Number 110 January/February, 1999

The Real Costs of Immigration

We have been told that immigrants enrich us, bringing real cultures to poor, deprived, culture-less Canada. How then was it sold to the Italians and English -- two of the great founders of Western cultural traditions? Rome, the eternally beautiful city, has been forced to adopt a singularly ugly solution to a singularly ugly problem: an alarming increase in callously "discarded" new-borns. Despite 20 years of legal abortions and one of the lowest birth rates in Europe -- "in recent years the bodies of abandoned babies have been found in a washing machine, a cupboard, and at the roadside after being thrown from a moving car. A baby girl found in a bush two years ago had had her tongue cut out to make sure she was not discovered. ... A children's welfare organisation based in Rome is sticking posters on public rubbish bins throughout Italy urging mothers not to dump their babies. The posters, showing an open-mouthed baby disappearing into a dust bin, bear the slogan in Italian and English: 'I'm a baby! Take me to a hospital or a safe shelter.' ... The president of Rome's juvenile court, Luigi Fadiga, blames the phenomenon of abandoned babies mainly on the increase in illegal immigration. Immigrants involved in prostitution or living outside the law were most likely to jettison an unwanted child." (The Guardian, July 4, 1998)

In England, civil traditions dating back to Magna Carta (the golden thread of justice running through British Common Law -- an Englishman's home is his castle) must likewise be shunted aside to accommodate the "new" reality. "In the face of mounting evidence that organised crime is profiting from illegal immigration. ... Immigration officers are to be given sweeping new powers in tomorrow's White Paper on political asylum, the Observer has learnt. Officers hunting down alleged illegal immigrants will be granted powers to enter premises forcibly, search the inhabitants and seize people or evidence." (The Observer, July 26, 1998) No longer free to speak freely, Canadians too are beginning to note that "erosion" and "enrichment" are often interchangeable concepts. The tragedy is that men of goodwill will recognize that infants must not be dumped in the trash; so Rome's breathtaking fountains and statuary are flanked by these trash bins and their grotesque plea. None of us welcomes the idea of "selling" human beings; so Britain's celebrated traditions are dispensed with. After all, sacrificing your land, lineage and liberties on the altar of someone else's economic opportunism is a small price to pay for a real culture.

No Refuge for the Persecuted Canadian Taxpayer

Sadako Ogata, 71, now in her eighth year as UN High Commissioner for Refugees "says Canada is giving less weight to refugees' need for protection and more to how much they are likely to cost taxpayers once they arrive in Canada. ... Mrs. Ogata made her comments after two days [slurping up hospitality] in Ottawa discussing Canada's support for her office. ... A federal government official rejected Mrs. Ogata's claim, saying that Ottawa is actually doing more to help refugees who have slim prospects of quick integration." (Globe and Mail, November 10, 1998) The spry old dear has taken our measure and hit upon the usual solution: bleed Canada dry. Not that she can't be generous: "The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees has quietly returned $HK3.9 million of its $HK1.6 billion debt to Hong Kong. ... The bill is for the cost of care and maintenance of the more than 200,000 Vietnamese boat people who passed through Hong Kong." (South China Morning Post, August 31, 1998) Note that the boat people did not stay there. Note that the UN reimburses some nations, even for temporary care, while others are expected to pony up not just permanent settlement but a permanent smile! Mrs. Ogata has not yet demanded the ultimate sacrifice of her own nativist, xenophobic Japan. Perhaps she assumes that Canadians cannot read? "Under Sadako Ogata, according to critics, UNHCR ... is wasting millions of dollars donated by Western governments because of incompetent management, dubious accounting practices, and alleged fraud." (Financial Times of London, July 30, 1998) "Around the world, 53,333 people are working in various United Nations offices, reports Ploughshare Monitor. Three times as many people work for McDonald's." (Globe and Mail, September 16, 1997)

Taxpayer, Immigration Costs You!

