Trump’s Immigration Orders May Be Affecting Canada, U.S. Official Admits
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Version 0 of 1. OTTAWA — John F. Kelly, the American homeland security secretary, acknowledged on Friday that President Trump’s executive orders on immigration and the perception that the United States was now inhospitable toward Muslims may be causing more migrants to seek refuge in Canada. The growing number of refugee claimants who are entering Canada by illegally crossing from the United States was among the issues Mr. Kelly discussed with members of Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s cabinet during a one-day visit to Ottawa. Under an agreement between the countries, people who attempt to make a refugee claim in Canada by legally entering from the United States are turned away. A loophole, however, allows people who enter Canada illegally — or, as some prefer, irregularly — to claim they are refugees. In most cases, they receive a hearing to assess their case. Mr. Kelly said that about 2,000 people had recently made such crossings and that they generally seemed to have been people who had legal immigration status in the United States. During an interview with the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, Mr. Kelly said that both countries were still “trying to get our arms around” the situation and its causes. When asked by the interviewer if it was the product of the executive orders as well as the perception that Muslims were no longer welcome in the United States, Mr. Kelly said: “It could be, I think you could draw that conclusion. I’m undecided.” He added: “It’s something I don’t quite understand, but it could be.” But speaking earlier in the day with reporters, Ralph Goodale, Canada’s public safety minister, who hosted Mr. Kelly’s visit, suggested that the crossings were not related to any actions by Mr. Trump. “One thing that is clear from at least some of the data is that the migration began — or at least the planning for the migration — began many months ago,” Mr. Goodale said, without offering any details and suggesting that the situation started almost a year ago. When asked what Canada wanted the United States to do about the crossings, Mr. Goodale suggested that American officials were largely powerless. Noting that most of the migrants apparently had legal status in the United States, Mr. Goodale said there was no way to track or restrain their travel within the country. Like Mr. Kelly, Mr. Goodale said the main priority on the issue for both countries was to develop a better understanding of it. The two men also offered similar comments on highly publicized recent reports about Canadians who have been turned away at the United States border without, according to those people, being given any reason for the action. Some of the people turned back have said they were questioned about their religious views or opinions about Mr. Trump. This week, Manpreet Kooner of Montreal, who was born in Canada but whose parents are from India, said she was held for six hours at a border crossing in Vermont before being told that she had to apply for a visa to enter the United States. The United States Embassy in Ottawa, the woman said, subsequently told her that Canadian visitors had no such requirement. Ms. Kooner told the C.B.C. that an American border official said at one point: “I know you may feel like you’ve been Trumped.” Mr. Kelly and Mr. Goodale said privacy laws prevented them from discussing individual cases but suggested that the people complaining were not giving accurate or complete stories. “When someone is stopped at the border and turned back, there’s a reason why,” Mr. Kelly said. “What they say to the press is their business.” |