No Amnesty for Illegal Immigrants

Immigration Minister Judy Sgro discourages churches from providing asylum to refugees

Less than one week after being confirmed at the helm of the Ministry of Immigration, Judy Sgro went back to work and announced an intense agenda. In particular, she intends to solve the problem of illegal immigrants and end the prohibition that prevents Immigration agents from deporting people who take refuge inside Canadian churches.
Right after the swearing-in ceremony, Sgro declared that she will immediately try and solve the problem of illegal residents, but she ruled out any idea of general amnesty. "This is a serious problem," admitted Sgro, "that needs addressing at once, but I can say that there are no plans for a general or even partial amnesty."
The problem of illegal aliens in Canada is expanding, but businesspeople underscore that, without their contribution, Canada's economy would find itself in troubled waters. Sgro said, "of course we cannot know for sure how many illegal aliens are living in Canada," adding that over 10 million live in the United States. Unofficial estimates claim that Canada could harbour over one million.
The problem of illegal aliens must be tackled from two sides: economy and public safety. "Clearly," stated Sgro, "both are of paramount importance for our country, and deserve our utmost attention."
A few months ago, minister for Human Resources Joe Volpe declared that, according to information supplied by business organizations, removing the illegals would bring several industries to their knees.
Over the weekend, in an interview to the Canadian Press, minister Sgro said that she wants to open a discussion with all the various churches in Canada to end the prohibition for immigration authorities to deport people who take refuge in a place of worship.
The cabinet would be ready to intervene because of numerous pending cases that are an embarrassment to the government. "This problem," said Sgro, "is very serious, and we must act soon. If people start to see the churches as a back door to Canada, we might have big problems ahead."
According to Sgro, security should be the first priority, "and nobody should be allowed to hide from the law anywhere."
For a long time, people have tried and avoided deportation by taking refuge in churches. At present, six people who had their refugee status denied are dodging deportation this way.
Actually, no law forbids agents to enter a church to carry out the orders of Immigration authorities; this is just a decrepit tradition, dating back to the Dark Ages, when people sought refuge from authorities in places of worship.
Rev. Chris Ferguson, spokesperson for legal affairs of the United Church of Canada, speaking with the Canadian Press, welcomed Sgro's declarations, underscoring that he had asked for such an approach himself. Ferguson added that he thinks that such events happen because of an immigration system that's increasingly falling behind.
The churches, Ferguson maintained, will only offer shelter to refugees when they will deem that Canada "will be doing something illegal, violating its international pledges."
Sgro concluded, "Of course, I dislike the idea of sending agents into a place of worship; that's why I intend to talk to the leaders of the various churches. One thing is for sure, though: law will be respected, anywhere and anyhow."

Publication Date: 2004-08-01
Story Location: http://tandemnews.com/viewstory.php?storyid=4239