(Montreal) Canada has seen an increase in the number of Mexicans seeking asylum this year, with the vast majority coming to Montreal.
Posted at 2:02 p.m.
These asylum seekers say they are fleeing Mexico in search of jobs and safety, but statistics show most applications are rejected.
Ricardo Santos, 28, arrived at Montreal-Trudeau International Airport on October 4. He says he didn’t know much about Canada, but there was a direct flight to Montreal from Mexico City.
‘I left because there’s no work and there’s a lot of violence’ in Mexico, Santos said in a recent interview outside a downtown YMCA, where he was staying during the processing of his application for refugee status. “Mexico is becoming a more dangerous country. »
From January to mid-October this year, 6,501 of the 7,968 Mexican asylum seekers who arrived in Canada by air landed in Montreal, according to the Canada Border Services Agency. That’s almost six times more than those who arrived at Toronto’s Pearson airport. In 2021, a total of 1,640 Mexican asylum seekers had arrived in Canada by air.
“I hope to find work,” explains Mr. Santos. I hope everything will go well with the paperwork so that I can start working as soon as possible. Montreal is much quieter than Mexico City. There seems to be more tranquility, and it also seems safer. He also maintains that it is easier for an asylum seeker to enter Canada than the United States.
No more visa needed
Carrefour Solidarité Anjou, an organization that provides assistance to newcomers to Montreal, reports that out of 1,000 households using its services, approximately 50% are Mexican asylum seekers. “We have been receiving a lot of asylum seekers from Mexico lately, especially since July,” said Hayet Mohamed, who supervises the organization’s francization courses, recently.
According to Mme Mohamed, many Mexican asylum seekers she has spoken to over the past few months said they chose Montreal because it is easy to get there from Mexico. Additionally, Mexicans do not need a visa to travel to Canada, as the requirement was waived in December 2016 by the federal government.
Amparo Duarte, who also works at Carrefour Solidarité Anjou, said many Mexican immigrants cited the ease of the asylum process as another reason for choosing Canada. “According to what people have told me, it is easy to enter the country, and the process is faster, and it is the Quebec government that facilitates entry,” said Ms.me Duarte during a recent interview. She recalls that the Quebec government has simplified access to social assistance “and that this gives asylum seekers the assurance that they will receive financial assistance”.
The Quebec government website indicates that arriving asylum seekers can apply for last-resort financial assistance if they are experiencing financial hardship. The aid aims to provide money to immigrants for the time necessary for their integration into the labor market, after learning French.
The Immigration and Refugee Board of Canada says that between January and June, 2,747 asylum claims from Mexican asylum seekers were referred to its Refugee Protection Division. In 2021, the Commission had received 3321 applications for the whole year.
“The reason for their arrival is practically the same for everyone, so if you ask the question and discuss with them, it is mainly the insecurity in their country. We are talking about violence and insecurity, and above all the impossibility of finding work, escaping misery,” said Mr.me Mohammad.
Human Rights Watch says violence is endemic in Mexico — including torture, enforced disappearances, migrant abuse, extrajudicial executions, gender-based violence and attacks on independent journalists.
“The criminal justice system regularly fails to bring justice to victims of violent crimes and human rights violations,” concluded the organization in its report on this country in 2022.
Families
Mmy Mohamed and Duarte said most Mexican immigrants who use their services are families.
Francisco Varela Hernandez, 24, has also been staying at the same downtown Montreal YMCA as Mr. Santos since arriving in the metropolis on October 10. He says he left his home country because of the violence.
“In Mexico, I had some violent encounters, so I decided to leave. I felt that Montreal was a good option, because the economy is good and also because this city is one of the cheapest in Canada for certain things, such as housing,” said Mr. Varela Hernandez.
Mme Mohamed points out, however, that many asylum seekers who come to his organization are in a precarious situation, as they often struggle to find housing and food, and to become financially stable.
Once asylum seekers have applied for asylum in Canada, they can apply for a work permit, but they may not be able to stay for long. The Immigration and Refugee Board says the majority of asylum seekers from Mexico do not meet the UN refugee definition, which is used by Canada. In order to obtain refugee status, an applicant must convince the board that he is in need of protection.
Under Canada’s Immigration and Refugee Protection Act, a person in need of protection is a person who would be personally in danger of persecution, risk to life, or risk of cruel treatment or punishment. and unusual if she was sent back to her native country.
The Refugee Board of Canada says that of the 2,747 asylum applications received from January to June this year, 637 were accepted and 850 were refused. The other applications have been abandoned, withdrawn or are awaiting a decision.
This dispatch was produced with the financial assistance of the Meta Exchanges and The Canadian Press for the news.