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A small southern Manitoba town within sight of the U.S. border is pleading for federal help amid an influx of refugee claimants, including nearly two dozen this past weekend, who have endured the harsh prairie winter to cross into Canada.
The refugee claimants who arrived in Emerson, a small town of 700 across the border from North Dakota, are among a steady increase of illegal entries into Manitoba in recent years. Just before Christmas, two men from Ghana who passed through Emerson lost fingers to frostbite, their lawyer says.
The arrivals have also underscored the prospect that even more will make claims in Canada after being turned away from the United States, particularly in the wake of U.S. President Donald Trump’s executive order on immigration and refugees.
Town officials in Emerson are scheduled to meet with the Canadian Border Security Agency and other officials on Thursday to iron out a security and accommodation plan for any subsequent arrivals.
“We know this is a federal problem, it just happens to be in our community,” said Greg Janzen, the town’s Reeve, who is sending the federal government a bill to draw attention to the resources his community needs. “We haven’t heard a response yet, but I’m confident we’ll get something, even if it’s not exactly what we hope for.”
On Saturday, the Mounties picked up 19 refugee claimants who had illegally crossed the border near Emerson, Mr. Janzen said. They brought them to CBSA but the agency was overwhelmed by the volume and asked Emerson for help. A municipal representative opened up the town’s community hall for shelter.
Last year, Emerson responded to about 20 emergency-services calls related to border-crossers, an “unusual” number that has put a strain on those services, Mr. Janzen said.
“This has all been on our taxpayers so far, which really throws our fire department’s budget, for instance, way out of whack,” he said. “So what we’re trying to do now is plan ahead [in expectation] that there’s going to be a lot more people.”
Statistics provided by CBSA show the number of refugee claimants who illegally cross the border into Manitoba has been increasing for years.
A small southern Manitoba town within sight of the U.S. border is pleading for federal help amid an influx of refugee claimants, including nearly two dozen this past weekend, who have endured the harsh prairie winter to cross into Canada.
The refugee claimants who arrived in Emerson, a small town of 700 across the border from North Dakota, are among a steady increase of illegal entries into Manitoba in recent years. Just before Christmas, two men from Ghana who passed through Emerson lost fingers to frostbite, their lawyer says.
The arrivals have also underscored the prospect that even more will make claims in Canada after being turned away from the United States, particularly in the wake of U.S. President Donald Trump’s executive order on immigration and refugees.
Town officials in Emerson are scheduled to meet with the Canadian Border Security Agency and other officials on Thursday to iron out a security and accommodation plan for any subsequent arrivals.
“We know this is a federal problem, it just happens to be in our community,” said Greg Janzen, the town’s Reeve, who is sending the federal government a bill to draw attention to the resources his community needs. “We haven’t heard a response yet, but I’m confident we’ll get something, even if it’s not exactly what we hope for.”
On Saturday, the Mounties picked up 19 refugee claimants who had illegally crossed the border near Emerson, Mr. Janzen said. They brought them to CBSA but the agency was overwhelmed by the volume and asked Emerson for help. A municipal representative opened up the town’s community hall for shelter.
Last year, Emerson responded to about 20 emergency-services calls related to border-crossers, an “unusual” number that has put a strain on those services, Mr. Janzen said.
“This has all been on our taxpayers so far, which really throws our fire department’s budget, for instance, way out of whack,” he said. “So what we’re trying to do now is plan ahead [in expectation] that there’s going to be a lot more people.”
Statistics provided by CBSA show the number of refugee claimants who illegally cross the border into Manitoba has been increasing for years.
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