protesters march: Protesters march against the separation of migrant children from their families on Monday in Los Angeles, according to Toronto Star. Mario Tama / Getty Images Here is a selection of their responses, ranging across the country and many denominations. Many said they typically avoid politics in their preaching, but this week they felt compelled to speak out. Pastor Robert Franek preached at Faith Lutheran Church, a mainline Protestant church in Galesburg, Ill In just six weeks from mid-April through May, some 2,000 children have been separated from their parents and placed in detention centres. Asylum seeking is not a crime. . . . This barbaric practice of taking a nursing infant out of her mother's embrace should alarm us all. This immoral and unconscionable policy is being justified by a twisting of scripture by those who know neither the biblical imperative to treat the foreigner with compassion and love nor the Constitution that protects the basic human rights of all people. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.

quebec city: He was released with a promise to appear in court in Montreal on August 16 to face charges of breaking and entering, mischief, criminal harassment, and intimidation, according to CTV. Montreal police said seven other people will likely be arrested in connection with the case. Police in Quebec City executed the warrant and arrested Raphael Levesque, 34, the head of the anti-immigrant group Atalante Quebec on Monday. On May 23, Levesque and several other people entered the Montreal offices of Vice Media while pretending to deliver flowers. At the time Montreal police said they were not investigating because nothing was damaged and nobody was hurt however Premier Philippe Couillard, and Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, said the next day that the incursion was an attack on freedom of of the press. Once inside they threw leaflets around the office and handed a mocking trophy to a journalist, Simon Coutu, who had written articles about Atalante's failed attempts to win support for their far-right cause in Montreal. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.

safety minister: What the applicant is actually trying to do here is to seek a de facto grant of citizenship, Grant told Federal Court Judge Ann Marie McDonald, who later reserved her decision in the case, according to The Chronicle Herald. Abdi, who was born in Saudi Arabia in 1993, lost his mother in a refugee camp when he was four and came to Canada with his sister and aunts two years later. Melissa Grant, who represents the federal public safety minister, told a Federal Court hearing Tuesday that a decision by the Canada Border Services Agency to refer Abdoul Abdi to a deportation hearing should not be overturned by a judicial review. He was taken into provincial care shortly after arriving in Nova Scotia. Abdi developed behavioural problems that advocates say were not adequately treated. He was moved 31 times between foster homes, but he was never granted citizenship while he was growing up in the province. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.

trump administration: Human rights attorney Jennifer Harbury said she received the tape from a whistleblower and told Pro Publica it was recorded in the last week, according to CTV. She did not provide details about where exactly it was recorded. Papa! Papa! one child is heard weeping in the audio file that was first reported by the non-profit Pro Publica and later provide to The Associated Press. Homeland Security Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen said she had not heard the audio but said children taken into custody by the government are being treated humanely. The audio surfaced as politicians and advocates flocked to the U.S.-Mexico border to visit U.S. immigration detention centres and turn up the pressure on the Trump administration. She said the government has high standards for detention centres and the children are well cared for, stressing that Congress needs to plug loopholes in the law so families can stay together. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.

washington post: The parents are detained in federal facilities and, because children can't be held there, they are being warehoused in cages, according to Toronto Star. The AP toured a holding facility in South Texas that's holding hundreds of immigrant children. The former first lady wrote an op-ed in the Washington Post, castigating the U.S. President's newly enforced zero-tolerance policy toward asylum seekers that in the past several weeks has officially seen more than 2,300 children separated from their parents. While reporters were not allowed to record the tour, video released by border patrol shows them waiting in a series of cages created by metal fencing. Some parents are being deported without their children. The Associated Press There are no regulations around properly identifying children, no plan toward reuniting them. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.

cent jump: The statistics also show Canada became the ninth-largest recipient of asylum seekers, more than doubling the number of claims in a single year at 47,800, according to Vancouver Courier. And for the first time in five years, the United States became the largest recipient of new asylum applications with more than 330,000 claims lodged in 2017 a 27 per cent jump from the year before. The annual Global Trends report from the UN High Commissioner for Refugees was released Tuesday, showing the worldwide total number of displaced people reached a record 68.5 million last year, due to global wars, violence and persecution.article continues below Trending Stories City orders closure of Regent Hotel in Downtown Eastside Minimum wage increases go into effect June 1 across B.C. Vision announces pool of potential council candidates Greater Vancouver home prices to drop 21 per cent by 2019 analysis In 2017 alone, more than 16 million people were newly displaced. But U.S. President Donald Trump made it clear Tuesday that asylum seekers who cross the U.S.-Mexico border illegally are not welcome in America. And we're allowing these people into our country Not with me. In a speech Tuesday, Trump accused many of these migrants of being child and human smugglers who try to game the system, invoking references to the notorious international criminal gang MS-13 attacking children with knives, not guns, because it's much more painful. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.

