The Media Roundup provides links to recent and archived articles, in both English and French, on immigration and diversity appearing in the national and local news. Some international content is also included. Articles are updated weekly.
Toronto Star – Bill C-23 U.S. Border Brouhaha is not About Donald Trump: Walkom
What have spooked some, including New Democrat MPs, are the new powers given U.S. border agents operating in Canada. They would be granted the right to detain for an unspecified amount of time travellers who have entered the pre-clearance area and then changed their minds, the power to conduct strip searches in certain situations and the potential authority to carry arms. American border officials would also be exempt from some aspects of the Criminal Code and Firearms Act.
CBC – Canadian Children “Locked Up” in Immigration Detention Centres, Report Says
Dozens of children who are Canadian citizens have been held in immigration detention centres in conditions that can cause physical and psychological harm, according to a new report. The study, called “Invisible Citizens: Canadian Children in Immigration Detention,” was produced by the International Human Rights Program at the University of Toronto’s faculty of law and released today during a news conference on Parliament Hill. It found the best interests of the children were not adequately accounted for at the time of the arrest and detention of the mothers, and that the fundamental rights of the children were violated.
La Presse – « Des réfugiés plus que des migrants » passent des Etats-Unis au Canada
Les centaines de personnes arrivant au Canada depuis les États-Unis ces dernières semaines sont davantage «des réfugiés que des migrants», explique Jean-Nicolas Beuze, représentant au Canada du Haut-commissariat des Nations unies pour les réfugiés (HCR). Le HCR a mené une mission au poste-frontière de Lacolle, à 70 km au sud de Montréal, et à proximité, au débouché […].
The New York Times – Fleeing U.S. for Asylum, and Handcuffed in Canada
Corporal Gagnon said that as soon as the would-be asylum seekers cross the border, they are advised that they would be arrested. “It is a criminal activity to cross the border illegally,” he said. “It is the same as when I arrest a drunk driver on the road. We are going to do it for security purposes.” He added: “The basic process for the R.C.M.P. is to handcuff everybody, based on the fact that it is criminal. Based on risk assessment, we are not going to handcuff women and children. This is a new humanitarian thing for us, as well. Those people have been through a lot and we don’t want to put more pressure on them.”
The New Yorker – The Woman Arrested by ICE in a Courthouse Speaks Out
According to the federal criminal complaint documenting her arrest, ice and Border Patrol agents had learned about González’s whereabouts on February 2nd. At the time, she was staying in a shelter for domestic-abuse victims in downtown El Paso. Rather than apprehend her there, the agents waited a week before they picked her up. Local officials were outraged by the decision to arrest her at the courthouse.
CBC – Refugees Fearful of U.S. Immigration Orders Seek Sanctuary in Toronto Shelters
Toronto homeless shelters are helping increasing numbers of refugees, prompting calls for more support from health-care workers and the mayor. In January, some 810 people seeking refugee status, including men, women and children, used a city shelter, according to statistics from Toronto’s Shelter Support and Housing Administration (SSHA). That’s an 80 per cent increase from January 2016.
