Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau speaks to reporters during a meeting with President Donald Trump at the White House in Washington, D.C. on October 11. This week, the Canadian government said it wants to warn Salvadorans in the United States that they might not qualify for asylum in Canada. File Photo by Kevin Dietsch/UPI |
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Jan. 11 (UPI) -- After the Trump administration announced it would end the Temporary Protected Status designation for 200,000 Salvadorans, the Canadian government wants to warn those affected to think twice before going to Canada.
Pablo Rodriguez, a Spanish-speaking member of Canada's Parliament, will travel to California to speak to community groups, lawyers and Spanish-language media to inform people that if they don't qualify for refugee or asylum status, they shouldn't attempt to cross the northern border, the Washington Post reported.
"Canada has a robust and structured immigration system that must be respected," Rodriguez told La Presse. "Before leaving your job, pulling your child from school and selling your house to come to Canada, make sure you understand the rules and the laws. Because if you don't fill these criteria, chances are you'll be returned, not to the U.S. but to your native country."
Angela Ventura of the El Salvador Association of Windsor in Ontario told the Toronto Globe and Mail that her organization has already received inquiries from Salvadorans in the United States about moving to Canada legally. She said that because many of these Salvadorans have been in the United States since 2001, they have some economic clout that could be an asset to Canada, which the government should consider.
"They can come as small-business owners, skilled workers...They have different categories that can apply," she said.
Canada's reaction to the Trump administration's decision to end TPS for Salvadorans comes after thousands of Haitians in the United States crossed into Canada last year out of fear that their TPS status would end.
At the time, the Canadian government dispatched Emmanuel Dubourg, a member of Parliament who was born in Haiti, to tell Haitians in the UNited States that asylum in Canada isn't easy to obtain.
"I'm there to inform them: be careful before you make a decision," he said in November after the Trump administration officially announced it will end TPS for Haitians
