PAGE 11 — The Georgia Bulletin, March 19, 1987
At U.S.-Canada Border, Agencies Scramble To Aid "Bus People”
BY LAURIE HANSEN
WASHINGTON (NC) — Large numbers of Salvadoran
and Guatemalan “bus people,” turned away at the Cana
dian border as a result of a new Canadian immigration pro
cedure, have agencies in upstate New York and Vermont
scrambling to find sources of food, clothing and shelter.
Fearing deportation from the United States since passage
of the new U.S. immigration reform law, Salvadorans and
Guatemalans in increasing numbers are seeking refuge in
Canada, say members of church-sponsored refugee
assistance groups.
Alarmed that the numbers could swell to hundreds of
thousands, Canada decided Feb. 20 to institute a new im
migration policy. Upon reaching the Canadian border,
refugees seeking asylum are now given a hearing date and
told they may not enter the country until that date unless
they are being deported, said Roderick McDowell, a Cana
dian lawyer who is a member of the Central American
refugee committee set up by the Canadian Diocese of St.
Catharines, Ontario.
The Central Americans turned away at the border, ac
cording to St. Mary Sister Bonny Butler, who works for the
Interfaith Refugee Assistance Project in Buffalo, N.Y., are
“without family, friends or money... of ten in shirt sleeves
and lightweight clothing."
The project, she said, attempts to meet refugees’
material needs as well as prepare them for the Canadian
immigration inquiry.
Some have flown to U.S. border towns to make the cross-
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ing, but most have traveled by bus, leading the Montreal
press to label them “the bus people.”
They flock to Canada because it is a nation known to pro
tect refugees seeking political asylum, said McDowell.
But the influx has overwhelmed the Canadian immigra
tion system, according to McDowell, also executive direc
tor of a Canadian agency that gives legal counsel to
refugees seeking asylum.
Until Feb. 20, refugees from 18 designated countries, in
cluding El Salvador and Guatemala, were able to enter
Canada and automatically obtain stays of one year with a
valid work permit.
Now, said McDowell, those applying for refugee status in
Canada must endure “a more cumbersome process,” in
which they must appear at two hearings and prove under
oath they left their homelands as a result of “a well-founded
fear of persecution” based on “race, religion, nationality,
political opinion or membership in a social group.”
Bishop Thomas Fulton of Saint Catharines said in a
telephone interview that while immigration regulations
may become more strict, he does not anticipate Canada will
stop welcoming Salvadorans and Guatemalans seeking
refuge.
“The government has said again and again that it is not
going to prohibit legitimate political refugees from entering
the country,” Bishop Fulton said.
McDowell said refugees arriving in Canada “say candid
ly they would rather stay in the United States where the
weather is warmer.” Many report they left after being fired
by U.S. employers fearing penalties as a result of U.S. im
migration law.
McDowell said some Canadians have expressed fear the
new immigrants will “take their jobs,” but added the sud
den refugee influx has also produced “an amazing move
ment” uniting Mennonites, Catholics, Quakers,
Episcopalians and members of the United Church anxious
to help.
Anne Pilsbury, a lawyer with the Central American Legal
Canadian Bishop
Urges Kindness
Assistance Office in Brooklyn, N.Y., said those refugees
allowed to cross into Canada have been welcomed.
“When people show up at the doorsteps of shelters,
churches and agencies along the border, they’re not locked
up and treated as criminals. Rather they’re given permis
sion to live and work in Canada, and also some minimal
social assistance."
TABLE SHARED — New York Gov. Mario
Cuomo listens to Cardinal John O’Connor as
they share a dinner table at a meeting of the
New' York Catholic Conference. The two men,
who have had their differences on issues such
as abortion, were speakers at the conference.
(NC photo by Jeff Goulding)
WASHINGTON (NC) -
Bishop Thomas Fulton of
St. Catharines, Ontario, has
urged Canadian Catholics
to welcome growing
numbers of Salvadorans
and Guatemalans who,
fearing deportation from
the United States, are ap
pearing on the Canadian
doorstep.
Telling members of his
diocese they are ‘‘first
hand witnesses” of a
human tragedy, Bishop
Fulton asked them to re
spond with Christian con
cern to the Salvadorans and
Guatemalans by inviting
them into their homes.
In a pastoral letter,
issued in February, Bishop
Fulton noted that large
numbers of Central
Americans have been ar
riving in the Diocese of St.
Catharines since Decem
ber.
As a result, the bishop an
nounced, he had decided to
hire a salaried coordinator
to assist the refugees and to
underwrite their “initial
basic needs.”
In the first six weeks of
1987, 6,120 emigres claim
ing refugee status arrived
in Canada, nearly as many
as the total number of
refugees arriving in all of
1985.
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