{"id":397,"date":"2013-02-19T19:19:14","date_gmt":"2013-02-19T19:19:14","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/refugeeresearch.net\/ms\/km\/?p=397"},"modified":"2013-02-19T22:34:38","modified_gmt":"2013-02-19T22:34:38","slug":"toronto-considers-giving-underground-migrants-access-to-services-without-fear","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/refugeeresearch.net\/ms\/km\/2013\/02\/19\/toronto-considers-giving-underground-migrants-access-to-services-without-fear\/","title":{"rendered":"Toronto considers giving underground migrants access to services without fear"},"content":{"rendered":"

Councillors are being asked to make Toronto a \u201csanctuary city\u201d where where non-status migrants can access services without fear of being jailed and deported.<\/strong><\/h3>\n

Toronto Star<\/a><\/strong><\/h3>\n
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\"George<\/p>\n
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NICHOLAS KEUNG \/ TORONTO STAR<\/p>\n

George Williams, 58, came to Toronto as a visitor and lived without status for three years. He nervously approached a shelter in 2010 after he lost his job and home, fearing he’d be deported. But the shelter helped him apply for refugee status, and he is now a permanent resident.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

By:<\/strong>\u00a0Nicholas Keung<\/a>\u00a0Immigration reporter,\u00a0Published on Mon Feb 18 2013<\/div>\n
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Maria didn\u2019t go to police after her Canadian husband beat her up. When the food bank staff asked for her ID, she just left. And when she was owed $1,600 in back wages for two months\u2019 work as a cleaner, she could do nothing but bite her lip.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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\u201cI\u2019m denied access for help and services because I don\u2019t have any immigration paper,\u201d explained the Toronto resident, who came here from Mexico City in 2000 and has lived an undocumented life ever since.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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\u201cIt\u2019s not only affecting my life \u2014 because of my (lack of) status, my daughter is not getting the support, even though she was born in Canada. Better access to services means better quality of life for her.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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Maria, who asked that her full name not be used for fear of being pursued by immigration enforcement officers, is among Greater Toronto\u2019s estimated 200,000 undocumented migrants: visitors who have overstayed their visas, or failed refugee claimants dodging deportation.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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Anticipating a surge in the region\u2019s undocumented population in 2015 \u2014 when many legal but temporary foreign workers will see their four-year work permits expire under a new law and potentially move \u201cunderground\u201d \u2014 Toronto City Council is set to vote on an \u201caccess without fear\u201d motion Wednesday or Thursday.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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The city\u2019s community development and recreation committee has come up with a plan to transform Toronto into a \u201csanctuary city,\u201d similar to San Francisco and other U.S. cities that have passed laws ensuring that non-status residents can turn to city services without fear that they\u2019ll be turned in for detention or deportation.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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The motion calls for training for front-line staff and managers to ensure that undocumented residents won\u2019t be asked about their immigration status when accessing services \u2014 calling police in an emergency, for example \u2014 and establishing a complaints protocol and public education strategy to inform Torontonians of the policy.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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\u201cThe undocumented live here, work here and pay taxes here. They are part of the community. They also need services and support. Government services should not be tied to immigration status,\u201d said Karin Baqi of the Solidarity City Network, an umbrella group behind the campaign.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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\u201cThey are the backbone of our economy. They take care of our kids, clean our offices and build houses.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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The motion doesn\u2019t suggest that the new policy would contain any benefits for city government, only for the undocumented residents themselves. Maria, who makes a meager income as a cleaner, said her daughter could at least have had more nutritious food from the food bank than steamed rice and potatoes, if the local food bank hadn\u2019t asked her for documents proving her status as a resident.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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\u201cI make very little money from my job. Any support I can get will help,\u201d said Maria, who is in her 30s.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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George Williams came to Toronto as a visitor from St. Vincent in 2007 and lived under the radar until 2010, when he lost his under-the-table job at a popsicle factory and became homeless.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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Despondent, Williams decided to risk being reported to immigration officials and walked into the Maxwell Meighen homeless shelter for help.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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\u201cI was brave enough to go in,\u201d recalled Williams, 58. \u201cFortunately, they didn\u2019t ask for my immigration paper.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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When shelter staff later found out he fled to Canada to avoid persecution as a gay man, they gave him encouragement and helped him file a refugee claim, which was accepted in 2010.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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\u201cIt\u2019s really important for people to have a place to go to where they are not afraid to ask for help and support,\u201d said Williams, who became a permanent resident last year.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Councillors are being asked to make Toronto a \u201csanctuary city\u201d where where non-status migrants can access services without fear of being jailed and deported. Toronto Star NICHOLAS KEUNG \/ TORONTO STAR George Williams, 58, came to Toronto as a visitor and lived without status for three years. He nervously approached a shelter in 2010 after […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_exactmetrics_skip_tracking":false,"_exactmetrics_sitenote_active":false,"_exactmetrics_sitenote_note":"","_exactmetrics_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":"","_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-397","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-migration-headlines"],"yoast_head":"\nToronto considers giving underground migrants access to services without fear - Knowledge Migration<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/refugeeresearch.net\/ms\/km\/2013\/02\/19\/toronto-considers-giving-underground-migrants-access-to-services-without-fear\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Toronto considers giving underground migrants access to services without fear - Knowledge Migration\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Councillors are being asked to make Toronto a \u201csanctuary city\u201d where where non-status migrants can access services without fear of being jailed and deported. 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