Trump vows ‘no price tag’ on plan to deport millions of illegal immigrants
‘When people have killed and murdered, when drug lords have destroyed countries … they’re not staying here,’ said U.S. President-elect Donald Trump.
Québec RCMP are expecting a mad dash as a result of Trump’s promise to deport illegal immigrants. A recent interview with American media saw the president-elect disregard costs to keep his countrymen safe.
“It’s not a question of a price tag. It’s not,” Trump told NBC on Thursday. “Really, we have no choice,” he said.
“When people have killed and murdered, when drug lords have destroyed countries, and now they’re going to go back to those countries because they’re not staying here. There is no price tag.”
At least 11 million illegal immigrants reside in the United States, reported the Globe and Mail.
Deportation costs could surpass US$88 billion annually, according to the American Immigration Council. JD Vance, Trump’s running mate, claimed they would remove as many as one million people per year, cuing the need to hire large swathes of personnel and build detention centres.
The RCMP have contingency plans in place to contend with those seeking refuge from the incoming administration.
“There could be a massive influx of migration, as there was during the Roxham Road crisis,” said RCMP sergeant Charles Poirier, who notes as many as 100 migrants are arrested weekly in Québec. Many were “southbound” migrants, he clarified.
However, some 39,171 illegal immigrants entered the province through Roxham Road in 2022, the height of Canada’s border crisis.
Thousands more now arrive by air, at major airports in Toronto and Montreal — three times the number that have been processed at land ports of entry.
Chrystia Freeland, Canada’s deputy prime minister, told reporters Wednesday they too would prioritize the integrity of Canada’s borders. “We will do that,” she said.
Melanie Joly, the foreign affairs minister, said Canadians want an immigration system they can trust, but refused to describe how they would tackle a potential surge of illegal immigrants.
The RCMP has already drawn up a plan to increase border surveillance in case illegal crossings intensify, adding the western stretch of the Québec-U.S. border will remain a hotspot for smugglers.
“The smuggling networks are set up in Montreal and the Greater Toronto Area,” said Sgt. Poirier. The RCMP can only arrest migrants travelling with a human smuggler, he added.
The Agency is powerless to send people back who enter Canada to claim asylum, Sgt. Poirier said.
In 2017, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau promised to “welcome” all those “fleeing persecution, terror, and war” in response to President Donald Trump’s then deportation of illegal immigrants.
Under the Safe Third Country Agreement, asylum seekers in Canada or the US could make their claim in the first country they enter. However, a loophole allowed those who enter Canada through an unofficial crossing to remain in the country without the immediate threat of deportation.
The number of migrants living in Canada illegally is unknown, but an estimated 500,000 people could be in the country without status, according to an April 24 briefing note titled Undocumented Migrants.
On Wednesday, the prime minister said his government would protect Canada’s borders.
Alex Dhaliwal
Calgary Based Journalist
Alex Dhaliwal is a Political Science graduate from the University of Calgary. He has actively written on relevant Canadian issues with several prominent interviews under his belt.
COMMENTS
-
Barry Neil commented 2024-11-09 14:07:07 -0500“…Liberals absolutely have a plan to protect Canada’s borders from illegal migrants…” Is the plan to play word games and say they’re NOT illegal migrants and therefore “no illegal migrants have crossed?” Problem solved! -
Bruce Atchison commented 2024-11-08 18:58:13 -0500Make them self-deport themselves. It’s time to evict freeloaders. And those who want to immigrate to America can do it the legal way.
