Hundreds protest Canadian immigration laws

Do you support a moratorium on deportations and regularization of undocumented workers

  • Yes

    Votes: 0 0.0%
  • No

    Votes: 0 0.0%
  • Don't know

    Votes: 0 0.0%

  • Total voters
    0

sanch

Electoral Member
Apr 8, 2005
647
0
16
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/story/RTGAM.20060527.wprotest0527/BNStory/National/home

TORONTO — Juan Carlos Aranga says he was relaxing in his room listening to music when Canadian border service officers burst in and demanded to see his passport.

The 23-year-old refugee claimant from Mexico, who has lived in Canada for the past four years, says he thinks the officers were looking for the person who rented the Toronto-area room prior to him.

But, Mr. Aranga recalled as he marched in a protest Saturday in Toronto with hundreds of other immigrants and refugees, the officers from Immigration Canada's enforcement branch, allowed in by his roommate, stood impatiently in his room and were rude to him while he searched for his identification.

aPs="boxR";var boxRAC = fnTdo('a'+'ai',300,250,ai,'j',nc);
As a refugee claimant, his passport is now in the hands of Immigration Canada while he awaits a hearing to get refugee status.

“They said ‘Show me your passport right away,”' Mr. Aranga said. “While I was searching for my ID, they were looking around my room.”

Mr. Aranga joined about 1,000 other immigrants, refugees and their supporters who demonstrated in Toronto on Saturday to protest the deportations of illegal workers.

Protests were also held in Vancouver, Ottawa, Montreal and Fredericton to demand the federal government immediately grant permanent resident or landed immigrant status to all illegal workers, estimated at 500,000 across the country by the protests' organizers.

The demonstrators also demanded the Conservative government put the wheels of a full-regularization program in motion.

Marchers in Toronto said officers for Canada Border Services Agency are targeting immigrants such as Mr. Aranga, knocking on the doors of people they suspect are living here illegally, stopping them in shopping malls and subways and using children as bait to nab parents.

“The Harper-style immigration policies are ... intolerable,” said Sima Zerehi, a spokeswoman for No One is Illegal Toronto. “We want Prime Minister (Stephen) Harper to end these practices. We want an immediate moratorium on deportations and an immediate regularization program that meets everybody's needs.”

I think it is a bad political move to attack Harper for the origin of these policies as they obviously predate his tenure. There probably is room to negotiate a possible regularization with his government.
 

sanch

Electoral Member
Apr 8, 2005
647
0
16
Jersay said:
Yes. If they work, and pay taxes because they pay taxes I think they should stay.

If they do petty crimes or do nothing deport them.

If they are unemployed Canada could offer them training. Canada does require workers.

Hard core criminals and terrorists should be deported.
 

wallyj

just special
May 7, 2006
1,230
21
38
not in Kansas anymore
What sems to be forgotten is that the people being deported are the ones who entered illigally.The portugese that are currently being tossed ,tore up thier passports on the flight over. Due to our silly ass law that grants rights once someone touches canadian soil,they have been in canada for years.Sure they may be good people but they should have never been here in the first place.Hopefully with a new government, we can immediately send back those who make a mockery of our laws.
 

Just the Facts

House Member
Oct 15, 2004
4,162
42
48
SW Ontario
Jersay said:
Yes. If they work, and pay taxes because they pay taxes I think they should stay.

If they do petty crimes or do nothing deport them.

The simple fact that they are here illegally is a crime. If they have that little respect for our laws from the get go, they should most definitely be deported. These people are line-jumpers, plain and simple. How do you feel when you're in a lineup and someone just walks right in in front of you? That's what these people are doing. Naturalizing them is a slap in the face to the (I'm guessing) tens if not hundreds of thousands of people on the legitimate waiting list.

They should all be sent packing and replaced by someone who made a legal application and is waiting his turn.
 

Curiosity

Senate Member
Jul 30, 2005
7,326
138
63
California
Mexico's Immigration Laws are very tough on "aliens".

New regulations for immigrants?

The following has been proposed as a reasonable method of managing not only illegal immigration but legal immigrants. See how many you agree with, and how many you'd be comfortable with being imposed...