So how does Canada stack up in the "what can we do for you next" stakes? Remember, as you read, that "according to an RCMP source, 90% of the 320,000 refugees accepted by Canada from 1983 'til 1995 had their arrangements made by people smugglers." (Toronto Sun, April 22, 1996) A report tabled in the House of Commons confesses: "Of those claiming refugee status in Canada, the majority arrives from a country other than that in which they claim that they were subject to persecution. ... Fragmentary data indicate that the administrative costs to the federal government of processing claims amounts to approximately $100 million each year. ... The Auditor General estimates that a claimant can expect to stay in Canada for more than two and a half years. ... The provinces are responsible for providing a variety of social services to support claimants. In Quebec and Ontario, a partial estimate puts these costs at about $100 million each on an annual basis. ... Although genuine refugees often have good cause to be without sufficient documentation, close to 60 percent of claimants lack such documentation. Yet, since 1993, over 99 percent of the claims have been judged eligible." (Ninth Report of the Standing Committee on Public Accounts) In a system wracked by patronage appointments and increasingly, by graft, it is discouraging when the report urges: "The [Immigration and Refugee] Board actively explore ways in which to increase the number of hearings that are held with [just] one member present." On the other hand, should the committee recommend hearings with at least two members present, opportunities for malfeasance would automatically be halved.

Still More Canada-bound Human "Cargo"

Whenever we're reminded that immigration is good for the economy, it's important to remember that that individual frequently has a vested interest. "A syndicate using fake passports to smuggle mainlanders from Hong Kong to Canada via Japan has been uncovered, the ICAC [Hong Kong's Independent Commission Against Corruption] said last night. The gang had been helped by corrupt airline staff who arranged for boarding passes to be switched, it said. ... The mainlanders being smuggled to Canada had visited Hong Kong on two-way permits and did not have valid passports or visas." (South China Morning Post, November 9 1998) "Most of the aliens are spirited into the U.S. within hours after arriving at Toronto's Pearson airport, border officials say. ... Police said aliens were charged $40,000 for the trip, and were provided with forged passports. Chinese nationals are at the top of the list of people nabbed sneaking into the U.S. through the Akwasasne Indian Reserve." (Toronto Sun, November 10, 1998) Yet again -- why is sneaking into Canada always the easy part? This was inevitable from the moment the immigration department asked airline staff to act as surrogate immigration officials (apart from the fact that a dismaying number of immigration officials are themselves, apparently, susceptible to pay-offs). [See December Hotline #109 -- two immigration officers (and union big-wigs) were guilty of selling visas]. Perhaps your MP can explain why Canada has not done what other Third World nations have been compelled to do: instituting an independent anti-graft organization along the lines of Transparency International or the ICAC itself?

Even When They Try --

"Three months after arriving in Canada in January, 1996, [a 27-year-old woman] claimed refugee status, saying she had been raped in Queretaro, in central Mexico, by a municipal politician -- the equivalent of the city's mayor -- for whom she had campaigned, and by his bodyguards. ... She testified that months later, after threatening to expose the married politician publicly, police arrested her and detained her for four days for 'maligning' him. ... Why the Canadian refugee panel asked, didn't her doctor [who treated her] report the rape? Why didn't her father report her detention? Why didn't she sue the politician? 'The panel does not question the occurrence of the rape, but assigns responsibility to the claimant for her failure to exhaust all available means of protection available to her,' said Sardara Singh Chera and Christos Antoniou, the board members who ruled on her case in October, 1997. ... But the panel went on to say it had 'serious doubts' about her claim. They suggested the woman embellished her story about being jailed, and rejected the suggestion that her attacker 'was so powerful he could reach her no matter where she went.' ... Justice Donna McGillis [of the Federal Court of Canada called] the refugee board panel's ruling a 'patently unreasonable decision ... [and] wrote that the 'serious doubts' cited by the board were nothing but spurious questions and unsupported conjecture'." (Toronto Star, November 10, 1998) At last glance. Mexico was a democratic country. How can there be "refugees" from democratic countries? Oh, well, what the heck, let one more scamster in! Make that two -- the unnamed Mexicana is pregnant and will soon present us with a new Canadian muchacho.

Your Home Away From Home

Like Israel's Jewish-only Law of Return, Hong Kong maintains a Chinese-only Right of Abode. "Immigration officials are touring Canada and the United States reminding Hong Kong residents living abroad of the December 31 right of abode deadline. ... The Immigration Ordinance says that if overseas Chinese return to settle in the SAR [Special Administrative Region] and declare their foreign nationality before or after December 31, they can keep permanent residency status. Officials say those who return after then and lose their right of abode still retain their right to land in the SAR. They would lose 'political rights' -- not being allowed to vote, stand in elections or become a bureau secretary in the government. But they could still enter and leave Hong Kong at any time and were free of any condition of stay.." (South China Morning Post, November 11, 1998)

Did Somebody say Security?

