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ESQUIMALT, British Columbia (Reuters) - Embarrassed Canadian officials said Tuesday fewer Chinese boat people from a ship that arrived last week will face quick deportation as illegal immigrants than originally thought.
The incident is seen likely to spark more controversy about the country's immigration and refugee screening system, which has come under fire with the arrival of two large loads of boat people on the Pacific coast in less than a month.
Officials Monday announced plans to quickly deport 78 of the 131 people who crossed the Pacific Ocean in aging fishing trawler, but discovered 20 of the scheduled deportees had requested refugee status so their cases will be reviewed.
Undocumented immigrants who arrive in Canada and claim refugee status are allowed to remain in the country until a hearing is held, a process that can take up to two years to complete.
``I am embarrassed as manager of operations but due process is being provided now,'' said John Kent of Citizenship and Immigration Canada, who called the error ``inadvertent'' and blamed it on a paperwork mix-up.
A refugee advocacy group had asked the review after hearing complaints about the screening process underway at a military base in Esquimalt, which is located near the U.S. border on Vancouver Island.
The immigrants still scheduled for deportation had told officials that they were coming to Canada from China's poor Fujian province for economic reasons, which would disqualify them as refugee claimants.
The arrival of the boat last week and a similar craft in July with 123 people have have sparked a storm of controversy about Canada's immigration and refugee laws, with critics claiming they are so lax that they encourage smuggling.
All of people who arrived on the first boat in July have claimed refugee
status. Thirty seven people from the boat are being held as potential smugglers,
but the rest have released pending hearings and are in the Vancouver area.
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