Foreigners may not in any way participate in the political affairs of the country. This ban applies, among other things, to participation in demonstrations and the expression of opinions in public about domestic politics.

Equal employment rights are denied to immigrants, even legal ones, even those with green cards.

Only citizens may serve in the military as officers, on airline crews , and chiefs of seaports and airports.

Members of both houses of Congress as well as the Supreme Court must be a citizen by birth.

Immigrants — even legal ones — may not become members of the clergy.

Foreigners, legal or illegal, may not own land.

Any citizen may arrest illegal immigrants and their accomplices, turning them over without delay to the nearest authorities.

Foreigners, legal or otherwise, may be expelled for any reason and without due process.

Sounds pretty radical doesn't it. Surely the people waving the Mexican flag at that last protest would have a cow if such were the law, wouldn't they.

Except it is the law...in Mexico

www.catholicexchange.com
Mexican Constitution's Solution to US Immigration Policy
4/10/06

The Congress has received lots of free advice lately from Mexican government officials and illegal aliens waving Mexico's flag in mass demonstrations coast-to-coast. Most of it takes the form of bitter complaints about our actual or prospective treatment of immigrants from that country who have gotten into this one illegally — or who aspire to do so.

If you think these critics are mad about US immigration policy now, imagine how upset they would be if we adopted an approach far more radical than the bill they rail against which was adopted last year by the House of Representatives — namely, the way Mexico treats aliens.

In fact, as a just-published paper by the Center for Security Policy's J. Michael Waller points out, under a constitution first adopted in 1917 and subsequently amended, Mexico deals harshly not only with illegal immigrants. It treats even legal immigrants, naturalized citizens and foreign investors in ways that would, by the standards of those who carp about US immigration policy, have to be called "racist" and "xenophobic."

Mexico's Glass House

For example, according to an official translation published by the Organization of American States, the Mexican constitution includes the following restrictions:



• Pursuant to Article 33, "Foreigners may not in any way participate in the political affairs of the country." This ban applies, among other things, to participation in demonstrations and the expression of opinions in public about domestic politics like those much in evidence in Los Angeles, New York and elsewhere in recent days.

• Equal employment rights are denied to immigrants, even legal ones. Article 32: "Mexicans shall have priority over foreigners under equality of circumstances for all classes of concessions and for all employment, positions, or commissions of the Government in which the status of citizenship is not indispensable."

• Jobs for which Mexican citizenship is considered "indispensable" include, pursuant to Article 32, bans on foreigners, immigrants, and even naturalized citizens of Mexico serving as military officers, Mexican-flagged ship and airline crew, and chiefs of seaports and airports.

• Article 55 denies immigrants the right to become federal lawmakers. A Mexican congressman or senator must be "a Mexican citizen by birth." Article 91 further stipulates that immigrants may never aspire to become cabinet officers as they are required to be Mexican by birth. Article 95 says the same about Supreme Court justices.

• In accordance with Article 130, immigrants — even legal ones — may not become members of the clergy, either.

• Foreigners, to say nothing of illegal immigrants, are denied fundamental property rights. For example, Article 27 states, "Only Mexicans by birth or naturalization and Mexican companies have the right to acquire ownership of lands, waters, and their appurtenances, or to obtain concessions for the exploitation of mines or of waters."

• Article 11 guarantees federal protection against "undesirable aliens resident in the country." What is more, private individuals are authorized to make citizen's arrests. Article 16 states, "In cases of flagrante delicto, any person may arrest the offender and his accomplices, turning them over without delay to the nearest authorities." In other words, Mexico grants its citizens the right to arrest illegal aliens and hand them over to police for prosecution. Imagine the Minutemen exercising such a right!

• The Mexican constitution states that foreigners — not just illegal immigrants — may be expelled for any reason and without due process. According to Article 33, "the Federal Executive shall have the exclusive power to compel any foreigner whose remaining he may deem inexpedient to abandon the national territory immediately and without the necessity of previous legal action."