city: When agents tried to make immigration inspections, two of the three vehicles a 2007 Suburban and a 2008 Tahoe led authorities on a high speed chase.article continues below Trending Stories City orders closure of Regent Hotel in Downtown Eastside City wants to curb land speculation along Vancouver's Broadway corridor City looks to buy or expropriate Regent and Balmoral hotels Will there ever be a Great Wolf Lodge in Squamish The Suburban, carrying 14 people and travelling more than 100 mph 161 kph lost control and overturned on Texas Highway 85 as it was entering Big Wells, a town about 100 miles southwest of San Antonio, according to Vancouver Courier. Most of the occupants were ejected. The crash happened Sunday after Border Patrol became suspicious of three vehicles travelling in a convoy between El Indio and Carrizo Springs, Texas, according to a statement from the U.S. Attorney's Office for the western district of Texas. Four passengers died at the scene and another died en route to the hospital. The man driving that SUV, 20-year-old Jorge Luis Monsivais Jr., was among those charged, along with the driver of the vehicle that did not take off when agents approached, 55-year-old Marcial Gomez Santana. The names of the victims have not been released. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.

lina boivin: The byelection was precipitated by the resignation of rookie Liberal MP Denis Lemieux, according to National Observer. He won the riding almost by fluke in the 2015 general election, with just 31 per cent of the vote. With 181 of 188 polls reporting, Conservative candidate Richard Martel had captured 53 per cent of the vote in a federal byelection held in Chicoutimi-Le Fjord more than 5,000 votes ahead of Liberal Lina Boivin, who took 29 per cent. ; The NDP and Bloc Quebecois candidates were not in contention, capturing just 8.7 per cent and 5.7 per cent respectively, while the Green candidate brought up the rear with just 3.1 per cent of the vote. At that time, the contest was a four-way fight, with the NDP capturing 29.7 per cent of the vote, the Bloc taking 20.5 per cent and the Conservatives taking 16.6 per cent. The Conservatives, who've been assiduously wooing former separatists and soft nationalists in the riding, benefited from the collapse in support for the Bloc and NDP, vaulting from fourth place to first. Boivin's showing Monday was only marginally worse than Lemieux's but there was no longer a split vote for her to benefit from. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.

minister: Amnesty International also weighed in, describing children being torn from the arms of their parents and placed into cages as nothing short of torture. ; But Trudeau would not offer an opinion on the controversial policy, saying his role as prime minister is to stand up for Canadian values but also to maintain a constructive relationship with the U.S. What we will not do is play politics with this, the prime minister said, according to National Observer. We understand how important it is to be firm and unequivocal as we protect and support human rights around the world. The U.S. government is under fire for its zero tolerance policy including from the human rights chief of the United Nations Human Rights Council, which condemned the practice Monday as unconscionable. And we will continue to do that both by example and by engagement with the world. As part of the policy, all irregular or undocumented migrants to the U.S. are being referred for federal prosecution and their children are taken and placed in holding facilities. U.S. Attorney General Jeff Sessions announced the so-called zero tolerance policy in April as a response to a spike in illegal border crossings by asylum seekers in the United States. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.

nielsen: She did not provide details about where exactly it was recorded, according to Vancouver Courier. Homeland Security Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen said she had not heard the audio but said children taken into custody by the government are being treated humanely. Papa! Papa! one child is heard weeping in the audio file that was first reported Monday by the non-profit Pro Publica and later provided to The Associated Press.article continues below Trending Stories City wants to curb land speculation along Vancouver's Broadway corridor City orders closure of Regent Hotel in Downtown Eastside City looks to buy or expropriate Regent and Balmoral hotels Nature's Path owner to pay 32k fine Human rights attorney Jennifer Harbury said she received the tape from a whistleblower and told Pro Publica it was recorded in the last week. She said the government has high standards for detention centres and the children are well cared for and stressed that Congress needs to plug loopholes in the law so families can stay together. The president was to visit Capitol Hill on Tuesday afternoon to discuss the crisis with House Republicans. The audio surfaced as politicians and advocates flocked to the U.S.-Mexico border to visit U.S. immigration detention centres and turn up the pressure on the Trump administration. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.

