immigrantscanada.com

Independent topical source of current affairs, opinion and issues, featuring stories making news in Canada from immigrants, newcomers, minorities & ethnic communities' point of view and interests.

lee gelernt: But critics described widespread confusion, with an untold number of travellers being held in legal limbo because of ill-defined procedures, according to Guelph Mercury. Lawyers manned tables at New York's Kennedy Airport to offer help to families whose loved ones had been detained, and some 150 Chicago-area lawyers showed up at O'Hare Airport after getting an email asking for legal assistance on behalf of travellers. Attorneys struggled to determine how many people had been affected so far by the rules, which Trump said Saturday were working out very nicely. We just simply don't know how many people there are and where they are, said Lee Gelernt, deputy director of the American Civil Liberties Union's Immigrants' Rights Project. The executive director of National Immigration Law Center, Marielena Hincapie, said this is just the beginning. Advocates for travellers say the chaos is likely to continue. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.

michelle larue: Protesters swarmed major airports across the nation Saturday, according to Guelph Mercury. In Chicago, thousands of demonstrators gathered at O'Hare International Airport. We will not stop until this executive order is cancelled and we arrive at common-sense, immigration reform that takes into account the lives of immigrant and refugee families, said Michelle LaRue, Virginia state director for the advocacy group CASA, which was planning to protest at Dulles International Airport outside Washington. In New York, more than 2,000 at John F. Kennedy Airport chanted let them in! At Los Angeles International Airport, 200 protesters, shouted, No Trump, No KKK, No fascist USA. More protests were planned Sunday at major airports from Los Angeles to Chicago to New York. The executive order, signed Friday, suspends entry of all refugees to the U.S. for 120 days, halts admission of refugees from Syria indefinitely and bars entry for three months to residents from the predominantly Muslim countries of Iraq, Syria, Iran, Sudan, Libya, Somalia and Yemen. But also at small airports, Main streets and town squares from Bangor, Maine, to Bloomington, Indiana, to Boise. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.

muslim-majority countries: Kwan said she wants the House of Commons to address the issue as its first order of business when MPs return to Ottawa on Monday, when all things Trump including the impact his policies could have on Canadian jobs and economic trade are expected to dominate discussions and political arguments, according to Guelph Mercury. She said she wants to know how the temporary American ban on people coming from seven Muslim-majority countries and the indefinite halt to the Syrian refugee program will affect Canadians, including those with permanent residency status, and what the Liberal government plans to do about it. Canadians across the country are deeply concerned, said NDP MP Jenny Kwan, the immigration critic for her party. I think the implications could be far-reaching, she said. Kwan said many questions remain about whether they will be subject to additional screening and delays and whether Canada will take in a greater number of refugees. A spokesperson for Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said Saturday night the Trump administration through National Security Adviser Michael Flynn told them the ban will not affect those who hold Canadian passports, including dual citizens. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.

ont .,: Carr, whose mother hails from Stratford, Ont., says he has applied for Canadian citizenship as insurance against Trump's hardline immigration policy, according to Guelph Mercury. As a longtime permanent resident of Canada, the transition to dual citizenship is in some sense a formality, but has nonetheless taken a toll on Carr, who sees being American as part of his identity. For nearly 30 years, Steve Carr has straddled the 49th parallel as an American citizen working in Canada, but the California-native says Trump's election pushed him to seek citizenship north of the border. I am a patriotic American ... My way of assessing things is heavily tied up with American history, says Carr. Carr has flirted with becoming a naturalized citizen since moving to Newfoundland for a teaching gig in 1987 but, in a streak of American independence, says he couldn't bring himself to pledge loyalty to a British monarch in the mandatory Oath of Citizenship. I am, at this point, a refugee, and things might go quite bad very quickly. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.

allergies loss: Researcher Hind Sbihi said roughly 30 per cent of non-immigrants have non-food allergies, according to CBC. Loss of business could force McDonald's to reconsider nut decision, food security expert says Allergies are conditions that arise because of your genetic predisposition, but the spike in allergy rise cannot be explained by genetic mutation only, Sbihi told On The Coast host Stephen Quinn. A study from the University of British Columbia found 14 per cent of immigrants living in Canada for less than 10 years suffered from non-food allergies like hayfever, but after 10 years, that rate increased to almost 24 per cent. Sbihi said there is a phenomenon known as the healthy immigrant effect wherein immigrants report having better health than those who were born in Canada. Sbihi's work was looking at whether this effect also applied to non-food allergies. However, the health of immigrants tend to decline as their years in Canada increase. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.

