Canadian immigrants "go underground"

November 06 2009 by Liam Clifford

Immigrants’ lying low in Canada as it is urged to speed up deportations.

Almost 42,000 immigrants awaiting deportation have ‘vanished’ in Canada and are now being sought on deportation charges, according to Canadian immigration documents.

160,000 people in total are at different stages of the deportation process in Canada, the number that have gone missing amounts to a quarter of that number. The bulk of people being removed are from the area of Toronto, where more than 60% of newcomers to Canada settle.

The amount of time being taken to deport immigrants is worrying some parts of the community, none so more than Toronto Police Association’s Mike McCormack;

"This raises safety concerns since these people are desperate and want to avoid compliance."

The concerns come 15 years after a two-time deportee, Clinton Gayle, shot dead Toronto police constable Todd Baylis. The association feel so strongly about the issue they are petitioning the Canadian immigration minister, Jason Kenney, to speed up deportations.