People held at Canadian border is up by a third
January 12 2010 by Liam Clifford
Detentions made by Canadian immigration at the border are costing $200 a day and on average are detained for 17 days.
The amount of suspected illegal immigrants and persons who have previously committed crimes detained at the Canadian border by Canada immigration has rocketed by a third in just under five years, records from the Canada Border Services Agency show.
The records show that 14,362 individuals were detained in 2009 and held on average 17 days, at a cost to the tax-payer of $200 per day, per detainee. This is a rise from the number of 10,774 people detained in the space of a year, five years earlier.
Of the total number of people held, 10,212 were released and 3,696 were deported from the country.
MP Brian Masse reacted to the news by calling it a “significant increase” but added beefed up security and more fraudulent asylum claims could be escalating the numbers.
“Is it because we’ve increased the awareness and the services and coverage, or is it because we’ve changed the way we allow people to come in to Canada?” he said.
The records from Canada immigration relay that detention of immigrants is a “last resort” after other options are explored, this includes cash bonds and electronic tags.
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