The Bottom Line

As the immigration debate in the Senate moves into a decisive phase this week, legislators who believe America's southern border must be secured, the Nation's existing immigration laws enforced and illegal aliens not rewarded with permanent residency and a direct path to citizenship are being sharply criticized and, in some cases, defamed as bigots and xenophobes. Yet, even their maximalist positions generally pale in comparison with the treatment authorized by the Mexican constitution.

So the next time such legislators — and the majority of Americans for whom they speak — are assaulted by Mexican officials, undocumented aliens waving Mexican flags in mass demonstrations here in the United States, clergy and self-described humanitarians, businessmen and other advocates of illegal immigration ask them this: Would they favor having the US impose the same restrictions on immigrants — legal and illegal — that Mexico imposes on their counterparts there?

Nothing of the kind is in the cards, of course. Nor should it be. Legal immigration and the opportunity for foreign investors and other nationals legitimately to contribute to this country are not only one of its hallmarks; they are among the reasons for its greatness.

Still, we should not allow the hypocrisy of others' treatment of undocumented aliens in their countries to induce us to refrain from taking effective steps to prevent further illegal immigration: by building a fence along our southern border; by enforcing immigration laws in the workplace and elsewhere; and by discouraging more such violations — with potentially grave national security implications — by dealing effectively with those who have already broken those laws by coming here without permission.


(This update courtesy of the Center for Security Policy.)
 

Just the Facts

House Member
Oct 15, 2004
4,162
42
48
SW Ontario
Jersay said:
:roll:

Well your big business buddies think differently.

Not sure if that was directed at me or not, but if it was, rest asured I have no big business buddies. :)

Besides, even if I did, they can think what they want.

The precedent this would set is basically that if enough people ignore a law, the law breakers should not only be exempt from prosecution, but should be rewarded. That would make it very difficult for the gov't to justify not rescinding the marijuana laws, as well as offer a free dime bag (am I dating myself) to all pot smoking Canadians.
 

sanch

Electoral Member
Apr 8, 2005
647
0
16
WC it is very easy for a Canadian or American to live in Mexico. All these limitations on "rights" there have to be put into perspective as Canadians and American have enough rights to live very luxurious lives in Mexico. Most Mexicans should be so lucky.

Most Mexicans have not been so lucky under NAFTA which is why they leave the country. And Canadians and Americans have been extremely irresponsible in not acknowledging their roles in destroying Mexican lives. The expansion of agribusiness in Mexico not only destroyed small farms on which people depended for their subsistence but brought cheap fruits and veggies to the tables of North Americans. The Mexican government set up tax free zones along the border and the multinationals that ran them paid poverty wages—or just enough for people to get across the border—and made huge profits. This made these goods very affordable to North Americans.

In the US and in Canada undocumented workers are employed in essential jobs no one wants. Perhaps they have not stood in line but they have contributed. Think about this the next time you prepare a meal. The vegetables and fruits without Mexican labour could easily cost you 10 to 20 times what they cost now. Then you wouldn’t have the money to make payments on your plasma TV.
 

vishliberal

Nominee Member
Feb 20, 2006
60
1
8
TORONTO
Just the Facts said:
Jersay said:
Yes. If they work, and pay taxes because they pay taxes I think they should stay.

If they do petty crimes or do nothing deport them.

The simple fact that they are here illegally is a crime. If they have that little respect for our laws from the get go, they should most definitely be deported. These people are line-jumpers, plain and simple. How do you feel when you're in a lineup and someone just walks right in in front of you? That's what these people are doing. Naturalizing them is a slap in the face to the (I'm guessing) tens if not hundreds of thousands of people on the legitimate waiting list.

They should all be sent packing and replaced by someone who made a legal application and is waiting his turn.

It is true, they shouldnt be doing this. However, many of them are doing it for one reason, and thats the faulty canadian immigration system itself. Many of these illegal immigrants do what they do becuase it is very hard to come to Canada the regular way. This does not, by any means justify it, do not get me wrong. Your line up example was an interesting one. Lets refine it and look at it on a bigger scale. All those people who dont come illegally are waiting in line for their turn. However there is one problem. Their turns usually never come, whats the sole cause of that? No, I'm not talking about the illegal immigrants, I'm talking about the fact that the chances of even getting to the front of the line are slim unless you have alot of money and thus, you are privaledged. These immigrants are tired of seeing the 5 in 100 people in the line actually getting picked so they find their own way to the front. Yes its illegal and it needs to be stopped. But the main problem is, one way or another, even if the illegal immigrants DONT cut the line, the problem is, many of those patient immigrants dont get a chance to still get to the front of the line and into Canada. So what happens is, more immigrants in the line see how when the illegal ones cut the line they get through. They see that there chances are higher of getting into Canada, so more and more immigrants are joining them and cutting the line. Yeah, this is wrong, it is against the law.

