Undocumented immigrants within the United States attempting to move to Canada out of fear of the current administration have been a concern since last year, but a recent survey suggests that Canadians might not want them to move into the country. A recent poll showed that Canadians wanting migrants to be deported are growing in number, and so are Canadians that have found displeasure in how the government is handling the situation. Interestingly enough, this seems to be a trend that has changed from what polls alleged as early as last month over Canadian immigration policies.
The opposition appears to be growing in number
According to a poll released on Monday, nearly half of Canadians support increasing deportation of people who are living in Canada illegally, with the same share saying they support deporting Undocumented Immigrants who entered Canada through the United States specifically. That said, around a third of Canadians polled have said that they would support such undocumented immigrants applying for refugee status.
Within context, the poll also seems to suggest that the status of undocumented immigrants is becoming a growing issue for Canadians. According to reports, around a quarter of Canadians polled believe immigration to be a national issue, which increased from a similar poll conducted in December, with Canadians of that opinion making up less than a fifth of those polled.
Canadians even appear to be gradually starting to disagree with the Prime Minister
Of those polled, nearly half felt that they did not agree with how Prime Minister justin trudeau was handling the situation, with 37 percent agreeing, and 17 percent unsure how they felt. A previous poll released in January claimed 59 percent approved of Trudeau's policies, with 41 disapproving.
Undocumented immigrants have already been escaping to Canada in reportedly record numbers since President Donald Trump was announced as the next commander-in-chief in 2016. In 2016, 1,222 undocumented immigrants fled to Quebec from the United States alone, which was said to be a fivefold increase from previous years. Those who fled in the early months of 2017 reportedly faced frostbite and hypothermia to cross into the northern country.
Paul Caulford, a doctor at the Canadian Centre for Refugee and Immigrant Healthcare, said in a released statement that undocumented immigrants that he came into contact with said that the United States of America "is no longer a safe country for them." Reportedly, many of the immigrants involved in the study claim to have lived in the United States legally, but left out of fear of persecution under the new administration.
