News

Trudeau’s Closing of Canada’s Borders to Asylum Seekers an Epic Fail

Published

1 year ago

2023-09-03

Geoff Brown

Trudeau's Closing of Canada's Borders to Asylum Seekers an Epic Fail

A deal Canada reached this year with the Biden administration to limit the flow of asylum seekers arriving from the United States appeared to be a swift success: within days, the number of persons captured at illegal border crossings had fallen to a trickle.

However, five months later, the overall number of people seeking refugee claims in Canada has increased rather than decreased. Many now travel by air, while others sneak across the border and hide until they can ask for asylum without fear of being deported, according to people who work with migrants.

The figures demonstrate how difficult it is for countries to turn away desperate people, as well as the issue that unexpected numbers of asylum seekers might pose: Hundreds of people in Toronto slept on the streets this summer because they couldn’t find a place to sleep.

“The basic reality is that closing a border does nothing to address the need for protection,” said Shauna Labman, an associate professor and acting head of the University of Winnipeg’s Human Rights Program. “It only increases the desperation.”

Canada takes pride in welcoming immigrants and plans to bring in a record 500,000 new permanent residents by 2025 to address a severe labour shortfall. However, it has attempted to deter asylum seekers, primarily through an arrangement with the United States under which each country turns back asylum claimants.

Nonetheless, over 39,000 asylum seekers entered Canada illegally last year, largely entering Quebec along a dirt route off Roxham Road in New York, prompting the province to protest that it couldn’t handle the influx. Asylum seekers are drawn to Canada because of its reputation for faster processing and increased acceptance of asylum petitions than the United States.

As a result, Canada and the United States modified their two-decade-old asylum-seeker arrangement, the Safe Third Country Agreement, in March. The deal now applies to the whole 4,000-mile land border between the two countries, rather than only at points of entry.

The enlarged pact resulted in a remarkable decrease in the number of persons intercepted at irregular crossings, from 4,173 in March to double digits from April to July.

However, the aggregate number of asylum seekers entering Canada has increased. According to figures from the immigration, refugees, and citizenship department, the overall number of refugee claims filed in Canada increased to 12,010 in July, the highest monthly total since at least January 2017, and up from 10,120 in March.

Canada Refugee Claims at Airports

According to government of Canada data, some of the increased numbers are due to an increase in the number of people submitting refugee claims at airports or local immigration department offices, frequently days, weeks, or months after arriving in the nation.

People applying at airports accounted for over one-third of all refugee applications in July, up from about 16% in March. Those filing claims at immigration offices accounted for almost 54% of the total in July, up from approximately a third in March. Mexico, Haiti, Turkey, Colombia, and India were the top five claimant countries in the first half of the year, albeit these figures include those who applied prior to the extended US accord.

According to some migratory experts, at least part of the reason for the latest exodus is that Canada is among a diminishing handful of nations viewed as providing safe harbour as the strains of war, climate change, and human rights violations force an increasing number to flee.

The European Union, for example, has implemented an asylum seeker deal that allows governments to return some migrants more promptly. The British government is pressing for legislation that will make it easier to return asylum seekers to Rwanda, while US President Joe Biden’s administration has proposed legislation that will make it more difficult for migrants to obtain refuge if they enter the country unlawfully.

“If you’re trying to make this set of decisions, Canada becomes a more likely option,” said Craig Damian Smith, a research affiliate at York University’s Centre for Refugee Studies.

“The world is facing unprecedented flows of migrants and refugees, and Canada is not immune to these trends,” said Remi Lariviere, a department official.

According to Lariviere, Canada revised the agreement with the US to handle “irregular” crossings, and the extension “does not mean that claims for asylum will not be made in Canada at all.”

Smugglers Hiding Asylum Seekers

According to those who work with migrants, some of those filing claims days or weeks after arriving in Canada are hoping to avoid a clause in the expanded agreement with the US that states that any asylum seeker apprehended within two weeks of crossing the border will be turned back unless they meet a narrow exemption.

This has prompted some to sneak over secretly, often with the assistance of a smuggler, and hide until the two-week deadline expires.

The Refugee Centre in Montreal claims to have assisted four families in one day last week who had been hiding for a fortnight after entering into the nation overland.