law: Persons who violate the law of our nation are subject to prosecution, according to The Chronicle Herald. I would cite you to the Apostle Paul and his clear and wise command in Romans 13, to obey the laws of the government because God has ordained them for the purpose of order. He said Illegal entry into the United States is a crime as it should be. Later in the same day, White House Press Secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders echoed these sentiments, saying that it is very biblical to enforce the law and that is actually repeated a number of times throughout the Bible. Scripture commands Christians to help the poor, to recognize the importance of the family, and to criticize unjust laws. As a scholar whose research is on Christian ethics, human rights and obligations to the poor, I would dispute this interpretation. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.

border patrol: Scattered about are bottles of water, bags of chips and large foil sheets intended to serve as blankets, according to The Chronicle Herald. One teenager told an advocate who visited that she was helping care for a young child she didn't know because the child's aunt was somewhere else in the facility. One cage had 20 children inside. She said she had to show others in her cell how to change the girl's diaper. More than 1,100 people were inside the large, dark facility that's divided into separate wings for unaccompanied children, adults on their own, and mothers and fathers with children. The U.S. Border Patrol on Sunday allowed reporters to briefly visit the facility where it holds families arrested at the southern U.S. border, responding to new criticism and protests over the Trump administration's zero tolerance policy and resulting separation of families. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.

government loans: Through the telling of stories, Emesih hopes to not only empower immigrants and inspire others, but attract more newcomers to the region, according to The Chronicle Herald. In May he published the 10th edition of his magazine, My Halifax Experience. My own story is in everyone else's story, he said. In this edition, five immigrant women he believes have had an influence on the economic and social fabric of Nova Scotia were profiled. Emesih published the first edition of his magazine in the winter of 2016 without government loans or subsidies. The women include provincial Immigration Minister Lena Diab and Ann Divine of Ashanti Leadership and Development Services. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.

u.s: It's just vicious and cruel, said O'Reilly, a Toronto nurse practitioner, according to Toronto Star. Americans are not vicious, cruel people, but it happens because of apathy. I can't imagine the trauma for the kids being taken away from their parents. We can't sit down and let it happen. NICHOLAS KEUNG / TORONTO STAR The couple will join a Toronto rally on Wednesday World Refugee Day in front of the Ingram Dr. office of Immigration Minister Ahmed Hussen to protest against the increased enforcement of a policy that allows U.S. authorities to criminally prosecute anyone caught crossing the U.S. border illegally. Nurse practitioner Emmet O'Reily and wife Hilary Evans Cameron, a researcher at U of T's Centre for Ethics, organized a protest earlier this month outside the U.S. Consulate against the U.S. practice of separating migrant children from their parents. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.

jane syvret: Jane Syvret plays with two of her three children in a park near their Toronto home, according to Toronto Star. Syvret, 27, who is of Indigenous and Black heritage, says her family is the face of the Campaign 2000 report. These ridings are also more likely to have high unemployment, low rates of labour force participation, more renters and people paying more than 30 per cent of their income on housing, says the report released Monday by Campaign 2000, a national coalition of more than 120 organizations dedicated to ending child poverty. Rick Madonik / Toronto Star The findings, based on the latest 2016 census and 2015 income tax data, suggest poverty is linked to persistent discrimination and systemic inequality, rather than luck, or poor individual choice, adds the report. She and her three young children live in Moss Park, part of Toronto Centre, the riding with the fourth highest child poverty rate in the country. Area single mother Jane Syvret, 27, who is of Indigenous and Black heritage, says her family is the face of the Campaign 2000 report. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.

menswear collection: Some highlights from Sunday's shows, including Milan mainstay Prada alongside younger brands Palm Angels, MSGM, Sunnei and Korean newcomers BESFXXK. ------ PRADA BASICS Miccia Prada says she was trying to do elegant in a new young way with her latest menswear collection, according to CTV. At Prada, young does not translate to streetwear, even if there were sneakers. While the topics of generational and creative change at some of the most-established Milan fashion houses were running in the background, young brands carved out their own space to grow by their own rules. The new plastic square logo on nearly every garment, including the folded turtle neck, was strictly an ironic answer to prevailing trends. I never pronounced sexy in my life. Against previous intentions, elegant at Prada translated into sexy -- i.e. short shorts for men -- and at times playful -- big stuffed aviator hats made for summer despite the decidedly wintery earflaps, mostly in Prada's trademark black vinyl. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.

