Ottawa, March 05 (QNA) – Canadian Public Safety Minister Ralph Goodale said that Canada will not tighten its border to deter migrants crossing illegally from the United States in the wake of the US immigration crackdown.
The Minister said that the issue had not risen to a scale that required hindering the flow of goods and people moving across the world’s longest undefended border. “We are concerned and we will deal properly with the extra hundreds (crossing illegally),” Goodale told reporters at a televised news conference in Emerson, Manitoba. “But the full border deals with 400,000 people moving in both directions every day. It also handles C$2.5 billion in trade every day”. “It is critically important for us to make sure that it is strong and secure. At the same time, it needs to be efficient and expeditious,” the Minister added.
Hundreds of people, mainly from Africa and the Middle East, have defied winter conditions and walked across the border, seeking asylum. They are fleeing President Donald Trump’s immigration crackdown, migrants and refugee agencies say.
The influx poses a political risk for Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, who faces pressure from the left, which wants more let in, and from the right, which fears an increased security risk.
Canadian and US officials are working on a plan to tackle asylum seekers crossing into Canada illegally, with American officials keen to discover how they entered the United States in the first place. US Homeland Security Secretary John Kelly will visit Canada this month for talks on the border. (QNA)
