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| Great White North |
| Canada turns away Pakistanis fleeing United States |
| 2003-02-01 |
| Canada has begun sending back Pakistanis from the United States who arrive at border crossings seeking refuge. The crackdown began Thursday, one day after CNN and the Washington Post reported hundreds of Pakistanis, many carrying all their belongings and leading small children, were walking in subfreezing temperatures across the U.S. border to ask for amnesty in Canada. Men from Pakistan face a February 21 deadline to register with the U.S. Immigration and Naturalization Service under a new program that tracks their whereabouts. "Registration line's on the left. Please leave your weapons at the door..." Many of the immigrants have visas or full residency in the United States, but they have been panicked by stories that Pakistanis who show up to comply with the new INS requirements have been detained for months on minor technical violations, then deported without their children. At some border crossings, Canada had been accepting the Pakistani immigrants' asylum applications and letting them enter the country within hours. As of Thursday, though, all border crossings began sending them back to U.S. immigration authorities, said Rene Mercier of Citizenship and Immigration Canada. They are given appointments to return to Canada, where they can be considered for asylum, but U.S. immigration authorities can choose to detain or deport them if they find cause to do so. It's that liking for phoney documents. Gets 'em every time... Mercier said Canada's policy calls for immigrants to be sent back with appointments to return when border crossings become overwhelmed by one group. The border crossing between Plattsburgh, New York, and Montreal, which had seen about 100 Pakistanis last year, has seen about 200 since January 1. Ronald Blanchet, who runs that border crossing and implemented the crackdown Thursday, said he sent back 39 Pakistanis that day and another 33 Friday afternoon. Kinda makes you wonder how many have important things to hide, doesn't it? I sure hope the Kennedy crowd doesn't manage to kill his measure... Salvation Army Capt. Dennis Cregan said his Plattsburgh office was packed with Pakistani families sleeping on the floor. He said he was asking agencies in nearby Vermont for help. He said many of the Pakistanis said family members were detained and deported by U.S. immigration officials after being sent back from Canada. Those who did not have a family member detained planned to return to Canada for their appointments to apply for asylum. Sounds like an exodus of guilty consciences... |
| Posted by:Fred Pruitt |