The new face of immigration

The recent moves by the federal government to speed up the deportations of foreign workers have hardened the fall of Canada from grace in terms of immigration policy.

Well planned raids throughout southern Ontario from the beginning of May have already resulted is arrests and deportations of more than hundred illegal workers who were from places like Thailand, Mexico, the Philippines, China and the Caribbean. According to ‘No One Is Illegal’, an immigrant right organization closely watching the situation, there are many who are currently waiting for an outcome while they are detained.

On an interesting note, there haven’t been any charges against the employers of those illegal workers. The whole situation can be closely associated with the worst anti-immigrant policies of the Bush era, i.e. chasing, arresting, detaining and finally deporting illegal workers.

But the situation has changed in the US and the famous anti-immigrant wave has quieted. Unfortunately that is not the case in Canada.

It is a shame that we treat people who are just here to work as criminals, and take no action against the employers and their recruiters who tempted them to do what is termed as illegal.

The fact is that all this is as per the general approach of the federal government regarding immigration and racial equity in early days. For instance, amendments to Bill C-50 that came into light in the federal budget in 2008 are now having ‘great effects’.

First of all, the amendments made sure that out neutral immigration system of immigration determinations will turn into a discretionary system. The minister now enjoys exceptional powers to mark occupations which are to be given priority and which are to be neglected in the selection process.

With many such changes, our system has simply become arbitrary and open to vagaries of the political notion.