minority party: Images of children held in fenced cages fueled a growing chorus of condemnation from both political parties, four former first ladies and national evangelical leaders, according to CTV. The children are being held separately from parents who are being prosecuted under the administration's zero-tolerance policy for illegal border crossings. Calling for tough action against illegal immigration, Trump declared the U.S. will not be a migrant camp on his watch. Trump on Monday falsely blamed Democrats -- the minority party in Washington -- for obstructing legislation to fix the situation. I say it's very strongly the Democrats' fault, Trump said Monday as his administration rejected criticism that the policy has resulted in inhuman and immoral conditions. In fact, it was Trump's administration that broke with longstanding practice of processing migrant families in civil, rather than criminal, proceedings that allow families to be held together. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.

policy goal: Since then, the administration has been steadily eroding protections for immigrant children and families, according to CTV. They're willing to risk harm to a child being traumatized, separated from a parent and sitting in federal detention by themselves, in order to reach a larger policy goal of deterrence, said Jennifer Podkul, director of policy at Kids in Need of Defence, which represents children in immigration court. It's also a situation that has been brewing since the week President Donald Trump took office, when he issued his first order signalling a tougher approach to asylum-seekers. To those who work with immigrants, the parents' plight was heralded by a series of measures making it harder for kids arriving on the border to get released from government custody and to seek legal status here. But a backlash is mounting, fueled by reports of children being taken from mothers and distraught toddlers and elementary school age children asking, through tears, when they can see their parents. The administration has said the changes are needed to deter immigrants from coming here illegally. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.

downtown toronto: Morneau will have a say in how much new federal spending may be made available for the strategy, which would have an effect on his riding of Toronto Centre, where two-fifths of children live in low-income enclaves near the wealthy Bay Street corridor, according to National Observer. The downtown Toronto riding is home to a large number of visible minorities and recent immigrants, many of whom live in social housing, the report says. The anti-poverty advocacy group behind the report, Campaign 2000, hopes the data will prod the government to approve a soon-to-be-finalized poverty-reduction strategy before next year's federal election, and enshrine commitments in legislation so it cannot be undone by a future government. ; The Liberals have promised to create a poverty reduction strategy before the end of this four-year mandate. The report being released Monday says ridings with high child poverty rates like Toronto Centre also had higher proportions of lone parent families and Indigenous Peoples, such as the Saskatchewan riding of River and Winnipeg Centre, which ranked second and third, respectively, for the highest child poverty rates in the country. We might hear from some politicians that, 'this is not an issue in my backyard' and that really poverty is about either getting a job, or pulling up your bootstraps and it's because of people's individual choices. The northern Manitoba riding of Churchill-Keewatinook Aski, a predominantly rural riding home to multiple First Nations, had a child poverty rate of 64.2 per cent, more than three-and-a-half times the national average recorded in the most recent census. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.

minority party: Images of children held in fenced cages fueled a growing chorus of condemnation from both political parties, four former first ladies and national evangelical leaders, according to Vancouver Courier. The children are being held separately from parents who are being prosecuted under the administration's zero-tolerance policy for illegal border crossings.article continues below Trending Stories Trump on Monday falsely blamed Democrats the minority party in Washington for obstructing legislation to fix the situation. Calling for tough action against illegal immigration, Trump declared the U.S. will not be a migrant camp on his watch. In fact, it was Trump's administration that broke with longstanding practice of processing migrant families in civil, rather than criminal, proceedings that allow families to be held together. Homeland Security Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen said, We will not apologize for the job we do or for the job law enforcement does, for doing the job that the American people expect us to do. I say it's very strongly the Democrats' fault, Trump said Monday as his administration rejected criticism that the policy has resulted in inhuman and immoral conditions. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.