“Unfortunately, this is not a very safe avenue for them,” Reuters’ Executive Director Abdulla Daoud said. “It encourages bad actors to take advantage of these people.”

Assistance of Smugglers

According to Executive Director Loly Rico of the FCJ Refugee Centre in Toronto, between 20% to 30% of recent arrivals indicate they came into Canada undetected and hid with the assistance of a smuggler.

Reuters met with ten persons seeking refugee status who landed in Toronto, Canada’s largest city, recently. They came from all over the world, including Sudan, Uganda, and Mexico. All arrived by plane and had legal visas. Some applied for asylum days or weeks after arriving.

Though they went for causes ranging from domestic violence to war, Canada’s reputation for upholding human rights and providing refuge was a common pull for all.

“It was the first country that came to mind,” Hana Bakhit explained. The 35-year-old Sudanese woman claims she applied for a visiting visa in May, came to Canada in July, and submitted a refugee claim two weeks later.

She has been sleeping in a mosque and a church, calling Toronto’s central shelter every day for a room only to be told that none are available. Nonetheless, she feels herself fortunate to live in Canada.

With Canada’s land border more restricted, the asylum system now favours persons like Bakhit who can obtain a visa and a plane ticket, according to refugee lawyer Maureen Silcoff. “Some of the most vulnerable people remain barred from accessing Canada’s system, and I think we have to reflect on the inequity of that development,” Silcoff said.

Grace Nanziri, 42, was among those who had the relative advantage of being able to obtain a visa and a flight ticket: she sought for a Canadian visitor’s visa after her LGBTQ activism made her a target in her home nation of Uganda.

She flew to Toronto in August after waiting a year for the visa, enticed by Canada’s reputation for human rights protection, she said.

News

The Federal Reserve Was Sued By Big Banks Over Annual Stress Tests.

Published

2 days ago

2024-12-24

Salman Ahmad

(VOR News) – A number of financial firms and industry associations have taken legal action against the Federal Reserve of the United States in reaction to the annual stress tests that are administered to banks.

In addition to the American Bankers Association, the Ohio Bankers League, the Ohio Chamber of Commerce, and the United States Chamber of Commerce, the Bank Policy Institute, which is a group that represents large financial institutions such as JPMorgan, Citigroup, and Goldman Sachs, is joining the other organizations in filing the lawsuit.

The plaintiffs have said that the purpose of the action is to “resolve longstanding legal violations by subjecting the stress test process to public input as required by federal law.”

The Federal Reserve litigation aims to achieve this goal.

Despite the fact that the organizations have said that they do not have a negative stance on stress testing, they are of the opinion that the method that is now being utilized is insufficient and “produces vacillating and unexplained requirements and restrictions on bank capital.”

It is standard procedure for the Federal Reserve to carry out a stress test on an annual basis. This test ensures that financial institutions have adequate reserves to cover the risk of bad loans and establishes the maximum amount of share repurchases and dividends that can be distributed.

After the market closed on Monday, the Federal Reserve issued a statement indicating that it is considering adjustments to the stress tests applied to banks.

Additionally, the Federal Reserve will seek public feedback on “significant changes to improve the transparency of its bank stress tests and to reduce the volatility of resulting capital buffer requirements.”

This information was included in the announcement. As a result of “the evolving legal landscape,” the Federal Reserve claimed that it had made the choice to modify the tests. This statement was made in reference to the changes that have taken place in administrative laws over the course of the past several years.

There were no particular modifications that were described in this paper that were provided to the framework of the yearly stress testing before it was implemented. There is a likelihood that the revisions will be regarded as a win by the major banks; yet, it is possible that those modifications will be too little, too late.

Furthermore, it is possible that the revisions will not go far enough to satisfy the concerns of the banks regarding onerous capital requirements. This is a possibility.

The Federal Reserve says the changes will not materially affect capital requirements.

It was stated in a statement that was issued by Greg Baer, the Chief Executive Officer of the Bank of the Philippines, that “The Board’s announcement today is a first step towards transparency and accountability.”

Baer expressed his support for the Federal Reserve’s action. The statement issued by Baer, on the other hand, was a veiled allusion to additional actions. He stated, “We are reviewing it closely and considering additional options to ensure timely reforms that are both good law and good policy.”

