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Sunday, November 28, 1999
20,000 deportees missing
Feds clueless on whereabouts
By ANNE
DAWSON -- Ottawa Bureau
OTTAWA -- The federal government has no idea of the
whereabouts of more than 20,000 foreigners -- some with criminal records
-- who have been ordered deported, immigration documents reveal.
That's half of the 40,632 outstanding deportation orders
issued in Canada since 1993.
Nationwide warrants have been
issued for the arrest of these people, but officials concede that no
federal department or police officials are actively working on their
files.
Although officials admit their computer tracking
system is not able to provide them with a breakdown of these 20,743 wanted
people, they believe the vast majority of them are refugee claimants who
failed to meet the test that would allow them to remain in Canada.
CRIMINALS
The others include criminals,
temporary workers whose permits have expired, students, and visitors who
have overstayed their visas.
Immigration spokesman Huguette
Shouldice told The Sunday Sun that it's unlikely many of these 20,743
foreigners have serious criminal records or immigration officers would be
on their tails.
Shouldice said the government believes many
of the foreigners at large may have already left Canada but simply failed
to inform officials on their way out.
"We firmly do not
believe that this means 20,743 people are here living underground. What
we're saying is a lot of those people would have left the country. But
because we don't have exit controls in Canada, like they do in Cuba or
China, we don't know how many are still here," she said.
Shouldice said the government believes the vast majority of
these undesirables are people who have come to Canada claiming refugee
status and either failed to show up for their hearings, or simply did not
meet the requirements and failed to leave.
"If they have
been ordered removed with a departure order from immigration, they are
supposed to check out at the airport, although they don't always,"
Shouldice said.
"So when we are not sure they left, the
government issues a warrant for their arrest and the warrant is entered
into the police computer system. But only if they are stopped for speeding
or jaywalking or shoplifting ... are they discovered."
Police and immigration officials are actively chasing 11,108
of the 40,632 outstanding cases. Shouldice concedes it's a long, slow
process.
For example, she said, many in this category are
currently in Canadian jails and cannot be deported until they finish their
sentence.
Of the remaining 8,781 cases, 6,824 did not
qualify as refugees after having completed their appeals and are awaiting
a "risk review."
This means they are cleared for deportation
but because they may be at risk if returned to their home country, they
are allowed to stay in Canada.
The final 1,957 cases fall
into a miscellaneous category. They do not register on government
computers and there are no immigration or police officials working on
these files.
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