show others: Scattered about are bottles of water, bags of chips and large foil sheets intended to serve as blankets, according to Vancouver Courier. One teenager told an advocate who visited that she was helping care for a young child she didn't know because the child's aunt was somewhere else in the facility. One cage had 20 children inside. She said she had to show others in her cell how to change the girl's diaper.article continues below Trending StoriesB.C. government back in SRO business, buys 78-room Downtown Eastside hotel Point Grey secondary grads, 50 years apart, reflect on past, present and future Stripping down and trying out for Lingerie Football'Hobbit house' for sale for 2.86 million The U.S. Border Patrol on Sunday allowed reporters to briefly visit the facility where it holds families arrested at the southern U.S. border, responding to new criticism and protests over the Trump administration's zero tolerance policy and resulting separation of families. The cages in each wing open out into common areas to use portable restrooms. More than 1,100 people were inside the large, dark facility that's divided into separate wings for unaccompanied children, adults on their own, and mothers and fathers with children. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.

trump: Trump, said Sunday She believes we need to be a country that follows all laws, but also a country that governs with heart, according to Vancouver Courier. She said Mrs. Stephanie Grisham, a spokeswoman for Mrs. Trump hopes both sides can finally come together to achieve successful immigration reform. article continues below Trending Stories'Hobbit house' for sale for 2.86 millionB.C. government back in SRO business, buys 78-room Downtown Eastside hotel Point Grey secondary grads, 50 years apart, reflect on past, present and future Poll Majority of Vancouverites oppose feds' purchase of Kinder Morgan pipeline While the statement suggested the matter was an issue for Congress, Democratic lawmakers and others have pointed out that no law mandates the separation of children and parents at the border. More adults were being jailed as a result, which led to their children being separated from them.A former first lady, Laura Bush, joined the debate, calling the separation policy cruel and immoral and said it breaks my heart. A new Trump administration policy, which went into effect in May, sought to maximize criminal prosecutions of people caught trying to enter the U.S. illegally. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.

thirties sunday: Hot and sunny conditions are expected to cause increasing ground-level ozone concentrations making breathing difficult for some, according to CTV. Temperatures were expected to reach the low thirties Sunday and Monday with peak humidex values near 40. Environment Canada has also issued a heat warning and air quality statement for the London region. The risks are greater for young children, pregnant women, older adults, people with chronic illnesses and people working or exercising outdoors. A cold front will cross Southern Ontario tonight ending the heat event. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.

mediterranean sea: In Italy, the mayor of Palermo offered to open his city's port, as did mayors in Naples, Messina and Reggio Calabria, according to Toronto Star. However, Matteo Salvini, a leader within the far-right League party and the country's interior minister, said all of Italy's ports would remain closed to the Aquarius. The ship, carrying hundreds of mostly North African migrants, had been turned away by Italian and Maltese authorities. Migrants are transferred from the Aquarius ship to an Italian Coast Guard boat in the Mediterranean Sea on June 12. Berversluis with Doctors Without Borders, who was on the boat said, To me of course, Europe needs to have a system that accepts asylum-seekers. Salvatore Cavalli / The Associated Press Speaking to NPR, Dr. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.

mexican state: Maria Rafaela Blancante, of the Mexican state of Michoacan, holds her daughter, Jazmin, on Wednesday as they wait with other families to request political asylum in the United States, across the border in Tijuana, Mexico, according to Toronto Star. The family has waited for two weeks in this Mexican border city, hoping for a chance to escape widespread violence in their home state. To him, it's better to take his chances with the U.S. asylum system and stay in Mexico if his bid is denied. Gregory Bull / The Associated Press Imagine what would happen if I was deported to El Salvador, he said Wednesday as he waited at the border to enter the United States. The Associated Press interviewed several asylum-seekers this past week at a plaza on the border, and each of them cited gang violence as the main factor in fleeing their homelands. The directive announced Monday could have far-reaching consequences because of the sheer volume of people such as Aparicio fleeing gang violence, which is so pervasive in Central America that merely stepping foot in the wrong neighbourhood can lead to death. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.

u.s .,: That response was followed by continue its current approach at 36 per cent, more welcoming at 14 per cent and unsure at six per cent, according to CTV. Nearly half of male respondents and those living in the Prairies also answered less welcoming while female respondents, those aged 18 to 34, and residents of Quebec were the most supportive of asylum seekers. When asked how welcoming the Canadian government should be to asylum seekers crossing into the country from the U.S., almost half of respondents, or 43 per cent, said less welcoming. More than 30,000 asylum seekers have been intercepted by the RCMP along the Canada-U.S. border since Jan. 2017, according to data from Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada. When asked about Canadian law enforcement presence along the border to deal with such illicit crossings, the majority of survey respondents, or 57 per cent, said there is too little presence. The vast majority of those people, or 93 per cent, entered through Quebec. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.