The British Bankers Association (BPI) and the American Bankers Association (ABA) are two examples of organizations that have voiced their concerns in the past about the stress test procedure.

The aforementioned organizations have argued that the process is not transparent and has resulted in increasing capital rules, which have a detrimental effect on the lending practices of banks and the expansion of the economy.

The groups claimed in July that the Federal Reserve had broken the Administrative Procedure Act by not asking for public comment on its stress scenarios and by maintaining strict confidentiality about supervising models. Both of these acts were claimed to have happened.

SOURCE: CNBC

News

American Airlines Has Canceled All Domestic Flights Due to a Technical Issue.

Published

2 days ago

2024-12-24

Salman Ahmad

Photo: American Airlines

(VOR News) – Due to technical difficulties, American Airlines (AA) was forced to cancel all of its flights departing from the United States on Tuesday morning.

This decision was reached as a result of information that was provided by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA).

American Airlines’ findings were based on FAA data.

The airline is currently dealing with a lot of problems as a consequence of a considerable number of customers claiming that their planes have returned to gates after being stopped on runways at a number of different airports.

A decision has been reached by American Airlines to cancel each and every flight that was planned to fly in the United States prior to the implementation of cancellation.

The following is a comment that American Airlines provided in a post that was published on X, which was formerly known as Twitter. Take the following example:

“Our team is working to resolve a technical issue.” Despite the fact that they have not been able to provide an estimated time for the problem to be resolved, the organization has emphasized that they are making every effort to restart operations as quickly as possible.

There have been a number of aircraft throughout the United States that have been grounded as a result of the grounding. Travelers have taken to social media to vent their frustration with the delays and the lack of definite dates for their flights. A great number of flights have been canceled as a direct consequence of the grounding.

In spite of the fact that its technical staff is currently working to solve the system issues, American Airlines continues to handle customer complaints on social media channels.

During the time that they are striving to restart regular operations, the airline is advising passengers who have been affected to return to the airport. Regarding the nature of the technology challenges and the extent of those concerns, there is still a large amount of uncertainty.

There are thousands of customers on American Airlines’ domestic network who are experiencing major implications as a result of this circumstance that is becoming progressively dire.

During the time that they are working to fix the broad system breakdown, the airline is successfully leveraging social media to maintain communication with customer service representatives. As a consequence of this, the airline is able to maintain communication with its passengers.

American Airlines lists other similar examples:

There was a technical problem that happened on Monday at Alaska Airlines (AS), and it had an effect on the entire system. The disruption was directly responsible for the downtime of the company’s website, and as a consequence of the outage, the operations of the aircraft were adjusted.

In an effort to enhance their capacity to retain control over the flow of aircraft, the airline temporarily suspended flights at Seattle-Tacoma International Airport for a period of forty minutes. They adopted this course of action in order to enhance their ability to maintain control.

Due to a technical fault, consumers were unable to book tickets through the contact centers, mobile app, or website of the airline. As a consequence of this, the airline encountered considerable delays in providing satisfactory service to its passengers.

Southwest Airlines (WN) was forced to cancel every flight that was set to depart from various locations across the country earlier this year as a result of a different occurrence that occurred the previous year.

In response to Southwest’s request, the Federal Aviation Administration issued the order to terminate the flight’s operations on the ground. It was necessary to take this action in order to address the difficulties that were brought about by the existing technical impediments.

Southwest Airlines has had more than 1,500 American Airlines flight delays as of late morning Eastern Time, as indicated by the data that was given by Flight Aware. In the United States, this single factor was responsible for more than half of all the delays that were experienced by airplanes.

Please do not forget to stay in touch with us at all times. It is imperative that you follow us on social media in order to guarantee that you are constantly up to date with the most recent information by following us.

SOURCE: AI

News

Joe Biden Commutes Sentences For 37 Of The 40 Federal Death Row Prisoners.

Published

3 days ago

2024-12-23

Salman Ahmad

Photograph: Kevin Lamarque/Reuters

(VOR News) – Joe Biden commuted 37 of 40 federal death row inmates to life without parole. Trump reinstated federal executions after 17 years, according to supporters.

