Immigration Department looked to provide free accommodation for 1,000 illegal immigrants, asylum seekers: internal emails

Canada's Department of Immigration, in an internal email, said it looked to provide free accommodation for approximately 1,000 illegal immigrants and asylum seekers as a pandemic precaution. Costs were not detailed.

The department "is looking for [about] 1000 rooms for isolation rooms for asylum seekers," staff wrote in a March 20, 2020 email. Documents did not disclose whether the department booked hotel rooms or what funds they budgeted for the measure.

In testimony, last March 24 at the Commons public safety committee, Public Safety Minister Bill Blair said additional funding was proposed for border security but did not elaborate. "Included in these supplementary estimates is funding to enhance the integrity of our borders and asylum system," said Blair.

Data show through 2020, RCMP arrested 3,302 illegal immigrants attempting to cross the Canada-US border in breach of a ban on non-essential travel under the Quarantine Act. The majority, 3,189, were in Quebec, reported Blacklocks.

Another 5,665 legal asylum seekers reported at airports last year. Comparable numbers this year totalled 308 illegal border crossers and 502 asylum seekers at airports as of August 31.

"We are always very proud that Canada has been a welcoming society," Minister Blair earlier told the Commons. "We continue to open our doors to newcomers. Our immigration system continues to be based on compassion."

Blair, on April 20, 2020, told the Commons illegal border crossings had declined to zero. "We implemented significant new restrictions on people who cross our borders irregularly as non-essential," he said. "That has been a very effective measure that has been put in place."

"I would like to know how many illegal migrants have entered Canada since the start of the pandemic," asked Conservative MP Joel Godin. "There have been fewer than ten individuals who have crossed the border and been subsequently directed back to the United States," replied Blair.

On March 21, 2020, all non-essential border crossings were restricted even by Canadian citizens with exemptions for commercial shippers. Immigration And Refugee Protection Regulations invoked April 15 granted the Canada Border Services Agency new powers to issue immediate removal orders on illegal immigrants caught at the border.

"These amendments support Government of Canada efforts to limit the spread of the coronavirus," Jacqueline Callin, spokesperson for the Agency, said at the time.

"An individual arriving from the US who is prohibited from entering Canada based on an order made under the Quarantine Act can be directed back to the US until the prohibition is lifted."

"If an individual does not comply with the direction, a removal order may be issued," said Callin. "Based on the prohibitions in the Quarantine Act order, this may include certain irregular migrants."