed her husband and two daughters, four and two years old, would have to flee Florida and look for a new hiding place in the U.S.
She feared for the status of her American-born children. Would they be deported too or kept behind as U.S. citizens? She believed they would have no citizenship rights until they turned 18 or 21.
The hope the Canada rumour offered, that her young family would be able to finally live free in the open, proved too potent to dismiss. They used family savings to buy a used car, load it with whatever possessions they could carry, fill it with gas and headed north on I-75.
They drove straight through, 20 to 24 hours, stopping as infrequently as possible, taking care not to attract police attention. Her nerves, she said, were similar to those she felt when she paid $2,500 to smugglers in 1997 to be brought from Pueblo, Mexico to the U.S. frontier, only to run across the border.
"We went to Arizona, then Georgia for two years, then Florida. It was hard in Florida, very hard. We tried to find a place to live but you had to have work. If you had no job, no apartment. It took me about a month to find a job. But at that time we were never really secure. As illegal immigrant you're never really secure."
She said her husband worked itinerant jobs as a construction worker, paid under the table, for $8 an hour. She worked several jobs, finally landing a more secure position in "customer relations for the Sweet Bay Store."
But that was all behind them as they drove north and started to believe they just might make it.
They crossed the northern border at the Ambassador Bridge without incident and arrived at Canadian customs and immigration at about 11 a.m. They spent 11 hours waiting, answering questions, receiving information on where to go and who to see. Then they were released.
"When we made it to Canada I took a deep breath," she said. "I felt free... Canada feels totally different I don't feel like I'm being chased...Everywhere I go people want to help."
With the aid of the YMCA, Gonzalez found accommodation and is now seeking work. In the meantime there is a refugee claim to file, a process she knows could take months. Gonzalez is asked if she believes she really has a chance. As a so-called economic refugee, she does not fit the definition of a UN convention refugee, fleeing her country due to war, political, ethnic or religious persecution.
She replies her father and uncle were kidnapped and held for ransom by Mexican criminals, that a cousin was attacked and killed "in front of his kids" by a gang. She insists her family would not be safe if returned to Mexico.
When asked if she realizes she may have to go back to Mexico if her application is denied and if she understood that risk when she left Florida, she replies it was a chance worth taking.
"I will try to get a work permit. Get my kids in school. My husband will work. We want to be good for the community. I will take whatever i can get. Any job I can do I will do, but legally."
http://www.canada.com/topics/news/national/story.html?id=61a9991e-e518-45f8-ab3b-01ea9ced9e7c