The MP for Bruce Grey Owen Sound said illegal border crossings from the United States are not only costly, but they are also undermining the immigration system
Larry Miller said a report from the parliamentary budget officer found the average cost for each illegal migrant is over $14,000. That cost rises to $16,666 for next year.
The report said the costs related to the massive influx of illegal migrants coming from the United States will add up to about $400 million for the 2018 to 2019 fiscal year.
And those are just the costs associated with federal departments working through the asylum process. Miller said the migrants are straining agencies like the Canada Border Services Agency, the Royal Canadian Mounted Police, Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada, the Canadian Armed Forces, and the Immigration Review Board.
Miller said these estimates don't include costs incurred by provincial governments and local municipalities as a result of the illegal migration. The City of Toronto has been calling for funding to pay for the hotel rooms for thousands of illegal migrants.
The PBO’s report stated, “the federal government has provided no guidance regarding the reimbursement of future expenses."
Reports have said, since the start of last year, more than 31,000 people have crossed into Canada this way.
However, the United Nations said, last year, Canada received less than 0.2 per cent of the overall refugee population in the world.
“Today, the PBO confirmed what we have been saying all along; those crossing the border illegally are costing us dearly and undermining the legal immigration process,” said Miller. “Canada is a welcoming country and so it should be. That being said, for this government to continue to allow this type of illegal immigration and incur the costs associated with it is a slap in the face to those seeking to come to Canada legally. This government has tools available to it to stop this process. They need to clean up their act, show some leadership and put an end to this illegal immigration.”
