January 15, 2019

Ottawa, ON – The Honourable Michelle Rempel, Shadow Minister for Immigration, Refugees, and Citizenship, and Pierre Paul-Hus, Shadow Minister for Public Safety, Border Security, and Emergency Preparedness, issued the following statement on the 2018 illegal border crosser numbers released earlier today:

“Today’s figures confirm that Justin Trudeau has turned the chaotic situation at Canada’s border with the United States into a permanent feature of our overall immigration system.

“For two years in a row, Trudeau has allowed thousands and thousands of individuals to enter Canada illegally, despite the fact that two thirds of them held legal status in the United States prior to illegally entering Canada.

“Trudeau has prioritized these individuals over legitimate refugees fleeing violence, terror, and oppression abroad who desperately need Canada’s compassion and accommodation. This has seen the wait time for a refugee claim hearing increase by a third, up to 20 months.

“To date, the Prime Minister has offered precisely zero solutions to reduce the flow of illegal border crossers into Canada and has instead chosen to spend $1.6 billion of taxpayer dollars to facilitate the abuse of Canada’s generous asylum system and making the situation worse.

“Canada’s Conservatives will continue to advocate for an immigration system that is planned, orderly and compassionate. It’s time the Trudeau government immediately close the loophole in the Safe Third Country Agreement, regain control of our borders, and prioritize the world’s most vulnerable.”