Biden: “Let there be no doubt: I denounce these murderers, mourn their victims, and empathize with all the families who have endured profound and irreparable loss.”

My morals and experiences as a public defender, Senate Judiciary Committee chairman, vice president, and president led me to abolish the federal death penalty. I will not allow another administration to violate my ethics.

The president commuted record-high death sentences. Former New Orleans police officer Len Davis was pardoned for running a cocaine protection racket and murdering Kim Groves after she filed a brutality complaint.

In 2022, three killers freed Davis after 28 years in prison.

Groves’ son, Corey, hailed Joe Biden’s commutation of Davis’ death sentence in a brief interview on Monday, saying he wanted the former police officer to serve decades.

“I desire Len to awaken on his 95th birthday still confronted with concrete and barbed wire,” said Groves, who received $1.5 million from the New Orleans city government and family in 2018 for his mother’s death. The president’s actions are worse than death, so I don’t care.

Holder altered his death sentence by murdering a security guard during a dual-participant bank heist. Prosecutors assert that Holder may not have discharged the lethal shot.

Daryl Lawrence was hanged for murdering Bryan Hurst, a Columbus cop. Former officer Donnie Oliverio remarked, “The President acted in accordance with our beliefs and values.” “Executing the individual who murdered my police partner and closest friend would not have afforded me any solace.”

All federal death row inmates save Dzhokhar Tsarnaev, who bombed the Boston Marathon in 2013, Dylann Roof, who killed nine Black churchgoers in Charleston, South Carolina, in 2015, and Robert Bowers, who slaughtered 11 Jews in a Pittsburgh synagogue in 2018, are eligible for clem

Death Penalty Information Center executive director Robin Maher told The Guardian that 38% of the 40 federal execution detainees are Black. About 25% of the offenders were under 21.

Bryan Stevenson, founder and executive director of the non-profit Equal Justice Initiative, said: “Today signifies a crucial juncture in abolishing America’s tragic and flawed application of the death penalty.

Joe Biden claims the death penalty doesn’t improve public safety.

Son of Martin Luther King Jr.: “This is a historic day.” Reflecting the death penalty’s racially biased origins and unfairness, Joe Biden commuted these sentences, unlike any other president.

Biden has trouble with this. He supported a 1994 criminal measure introducing 60 death penalty charges as a senator. He said, “I am the individual who incorporated these capital punishments into this legislation.” The death penalty led to enormous incarceration, especially of Black men.

Presidential candidate Joe Biden promised to end federal capital punishment in 2020. He criticized unfair convictions and court racism.

The Biden administration stopped federal executions properly. The president has been requesting to commute federal death sentences in recent weeks. Corrections officials, CEOs, Black clergy, Catholics, civil and human rights advocates, prosecutors, former judges, and victim families wrote to him. Pope Francis publicly pushed President Joe Biden to pardon US death suspects.

Joe Biden’s decision will prevent future administrations from executing people.

Trump executed more federal convicts than the previous ten. The Republican administration executed Daniel Lewis Lee after 17 years and six others from July 16–September 24, 2020.

Two Democrats who supported bicameral federal death penalty ban legislation praised Monday’s announcement.

Senate Judiciary Committee head and majority whip Dick Durbin said, “I have consistently supported the elimination of the federal death penalty and commend President Joe Biden for this act of justice and mercy, as well as for his leadership.”

Massachusetts Representative Ayanna Pressley termed Joe Biden decision a “historic and groundbreaking act of compassion that will save lives, rectify profound racial disparities in our criminal justice system, and convey a potent message regarding redemption, decency, and humanity

The White House claims Biden has granted more commutations than his first-term predecessors. He set a record by pardoning 1,500 inmates and promising community safety for one day this month.

The first president to pardon marijuana users and LGBTQ+ service troops for sexual orientation-related offenses was Joe Biden.

The president pardoned his son Hunter for federal weapons and tax charges that might have led him to prison earlier this month, triggering a political storm. Biden denied pardon twice before leaving office on January 20.

SOURCE: TG

VOR News

Trudeau’s Closing of Canada’s Borders to Asylum Seekers an Epic Fail

News