border: It was not immediately clear whether the ban applies to Canadians who hold dual citizenship with those countries, according to Huffington Post Canada. A representative from the Canada Border Services Agency deferred questions to U.S. Customs and Border Protection. West Jet signage is displayed on a band at Vancouver International Airport in 2013. Representatives from Global Affairs and U.S. Customs and Border Protection did not immediately respond to requests for comment. A U.S. federal law enforcement official told The Associated Press there was an exemption for foreigners whose entry is in the U.S. national interest, but it was not immediately clear how that exemption might be applied. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.

canadian citizens: We have been assured that Canadian citizens travelling on Canadian passports will be dealt with in the usual process, said the email from Kate Purchase, Trudeau's director of communications, according to CTV. Earlier the U.S. State Department said Canadians with dual citizenship from Iran, Iraq, Sudan, Somalia, Syria, Yemen and Libya would be denied entry for the next three months along with citizens from those countries. An email from Prime Minister Justin Trudeau's office late Saturday said the U.S. has given assurances that Canadians with dual citizenship will not be turned away at the border. But Purchase's email said Trudeau's National Security Adviser Daniel Jean and other officials were in contact with their American counterparts, including Trump's National Security Adviser Michael Flynn. The federal government has been low key in its response to the American ban. NSA Flynn confirmed that holders of Canadian passports, including dual citizens, will not be affected by the ban, Purchase said. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.

children: Azizi himself will be relocated to a men-only camp, according to The Chronicle Herald. I feel helpless for him, said Azizi's niece Majida. After five years living as a refugee in Nizip, Hamza Azizi faces being separated from his wife Marwa and two children Maria and Muhammad, who will be moved to a new camp for woman and children only by Turkish authorities. The two children of Hamza Azizi, his son Muhammad and daughter Maria. Refugees housed in that area face subzero temperatures and snowfall in winter. Since fleeing his war-torn hometown Aleppo with his family in 2012, Azizi's home has been a tent in Nizip, near Turkey's border with Syria. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.

city: But even in the big city work was scarce and eventually the couple decided to return to the port city, according to CBC. At least they knew the people were nice, she said. So, like many Maritimers, they relocated to Toronto. And then Iram found work after all, through the YMCA's sewing employment language training program. So I'd done it over there and when I heard that they are going to start something here I decided to join this program. I've done my fashion designing in Pakistan, she said. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.

daniel jean: The word from National Security Adviser Michael Flynn, relayed to the media by Canada's Washington embassy, ended a day of confusion and turmoil over a vaguely worded Trump policy that had appeared to ensnare tens of thousands of Canadian citizens and abandon 150 years of border tradition, according to Toronto Star. The prime minister instructed our National Security Adviser, Daniel Jean, who was in touch over the course of the day with NSA Flynn to seek further clarification, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau's office told reporters. BRYAN R. SMITH / AFP/GETTY IMAGES By Daniel Dale Washington Bureau Emily Mathieu Investigative News reporter Sat., Jan. 28, 2017 Canadian citizens will be allowed to enter the United States even if they also hold citizenship in countries targeted by President Donald Trump's travel ban, a top Trump adviser told the Canadian government late Saturday. Flynn confirmed that holders of Canadian passports, including dual citizens, will not be affected by the ban. Article Continued Below New York court issues emergency stay for individuals detained after order Syrian family arrived in U.S. just in time before Trump ban Visa ban confirms fears of escalating tensions with the Muslim world'END react-empty 169 The Friday order had left Trudeau scrambling not only to develop an appropriate response but to figure out what exactly was happening. We have been assured that Canadian citizens travelling on Canadian passports will be dealt with in the usual process. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.

