Asylum Seekers From Across The Globe Are Streaming Into Canada

Members of the Canadian armed forces set up a tent village to house migrants while they wait to file asylum applications at the official port of entry in St. Bernard de Lacolle. (Carolyn Cole / Los Angeles Times)

L.A. Times: Fearful of Trump's America, asylum seekers from across the globe stream into Canada

Every hour or so, a taxi pulls up at the end of a remote country road in upstate New York and deposits another load of anxious and weary passengers.

From here, it is steps across a gully to the Canadian province of Quebec, where police stand ready to arrest anyone who enters illegally.

Undeterred, the travelers drag their suitcases across a makeshift dirt bridge, past a sign that declares in French and in English, “No pedestrians,” and surrender to the waiting officers.

They are part of a surge of asylum seekers from Haiti, Sudan, Turkey, Eritrea and beyond who have been streaming into Canada in recent months, hoping for refuge they believe will be denied them in the United States.

The Royal Canadian Mounted Police intercepted nearly 3,000 of the asylum seekers at this one illicit crossing in July, nearly four times the number apprehended in June. In the first two weeks of August, 3,700 more were taken into custody.

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WNU Editor: I live in a suburb in Montreal .... and I have seen how much this place has changed in the 20 years that I have been here. It is a suburb with nice homes by the river, duplexes inside, and a few places where apartment buildings are located. Predominantly middle class .... and 20 years ago predominantly white French Canadian. Today .... the apartment buildings house refugee claimants from everywhere, crime is a serious problem, social animosities are growing. and because the school system is now fill with refugees where their children need help in their schooling, French Canadians with children are now leaving the place in droves knowing too well that in such an environment the teachers will be focused on helping these children (who do need help) over teaching their own kids. As one can imagine .... French Quebecers are not happy with what is developing. For Prime Minister Trudeau's government .... this is a problem. He won the election because of French Quebec, but his policies (and perception) of open borders is resulting in a backlash here because in the past most immigrants chose to live elsewhere in Canada .... and not in Quebec. No more now. I tell my neighbors and friends who live here that they are in a bubble, and are not aware of what life is like "out there". Canada with its generous welfare benefits and vibrant economy is a draw for those who want a better life, and what we are seeing now is just a trickle to the flood that is about to come.

Update: I have been asked if Canada is going to change its immigration in the coming months. The answer is no. Canada's Minister of Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship is himself a refugee from Somalia (Ahmed Hussen) .... and he was appointed to his position to expand it .... even though my Liberal friends will deny it.