"Non-Canadians shouldn't be issued diplomatic passports and the little-known practice should be banned immediately for security reasons, says the Reform Party. Foreign Affairs officials in Ottawa have quietly handed out 15 of the prized documents in the last two years to spouses of Canadian diplomats leaving for travels abroad. In most cases the spouses are immigrants seeking citizenship or landed status here." (Toronto Sun, November 12, 1998) As for visitor's visas, quality-control problems "are making forgeries easier and giving Canada a black eye abroad according to internal Immigration Department E-mail messages. ... The quality of the visas, thin sheets of paper attached to a passport page, is so poor that some countries and airlines are complaining to Canadian immigration authorities that they look like counterfeits. ... One law-enforcement source said the matter was so serious that the department considered withdrawing a batch of 500,000 visa forms issued to Canadian diplomatic posts. That proved impractical because posts would have been left without any forms at all. So, the department issued a bulletin listing what flaws immigration officers should look for." (Globe and Mail, October 13, 1998)

Immigration Curbs Needed to Save Lower Mainland

"The population boom in the Lower Mainland [of British Columbia] is sucking local resources dry, say some urban planners. 'It's not that we don't have the actual space to fit any more people -- we could all pack in cheek-to-jowl -- there aren't enough resources to sustain us all,' said Bill Rees, UBC community and regional planning school director. ... The area population has leapt 50 per cent in the last decade. ... Rees was joined by Gordon Wilson, leader of the Progressive Democratic Alliance, Michael Healey of the UBC Resource and Environmental Institute, and Bill Lane, the Agricultural Land Commission's first president. Sealing off the Lower Mainland is what Lane would like to do. 'Planners never talk about stopping people from coming in the first place,' he said. 'There's never any suggestion that <That's it, fellas -- that's the limit.> No one wants to step on any toes. They're worried about cries of racism and fascism, Lane said. 'That's not what this is all about.' Too many people are ready to whip out the Charter of Rights and Freedoms when it comes to immigrating here,' he said. ... People say 'to hell with backyards,' and build high-rises as the people pour in, he said. So, how can you keep people out? For starters, take away the perks of B.C. living from new immigrants: Free education, health care and access to a driver's licence, he said. But most planners don't see these solutions. They'd rather pack people in like sardines." (The Province, Vancouver, November 16, 1988)

Self - Righteous Refugees

"In mid-September, 60 Chileans staged a hunger strike at a Montreal church to protest a decision by Canadian authorities to deny them political asylum. A Quebec newspaper reported that 600 illegal immigrants from Chile are living in the Montreal area. In February and March, 1998, 20 Chilean refugees occupied a Montreal church. About 4,000 Chileans have arrived in Canada since 1989 and applied for asylum, with most applications denied. Bangladeshis also protested the high percentage of asylum applicants who are refused: according to the Bangladeshis, the acceptance rate in Quebec has dropped from 75 to 10 per cent." (Migration News, Vol. 5 #10, October, 1998) Note the unmitigated arrogance of a country which imagines some God-given right to examine the claims of self-styled refugees. He-llo?

Immigration Lawyer Wants Speedier Processing

No kidding. The more slipshod the checks, the more crooks. The more crooks, the better as far as the immigration lawyer handling the appeal is concerned. Ding-dong! "Dozens of millionaire foreign businessmen are taking their money to other countries because of Canada's lengthy immigration process, a Toronto lawyer warned yesterday. ... Immigration spokesman Ann Alcorn said it takes from 15 to 23 months to process businessmen. ... She said processing times are determined by the need to conduct background and security checks on applicants: 'We can't jeopardize the integrity of the program.' ... 'Business people are being treated as second-class citizens,' said immigration lawyer Mendel Green." (Toronto Sun, October 21, 1998) But -- surely that's the point? They're NOT citizens - (second-class or otherwise). They are applicants; usually from under-developed countries who have - somehow - managed to accumulate a LOT of money. We have every right to know how.