executive: President Trump's Executive Orders remain in place prohibited travel will remain prohibited, and the U.S. government retains its right to revoke visas at any time if required for national security or public safety, according to the DHS statement, according to The Chronicle Herald. Stephen Miller, a senior adviser to the White House, said Nothing in the Brooklyn judge's order in anyway impedes or prevents the implementation of the president's executive order which remains in full, complete and total effect. The Department of Homeland Security issued a statement early Sunday that said the court order would not affect the overall implementation of the White House order and the court order affected a small number of travellers who were inconvenienced by security procedures upon their return. U.S. District Judge Ann Donnelly in New York issued the emergency order after lawyers for the American Civil Liberties Union filed a court petition on behalf of people from seven predominantly Muslim nations who were detained at airports across the country as the ban took effect. As the decision was announced, cheers broke out in crowds of demonstrators who had gathered at American airports and outside the Brooklyn courthouse where the ruling was issued. The judge's order addressed only a portion of Trump's executive action. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.

executive: Many of those decisions make real several of Trump's most contentious campaign promises, according to CTV. The actions include an executive order to build a wall between the U.S. and Mexico, an announcement to move forward with approval of the Keystone XL pipeline, and an order to cut funding from so-called sanctuary cities, such as New York and Seattle, that protect undocumented immigrants. Trump has signed 14 executive actions since his inauguration last Friday, including six executive orders and eight presidential memoranda, which allow the president to set policy directives. On Friday, Trump signed two new executive orders at the Pentagon. We don't want 'em here, Trump said during the announcement. One called for new vetting measures to keep radical Islamic terrorists out of the U.S., a move that echoes Trump's campaign call for an outright Muslim ban. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.

immigrants immigrants: Federal Immigration Minister Ahmed Hussen said the provinces will now start designating employers that want to hire skilled immigrants, according to CTV. Immigrants arriving in the region will have a job offer and an individualized settlement plan for them and their families. Atlantic Canadian premiers and several federal ministers announced a key step in an immigration pilot project, at the conclusion of their second meeting on the Atlantic Growth Strategy initiative Friday. The idea behind this is to leverage the unique position of employers to help immigrants and their families better integrate into their new communities in Atlantic Canada and to remain here for the long-term so they can help grow the region's economy, Hussen said after Friday's meeting in Wolfville, N.S. Under the plan -- part of the new Atlantic Immigration Pilot announced last July -- the government will accept up to 2,000 immigrant applications this year, with increased numbers in following years depending on performance. Nova Scotia Premier Stephen McNeil said his province recognizes the need to capitalize on the 20,000 young people who choose his province for post-secondary education. The pilot project is aimed at ensuring newcomers stay in the region instead of joining the stream of outmigration to other parts of the country. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.

justin: Diversity is our strength, according to Huffington Post Canada. Canada resettled about 39,000 refugees from Syria between December 2015 and December 2016. To those fleeing persecution, terror & war, Canadians will welcome you, regardless of your faith, Trudeau wrote on Twitter on Saturday. To those fleeing persecution, terror & war, Canadians will welcome you, regardless of your faith. The order indefinitely bans Syrian refugees from resettling in the U.S. and shuts down the country's entire refugee program for 120 days. Diversity is our strength Welcome ToCanada Justin Trudeau Justin Trudeau January 28, 2017 Welcome ToCanada Justin Trudeau Justin Trudeau January 28, 2017 President Trump signed an executive order on Friday to bar entry to the U.S. to anyone from seven Muslim-majority countries Syria, Yemen, Iran, Iraq, Libya, Somalia, and Sudan. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.

liberties union: Judge Ann Donnelly of the U.S. District Court in Brooklyn granted a request from the American Civil Liberties Union to stop the deportations after determining that the risk of injury to those detained by being returned to their home countries necessitated the decision, according to Toronto Star. Minutes after the judge's ruling in New York, another came in Virginia when U.S. District Judge Leonie Brinkema issued a temporary restraining order to block for seven days the removal of any green-card holders being detained at Dulles International Airport. Olivier Douliery / Getty Images By Jerry Markon Emma Brown David Nakamura The The Washington Post Sat., Jan. 28, 2017 WASHINGTON A federal judge in New York blocked deportations late Saturday of those detained on entry to the United States after an executive order from the U.S. president targeted citizens from seven predominantly Muslim countries. Brinkema's action also ordered that lawyers have access to those held there because of the ban. Article Continued Below Canadian dual citizens from 7 Muslim-majority countries banned from U.S. Syrian family arrived in U.S. just in time before Trump ban Confusion and concern among immigrant advocates mounted throughout the day as travellers from the Middle East were detained at U.S. airports or sent home. Donald Trump's order reverberated across the world Saturday, making it increasingly clear that the measure he had promised during his presidential campaign was casting a wider net than even his opponents had feared. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.

