Canadian Tamil Congress: Immigration And Refugee Board

Immigration And Refugee Dept: A group representing Canadian Tamils said detention hearings get underway at the downtown Vancouver offices of the Immigration and Refugee Board this afternoon. Officials will decide on a person-by-person basis whether to keep migrants in jail or release them so they can file refugee claims to stay in Canada, according to Vancouver Sun. "So far we have about 10 lawyers on standby," said David Poopalapillai, a Vancouver spokesman for the Tamil Congress. "The first challenge is for the migrants to prove their identities -- that they are from Sri Lanka -- with some kind of documentation, and that they are not tied to any illegal activity and many of the approximately 490 Tamil asylum seekers who arrived in B.C. last week have been brought to Metro Vancouver, where the first hearings in their refugee claim process begin today. The Canadian Tamil Congress said Sunday it has assembled a team of lawyers from Toronto and Vancouver to represent the approximately 400 men, 60 women and 30 children who arrived at Canadian Forces Base Esquimalt Friday morning after three months in a small tramp freighter, the Sun Sea. As reported in the news.
@t canadian tamils, tramp freighter