Race Doesn't Matter, They Say

Israelis Plan "Ethnic Bomb" -- Times of London

A Times of London expose has revealed that "Israel is working on a biological weapon that would harm Arabs but not Jews, according to Israeli military and western intelligence sources. The weapon, targeting victims by ethnic origin is seen as Israel's response to Iraq's threat of chemical and biological attacks. ... In developing their ethno-bomb', Israeli scientists are trying to exploit medical advances by identifying distinctive genes carried by some Arabs, then create a genetically modified bacterium or virus. The intention is to use the ability of viruses and certain bacteria to alter the DNA inside their host's living cells. the scientists are trying to engineer deadly micro-organisms that attack only those bearing the distinctive genes. The programme is based at the biological institute in Nes Tziyona, the main research facility for Israel's clandestine arsenal of chemical and biological weapons. A scientist said the task was hugely complicated because both Arabs and Jews are of semitic origin. But, he added: 'They have, however, succeeded in pinpointing a particular characteristic in the genetic profile of certain Arab communities, particularly the Iraqi people.' The disease could be spread by spraying the organisms into the air or putting them in water supplies." (Calgary Herald, November 15, 1998)

ESL For Vietnamese Lorena Bobbitt

"When Vi Hoc Phung, 42, returned home to his wife of 18 years about 3 a.m. July 1, 1997, [Kim] Tran pleaded with him to leave the other woman. Phung ignored his wife's crying and pleading. After he went to sleep, Tran took a meat cleaver from the kitchen, pulled down his pants and cut off his penis, flush to the pubic bone. ... [The 38-year-old mother of six] told police she had no choice." (Toronto Sun, July 7, 1998) "In the Tran case, it was the history of victimization that prompted B.C. Judge Patrick Dohm to prescribe English classes and community work as a fitting punishment." (Toronto Sun, July 14, 1998)

Tax Frauds In; Common Sense Out!

"A man who even the Immigration and Refugee Board acknowledges has a 'demonstrable capacity for dishonesty' will not be deported to his native China because he almost certainly would be executed for his role in a tax-fraud there, the IRB has ruled. Jie Hua Huang's deportation order was stayed for seven years (conditional on good behaviour) by IRB member Errol Townshend, in a decision released last week by the board's appeal division. Mr. Huang, 34, has admitted to entering Canada on false documents when he arrived in 1991. Although he denies he was involved in a multimillion dollar tax fraud in China, there is a strong case against him, the IRB found. Since he has been in Canada, Mr. Huang has spent a considerable time on social assistance and admits participating in a ruse with his wife to obtain money from welfare. The board also heard extensive evidence that relatively minor economic crimes receive the death penalty in China and concluded this was sufficient reason to grant Mr. Huang a second chance. Mr. Huang was the manager of the sales and supply department of a state-owned trading corporation. The scam involved issuing false invoices to reduce the taxes payable. Mr. Huang was thought to be a minor player in the events. 'The panel is of the view that a bullet to the back of the head for falsifying invoices in a GST-type scam would shock the conscience of a civilized society such as Canada,' Mr. Townshend's ruling said. The board also had 'considerable sympathy' for Mr. Huang's 10-year-old son, who lives with him in Canada.

The immigration department is still considering whether to seek leave to appeal the case to the Federal Court. Mr. Huang applied for refugee status when he arrived in Canada, alleging that he had once donated 80 cases of soft drinks to thirsty students during the 1989 Tiananmen Square confrontation in Beijing and helped some of them escape. The board rejected his refugee claim but immigration authorities permitted Mr. Huang, his wife and young son to stay because they were young, apparently had no criminal past and China was in violation of basic human rights. Mr. Huang's past was revealed after his wife was seriously injured in a car accident two years ago. Her family came from China to see her and while they were here, they became embroiled in a bitter fight with Mr. Huang over what would become of the insurance settlement if she died, or the monthly accident benefit cheques if she survived. (Rebecca Wu survived although she was left severely disabled). As a result of the legal squabbling, Chinese authorities became aware of Mr. Huang's existence in Canada and issued an arrest warrant for him. Under Canadian immigration law, individuals can be deported if they obtain permanent status through misrepresentation or if they have committed an offence outside Canada which would be punishable by a maximum sentence of 10 years or more if it were committed in Canada.

Cases such as Mr. Huang's are rare, but courts certainly have the power to examine the consequences of deporting an individual, immigration lawyer Barbara Jackman said yesterday. .. Mr. Huang's lawyer, Mendel Green, was unavailable for comment yesterday." (Globe and Mail, November 24, 1998) Fraudster, welfare cheat, severely disabled wife -- how did we Canadians get so lucky? Huang will be wangling bucks from us well into the next half century!