motaz alafandi: The Syrian people deserve better than this, Alabood, 48, who along with his wife and five children arrived last spring in Kansas City, Missouri, told The Associated Press through a translator Friday, according to Metro News. The sentiment was shared some 550 miles away by Motaz Alafandi, a 49-year-old Syrian living in Dallas while seeking asylum with his wife and three youngest kids, ages 14, 11 and 5. Ahmad Alabood, whose family was the first to be resettled in America as part of the surge refugee program, wishes President Donald Trump would help topple Syria's regime rather than press to close off U.S. borders to those fleeing a torn homeland. I wish that Mr. If my country will become good again, I won't stay here. President Trump can help in stopping the war in Syria, said Alafandi, who said he loves the U.S. and the American people but does hope to return one day to his homeland. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.

san francisco: What's at stake goes to the core of our American values of equality and decency, said Joe Curtatone, the mayor of Somerville, a city just three kilometres northwest of Boston that adopted official sanctuary status in 1987, according to CBC. Somerville Mayor Joseph Curtatone greets elders during a parade in the Massachusetts city, which has been a sanctuary city since 1987. The fight is about more than just money, say the mayors of cities like San Francisco, New York City, Los Angeles and Chicago, which protect undocumented immigrants from deportation either informally or as a matter of policy. City of Somerville About 400 jurisdictions across America have sanctuary policies, which are designed to limit co-operation with federal immigration officials and allow for the safe harbour of undocumented immigrants. Trump issued an executive order on Wednesday to pull millions of dollars in grants from local governments that fail to comply with federal immigration enforcement laws. Sanctuary ordinances might ban police from helping federal officers with immigration status checks, for example. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.

security threat: Sawan learned of the entry ban while watching late night TV news with his wife in their small apartment in the Jordanian capital of Amman, according to Hamilton Spectator. When we heard of the order, it was like a bolt of lightning, and all our hopes and dreams vanished, the 40-year-old said Saturday, a day after Trump's executive order. His dream of a better life was abruptly crushed when President Donald Trump banned Syrian refugees from the U.S. until further notice. He and other Syrian refugees bristled at the idea that they pose a potential security threat, saying they are peaceful people fleeing persecution. This decision made the U.S. loose its reputation in the world as the biggest economy, the biggest democracy, said refugee Nasser Sheik, 44, who was paralyzed by a stroke two years ago and lives with his family in Amman. Some warned that the new U.S. policy will be seen as targeting Muslims and further inflame anti-American sentiment in the region. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.

target people: Leaders in the Iranian-Canadian and Somali-Canadian communities are speaking out against the ban, according to Hamilton Spectator. Bijan Ahmadi, president of the Iranian Canadian Congress, said he's outraged by the new policy. The ban prevents citizens of Iran, Iraq, Sudan, Somalia, Syria, Yemen and Libya from entering the U.S. in the next 90 days, regardless of whether they have an immigrant or non-immigrant visa. It's unacceptable. It's very discriminatory to target people based on their race, their religion, the country of their origin and the country of their birth. It's very unreasonable, he said. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.

years canada: Since the vast majority of immigrants come from Asian or Pacific nations, within 20 years Canada will likely be as brown as it is white, according to Globe and Mail. Some old-stock Canadians, as Stephen Harper called them, will resent this. Another 20 per cent of the population will be native-born, but with at least one immigrant parent. No one asked them, they will say, whether they wanted the European, Christian country they grew up in to be transformed into something so cosmopolitan. Some of them look with envy to the United States, where Donald Trump surfed nativist resentments all the way to the White House. They lament the loss of traditional values and social solidarity. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.