Its noteworthy, however, to know that many of those illegal immigrants are not prime criminals that would murder, but nonetheless, they commited a crime.

The immigration system needs to be refined and reformed. The immigration system needs to properly and effectively bring more immigrants into the country who can contribute, and filter out the REAL criminals and terrorists. Once they start doing this, the line will move faster, and it wont be neccesary to cut, and there wll be at least a cutdown on this illegal immigration case. The problem with the Canadian immigration system is that it usually goes to two extremes, either lets too many people in and then that becomes a problem, and then on the other extreme, they start letting 2 people into the country (okay not 2 but you get what I mean). There needs to be balance in the immigration system. They need to find a balance between those two extremes, and once that is established, such a grave problem will cease to exist. Its quite simple when you think about it. Right now the immigration is at one extreme, where not many people are allowed in the country, many people who could contribute. Let them pass through the line. Then there are the lazy folks who want to come to canada to make trouble and not pay taxes. Filter them out. If you compare the percentages, there are more good immigrant applicants than bad. Its just that Canada is way too secure and filters them out with the real criminals. That leaves them to resort to the illegal way. Theres a simple connection here, fix the immigration system, find a significant balance, and you will see a significant drop in these illegal immigrant cases.
 

Just the Facts

House Member
Oct 15, 2004
4,162
42
48
SW Ontario
http://www.therecord.com/NASApp/cs/...2&call_pageid=1024321927354&col=1024322421753

So let me get this straight.... I read in a thread here that Canada has as many as 500,000 illegal immigrants doing jobs that "Canadians don't want", but the Ontario Coalition Against Poverty can't think of anything better to do than disrupt a cultural event to "win an increase in social assistance rates".

They should go sell t-shirts to the illegals to raise money for the poor instead.


edit: fixed link
 

Explorer

New Member
May 15, 2006
30
0
6
Philippines
RE: Hundreds protest Cana

Then there are legal immigrants. I know of one that came to Canada over 30 years ago and got his Canadian Citizenship. He actually worked for a while when he was here. Brought his mother in from another country and upgraded her meagre pension to the full supplement from OAS. First he withdrew everything from her account and put it in his and his sister's name (she has been on welfare since moving to Canada, at about the same time). He has lived in Canada maybe two years in the past 20 (too cold). Now, being in his 60s, is moving back to collect all he can so he can go away for the winter (he'll ask for the full supplement, of course). His sister has been covering for him all the time, doing nil taxes and saying he lives in Canada. Should this be allowed?
 

vishliberal

Nominee Member
Feb 20, 2006
60
1
8
TORONTO
Re: RE: Hundreds protest Cana

Explorer said:
Then there are legal immigrants. I know of one that came to Canada over 30 years ago and got his Canadian Citizenship. He actually worked for a while when he was here. Brought his mother in from another country and upgraded her meagre pension to the full supplement from OAS. First he withdrew everything from her account and put it in his and his sister's name (she has been on welfare since moving to Canada, at about the same time). He has lived in Canada maybe two years in the past 20 (too cold). Now, being in his 60s, is moving back to collect all he can so he can go away for the winter (he'll ask for the full supplement, of course). His sister has been covering for him all the time, doing nil taxes and saying he lives in Canada. Should this be allowed?

No it shouldnt, however this is not limited to immigrants, these are loopholes in the government, and any citizen could do that. That man recieved his citizenship, so he became a citizen like you and me, so that is not just specific to immigrants, its open to all Canadians. That doesnt speak for all immigrants and is a very specific example, and the main person doing wrong here was the CITIZEN OF CANADA. The fact that he immigrated here is irrelevant.