Talk to a Legitimate Mexican Refugee and You'll See That Canada Is a Friend Martha Batiz - The Globe and Mail
go to original April 3, 2017

They come in the dead of night, in the bitter cold - refugees seeking haven in Canada. Hundreds have crossed the border from the United States in the last couple of months alone. Every year, Canada receives several thousand people claiming asylum. But once they are here, what really happens to asylum seekers? (The Fifth Estate)

Mexican political analyst Denise Dresser recently wrote that Canada’s government “seems ready to throw embattled Mexicans under the bus just to appease Mr. Trump,” and that when we “open the door to a Syrian,” we have “just slammed it in the face of a Mexican.” She expects Prime Minister Justin Trudeau to be the knight in shining armour defending us, poor Mexicans, from the angry monster in the White House.

But the truth is that the situation in Syria is different from that in Mexico. The Syrian refugees accepted into Canada have endured a long screening process. They haven’t just travelled here saying that they’re on vacation and then file bogus refugee claims. That’s certainly what many Mexicans did in the past and are doing again.

Syrian refugees are escaping a full-fledged war. Mexico’s war against drugs is brutal, but the last time I checked, there’s no Aleppo in Mexico yet. So we cannot compare the two. It’s true that Mexico has dangerous places, but people are still free to move from one city to another in search of safety. There are still many places where a decent, hard-working person can start over. Thus, for most it’s not imperative to flee the country.



Those Mexicans who have crossed the border into the United States have done so in search of jobs and a better life. Now that the situation there has become increasingly hostile, many are setting their sights on Canada. Applying for refugee status means that you cannot stay in your country because your life is under direct threat. Those people who have come here from Syria fit that description. Most Mexicans do not.

Canadian taxpayers foot the bill to help refugees. I couldn’t be happier or more proud of this. Unfortunately, Mexicans have cried wolf too many times in Canada. Canadians are generous and trusting but, in my experience after 14 years, they do not tolerate deceit. Mexicans filing bogus refugee claims by the thousands have managed to harm their reputation, alarming screening officials.

Read the rest at The Globe and Mail

Related: Tens of Thousands of Mexicans Are Heading North from the United States Into Canada. How Long Will They Stay There? Nobody Knows. (The Daily Beast)

Related: 'I Am a Man with No Land': African Migrants Wait in Limbo, Dreaming of Sanctuary in Canada (CBC News)

Related: Advocates Doubt Trump Administration Will Act to Stem flow of Migrants Across Canada-U.S. Border (The Star)

Related: More Americans Than Mexicans Claimed Refugee Status in Canada (National Observer)

We invite you to add your charity or supporting organizations' news stories and coming events to PVAngels so we can share them with the world. Do it now!