u.s: A federal law enforcement official who confirmed the temporary ban said there was an exemption for foreigners whose entry is in the U.S. national interest, according to Guelph Mercury. It was not immediately clear how that exemption might be applied. It was a period of limbo for an unknown number of non-American citizens from Iraq, Syria, Iran, Sudan, Libya, Somalia or Yemen now barred from the country where they were studying or had lived, perhaps for years. Trump's order exempts diplomats. Customs and Border Protection was notifying airlines about passengers whose visas had been cancelled or legal residents scheduled to fly back to the U.S. Airlines were being told to keep them off those flights. Those already in the U.S. with a visa or green card will be allowed to stay, according to the official, who wasn't authorized to publicly discuss the details of how Trump's order was being put in place and spoke only on condition of anonymity. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.

canadian citizens: We have been assured that Canadian citizens travelling on Canadian passports will be dealt with in the usual process, said the email from Kate Purchase, Trudeau's director of communications, according to Guelph Mercury. Earlier the U.S. State Department said Canadians with dual citizenship from Iran, Iraq, Sudan, Somalia, Syria, Yemen and Libya would be denied entry for the next three months along with citizens from those countries. An email from Prime Minister Justin Trudeau's office late Saturday said the U.S. has given assurances that Canadians with dual citizenship will not be turned away at the border. But Purchase's email said Trudeau's National Security Adviser Daniel Jean and other officials were in contact with their American counterparts, including Trump's National Security Adviser Michael Flynn. The federal government has been low key in its response to the American ban. NSA Flynn confirmed that holders of Canadian passports, including dual citizens, will not be affected by the ban, Purchase said. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.

security threat: Sawan learned of the entry ban while watching late night TV news with his wife in their small apartment in the Jordanian capital of Amman, according to The Waterloo Record. When we heard of the order, it was like a bolt of lightning, and all our hopes and dreams vanished, the 40-year-old said Saturday, a day after Trump's executive order. His dream of a better life was abruptly crushed when President Donald Trump banned Syrian refugees from the U.S. until further notice. He and other Syrian refugees bristled at the idea that they pose a potential security threat, saying they are peaceful people fleeing persecution. This decision made the U.S. loose its reputation in the world as the biggest economy, the biggest democracy, said refugee Nasser Sheik, 44, who was paralyzed by a stroke two years ago and lives with his family in Amman. Some warned that the new U.S. policy will be seen as targeting Muslims and further inflame anti-American sentiment in the region. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.

trump-lite hubris: For this country to hold together, the prime minister must speak both official languages fluently, according to The Waterloo Record. Three out of four Canadians agree, according to a 2016 survey from the commissioner of official languages. It's not a legal requirement, but it is a political one. So don't worry about the Trump-lite hubris of TV host Kevin O'Leary, or the questionable immigration policies of Kellie Leitch. If the leader speaks only English, Quebec will turn its back and the Tories will lose. Neither one of them is going to get near the leadership, if the federal Conservative party is in its right mind, because they can't speak French well enough. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.

fariborz birjandian: Fariborz Birjandian, CEO of the Calgary Catholic Immigration Society, said it's too soon to say what effect his executive order could have in the long run, but he is expecting a different environment over the next four years, according to Metro News. The US actually does a big bulk of the international work on refugees it would be very sad to see the US really doesn't want to do what they have been doing for many years, he said. On Wednesday, President Donald Trump signed an executive order slashing the number of refugees the country will accept from 110,000 annually to 50,000, and temporarily limiting immigration from some predominantly Muslim countries. Birjandian noted refugees and immigrants are in two very different categories. The United States is usually the first destination of choice for immigrants, said Birjandian. While the first are fleeing dangerous situations in a hurry, countries compete to attract the smartest and most talented immigrants. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.

fish plants: The Atlantic immigration pilot program will accept 2,000 immigrants with job offers into the region, according to CBC. It will focus on temporary foreign workers already in the region and give them a path to permanent resident status as an incentive to stay in the region. The accelerated growth service will co-ordinate government business supports for 15 targeted businesses. Immigrants arriving in the region will have a job offer and an individualized settlement plan for them and their families. Immigration will be a big help for a number of industries Nova Scotia Premier Stephen McNeil said the immigration program will be a big help for the trucking industry and fish plants. The idea behind this is to leverage the unique position of employers to help immigrants and their families better integrate into their new communities in Atlantic Canada and to remain here for the long-term so they can help grow the region's economy, said federal Immigration Minister Ahmed Hussen. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.