Honduran Hitman Tries "Refugee" Scam

"A self-confessed Honduran army assassin and torturer was ordered deported yesterday -- but quickly filled out a refugee claim in a last-ditch bid to stay in Canada. Jose Barrera, 39, was ordered out of the country by adjudicator Oksana Kowalyk of the Immigration and Refugee Board. Kowalyk ruled Barrera belongs to an inadmissible class who has committed war crimes or crimes against humanity. ... The board heard Barrera coerced prisoners into talking -- by pulling the hair off their legs, jolting them with electricity, hog-tying and kicking them, and smothering them with a rubber hood." (Toronto Sun, October 2, 1998) Who needs him? Why does he get to appeal the decision? Ask your MP.

Mother Love

"Charges of child abandonment against Carol Derby were dismissed yesterday at a preliminary hearing, said her lawyer, Aston Hall. Ms. Derby had been charged in January after placing her three children in a taxi before boarding a plane to Jamaica. Mr. Hall said there was some confusion over the street address Ms. Derby had given to the taxi driver, who called the police." (Globe and Mail, October 24, 1998)

Tamil Gangsters Turfed

"Two leaders of Toronto's largest and most violent Tamil gang will be deported soon, immigration officials say. Niranjan Claude Fabian, 30, of Scarborough, has been declared a danger to the public, meaning he won't be able to appeal his deportation to Sri Lanka. ... Fabian's right-hand man, Sri Ranjan Basa, 35, of Mississauga, was sentenced to 13 months after pleading guilty to conspiracy to commit murder and other charges. Police said the men are leaders of the huge VVT gang." (Toronto Sun, October 27, 1998)

Tippling Trinidadian Deported

"Vernery John, also known as John Vernery, 37, was ordered deported to Trinidad and Tobago by an Immigration and Refugee Board. John, who arrived here as a visitor in 1988, was deported in December 1994 for four drinking and driving convictions. He managed to return to Canada in April 1996 and lied about his record to obtain landed immigrant status. He has since been convicted two more times of impaired driving. ... John said he didn't know drinking and driving was a criminal offence. ... John testified he's never been drunk ... then admitted when pressured that he was an alcoholic. ... [Board member Teresa] Marziarz didn't buy John's argument that it would be difficult to get a job or establish himself in Trinidad." (Toronto Sun, July 19, 1998) How much has this guy cost us? The U.S. is implementing an affordable idea -- it's called fingerprinting -- "in a new policy that would demand a set of fingerprints from all immigrants, not just those applying for citizenship." (The Economist, July 4, 1998) Is Immigration Canada afraid applications might dry up?

Lesbian Love Slave Fails in "Refugee" Claim

"A lesbian love slave who performed sex for room and board in her native Ecuador has failed in her bid for refugee status in Canada. The 22-year-old Toronto woman was turned down last week by the immigration and refugee board, defence lawyer George Kubes said. The woman didn't want her identity disclosed, fearing repercussions if she's sent home. ... The decision will [naturally] be appealed." (Toronto Sun, August 5, 1998) Readers may recognize the Gypsy lawyer -- "George Kubes, has been accused of stimulating the flow of Czech Romanies to Canada by producing and distributing films saying that Canada is eager for them to immigrate. Kubes represents about 400 Romanies applying for asylum in Canada." (Migration News, May 1998, Vol. 5, No, 5) The Law Society of Upper Canada finds nothing exceptional in the arrangement.

Chinese Illegals & Snakeheads Nabbed

"Fifteen Chinese nationals and two smugglers have been jailed in the U.S. for trying to sneak across the border 12 hours after arriving at Pearson airport. The 11 men and six women were nabbed early yesterday packed inside two vans which entered Fort Covington, N.Y., through the Akwesasne Indian Reserve. ... [U.S. Border Patrol officer Ed] Duda said the Chinese nationals are usually picked up after arriving at Pearson and taken to safehouses near the U.S. border, where they're coached on what to say if they're caught." (Toronto Sun, August 21, 1998) Note that sneaking into Canada is not a problem.

