Let's get to our story of the day, and that, of course, is Trump, migrants, and Canada.Throughout the US election campaign, Donald Trump vowed he would tackle illegal immigration with mass deportations and other severe crackdowns.
Now, present estimates put the illegal immigrant population at 11 million people in the United States.That's about double the population of British Columbia.Take a listen to Donald Trump from this NBC story during the presidential campaign.
We're going to have to seal up those borders.He made immigration the centerpiece of his campaign.We're like a garbage can for the world.
And when he's back in the White House, President-elect Trump has promised to immediately crack down with mass deportations of people in the country illegally.
On day one, I will launch the largest deportation program in American history to get the criminals out.To do that, Trump has said he'll mobilize the military and local police.But he's offered few specific details on how it will actually work.
With 11 million undocumented people living in the U.S., the process would be expensive and complicated. One report puts the price tag at an estimated $88 billion a year to hire new ICE agents, build detention camps, and carry out legal processing.
That is NBC reporter Tony Yamas reporting.So what can Canada expect when Trump starts deporting people?In July of this year, almost 20,000 people filed refugee claims, according to Immigration Refugee Board data, the highest monthly total on record.
And some have said it's driven by global displacement as well.The number has since dipped to about 16,400 in September, but remains historically high.
Now, the Immigration and Refugee Board does say it has a record backlog, get this, of 250,000 cases in Canada.
Now, this week the RCMP says it has a plan to deal with the predicted influx of migrants in Canada because they've dealt with a similar situation during Donald Trump's first presidency.
Joining me now to talk a little bit about this issue is Richard Kurland, who is an immigration lawyer and a policy analyst.Richard, as always, thank you for your time today. A pleasure.Lots to talk about here.
First of all, just top top line for a moment.What are you expecting to see in the months ahead when it comes to Canada and migration?
Well, people are going to look for their options.The big picture is clear.If you do nothing and you're in the United States, you're in trouble.So if you do something head north,
you have an out you have an option and individuals are going to make that calculations and they're going to choose uh... with their feet they're going to head north we've seen that in the first trump administration he declared deportations uh... within the haitian community in florida lo and behold they simply trek north and voila uh... there were uh... large numbers
of refugee claims, primarily in Quebec.So that's one community in one state.We're talking 11 million people.
In the case of Canada, as I said, we have a backlog of 250,000 cases.How long does it take to get through a case?
Bingo.Right now, the prospective processing times exceed four years which means that if you can't find your way into canada to make a refugee claim and do nothing he q you can only almost half a decade before an oral hearing
And during that period, you're entitled to a work permit, access to medical care, free education for the kids.Someone's going to be paying for this.
So if you get across the border, do you just declare sort of refugee status right away when you cross the border?
Well, this is it.Today, we had a group of 15 national immigration lawyers get together on a Zoom call.
there's a joint loophole uh... we're gonna make uh... auto well aware of the oral aware of it but we want the public to know too fourteen-day exemption if you can illegally cross into canada from the united states and state undiscovered for more than fourteen days you're not subject to the safe third country rule right now
you've tried that at a border and you're coming in from the states they ask will hold on why don't you claiming refugee status in the u.s.
survey they have a system there no we're not going to open your claim but they put in this loophole if you can somehow circumvent the main port of entry which how hard is that keep it apart thousands of kilometers unguarded
unsupervised uh... by humans uh... border and then lie low for two weeks you're good to go for the next half well under these unusual circumstances with president trump taking and the steering wheel for immigration uh... canada is well-advised at least by some of us
we have to get rid of this fourteen-day loophole otherwise we're inviting people to not just uh... flout our border controls but to actively circumvent hide and create an illicit underground in canada uh... of people who are going to be here
And so based on what you're saying here, if you're able to do all of that, come in undetected for 14 days, claim refugee status, you're essentially going to be waiting out the Trump administration just based on the backlog that we have now.
That's a good point.Didn't think of that, frankly.Trump will be here and gone by the time they get their oral hearing in Canada.And the problem, of course, is how's Canada going to deal with this?And the musings from some
uh... cabinet ministers is no problem we'll just grant amnesty to everyone problem solved why have a border so i don't get it uh... but uh... that week we have to be prepared for this and on the agenda for the trump transition team got to be
uh... are canadian senior politicians trying to work something out here if it's if it were me minister of the day i'd be cautioning washington saying you guys you guys are under a legal obligation to guard your northern border to prevent illegals from going anywhere you have to intercept them and if you fail in your obligation they enter canada it's on your dot
our canadian waltz shouldn't be paying for it it should be
I mean, just based on the numbers you've talked about, I mean, and the RCMP said, look, we've had to deal with this before.I would argue you haven't.Yes, you saw more people trying to get into Canada.
But I would also say the Trump administration, the first Trump administration was unorganized.And this time, with his experience and his people's experience, they're going to be much more focused on what needs to be done.
And we could actually see significantly more people coming across.And as you said, We don't have, the RCMP and the border services don't have that many people to actually deal with a border this size.
Well, our CBSA, RCMP folks and others are first-rate, well-trained.They just lack the resources allocated by Ottawa.And it's more than a pure question of allocation of resources.It's political will.What's different now
is there is in the united states and national consensus represented by the ballot box boot eleven million people and we've never seen that before uh... the closest parallel historically if you like that hat
is uh... the american revolution british canada received the loyalist running north this is going to be a second tsunami if it's uncontrolled by auto politicians
Wow, just based on resourcing and everything else, I really worry about this.We may have good intentions, but we've already seen we have an influx of immigrants coming, legal immigrants, in some cases students.
We're already struggling with that when it comes to housing.
There's a bright light because we're not only going to receive the illegals, we're going to receive cash because there are wealthy Americans who fear
trump retribution and they are going to move their capital to the canadian sanctuary to avoid sequestration of assets by president trump's crew or otherwise uh... protect their wallets so i can see our canadian banking system get a sudden increase in capital flows properties being bought by americans notwithstanding the foreign taxes that are applicable
in order to safeguard their capital right here in canada what does that mean might be higher rents higher property prices because of the demand and if all these people pop in it's a repeat of what we saw in the last few years with two million extra temporary status people here legally students and workers all crushed to find where they're going to live uh... dense
urban canada municipalities you people with the auto will forget that if you bring in people they got to live somewhere and when i would decide to increase by two million people they forgot to tell the housing supply industry we're going to do this imagine the effect that sudden influx on influx on top of the existing housing pressures this is a recipe for disaster
and i'm just it's not seeing the appropriate reaction in auto up ministers on camera today saying all don't worry about worst possibility it's well we're not sure it's going to happen but leave it in our hands.Well, no, it's coming in.
And, you know, Donald Trump is a disruptive president and he isn't even sworn in already.We can see what's coming.That's for sure.Yeah.Richard, thank you so much.Have yourself a wonderful weekend.
Thank you very much.Take care.Never forget. Join Global News on Remembrance Day morning, live from the National War Memorial in Ottawa, as the country honors the service and sacrifice of our military veterans.
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