No Welcome for Kuwaiti Polygamist

The following story ends well for Canada -- for once! However, according to the gospel of multicult, which holds that all cultures are equal and who's to say one is better than another, the randy Arab would-be immigrant might have a case that he's being discriminated against. "The Federal Court of Canada has dismissed an appeal by a Kuwaiti millionaire who wanted to settle in this country with his two wives. Judge Marshall Rothstein said Mohammed Skaik Ali intended to stay wedded to his wives in Canada. 'They didn't intend to live in the same household, but to remain married and that constitutes polygamy,' Rothstein ruled. He said Ali and both of his spouses applied from Kuwait on the same day to come to Canada. The family was turned down in July 1996 after an immigration officer ruled Ali intended to commit polygamy, a criminal offence in Canada punishable by up to five years in jail. 'The visa officer was correct in that if they came to Canada it would commit an indictable offence,' he said. Ali, 56, an insurance tycoon, had applied with his first spouse, Al Nabulsi, 51, to resettle in Halifax. His second spouse, Nabila Temsamani, 37, had applied to resettle in Quebec. Ali's lawyer Cecil Rotenberg said he'll appeal to the Federal Court of Appeal." (Toronto Sun, October 30, 1998)

Sikh Publisher Assassinated In Surrey

On November 18, Tara Singh Hayer, publisher of the Indo-Canadian Times and a persistent critic of pro-Khalistan terrorists and Sikh extremists was gunned down outside his home. In 1988, he had been shot and left paralyzed by a Sikh fanatic. The assassination took place in the bitter run-up to a December 5 vote between two factions of Sikhs over control of their lucrative temples. Hayer had been repeatedly threatened with death for his outspoken editorials. "Twice in the last year, slain newspaper publisher Tara Singh Hayer tried to get a Bellingham radio station to cancel the licence held by two Surrey-based Punjabi stations that had aired threats against him. ... Just two days before Hayer's murder, a caller to the programme, Amrit Bani, said that the 'lame man' would get what was coming to him.. ...Just last Saturday on the same programme, a caller said Hayer had been assassinated because he was excommunicated by high priest Ranjit Singh last summer." (Vancouver Sun, November 23, 1998)

Multicult Shares Blame In Hayer's Death

Years of multicult and coddling of minorities must share the blame for the assassination of Tara Singh Hayer. Over the years, from pressuring the legion to except Sikhs from the no hats rule to allowing them to carry kirpans (religious daggers) where less privileged Canadians are not allowed to pack concealed weapons to repealing the RCMP uniform and allowing Sikhs to wear turbans, the message has been loud and clear -- you don't have to conform to Canada or Canadian ways. Accordingly, many Sikhs haven't. They have carried on their lethal internecine warfare on Canadian soil and been coddled in the process. Consider the report by Vancouver Sun columnist Kim Bolan. In 1988, Harkirat Singh Bagga shot and paralyzed Hayer. "In a police statement given immediately after his arrest, Bagga, who was a refugee claimant at the time, said [Harjinderpal Singh] Nagra and other B.C. Sikh separatists had aided him in the plot." He later recanted.

"For more than 13 years, the Canadian government has wanted to prevent Nagra, a founder of the International Sikh Youth Federation, from staying in Canada, but last week, Nagra, ... received word that his refugee claim has been accepted, even though the Canadian government had considered him a security risk.." In 1984, Nagra founded the International Sikh Youth Federation. "In 1988, then external affairs minister Joe Clark described the federation as a group supporting terrorism. In the spring of 1985, Nagra arrived in Canada and his first wife applied to sponsor him. She later withdrew that sponsorship. In 1988, Nagra was charged on two counts of fraud relating to a scheme to smuggle another Sikh militant from the Philippines using someone else's passport. He was convicted in 1990 and sent to jail, which led to a deportation order being issued against him in 1991." Allowing Nagra to stay in the country sent a clear message to Sikh gunmen: Canada's immigration laws are a joke and aren't to be taken seriously. Thus, the extremists decided that they would pursue their homicidal mania on Canadian soil with impunity and they have!

Illegal Immigrants Say the Darndest Things

"Three stowaways who jumped ship in the St. Lawrence River and swam ashore Thursday had no idea what country they were risking their lives to get to. Police and immigration officials say the first questions the refugees from the Dominican Republic asked was whether there are crocodiles in the St. Lawrence River. ... They later asked if they could stay in Canada. The Panamanian ship that they abandoned is on its way to Detroit with 22 other stowaways." (Toronto Sun, August 22, 1998) There's no work in Detroit either.

We Really Get Around

"KATMANDU. Immigration authorities have arrested 17 Afghans trying to enter China on their way to Britain using forged passports, a domestic news agency reported Saturday. Nine carried forged Canadian passports and eight carried forged Spanish passports, the Nepalese National News Agency said. The Afghans planned to travel to Britain via Tibet and Hong Kong, and said they bought the fake passports in the Indian city of Madras. (Globe and Mail, September 28, 1998)