President Donald Trump's tough stance on immigration is now being felt by our neighbors to the north. Canada is reporting an influx of illegal aliens and refugees crossing the U.S. border.
“Some illegal aliens who are already in the United States are saying you know what, it probably isn't in our long term interest to remain here and they're heading to Canada,” says Ira Mehlman, spokesperson for the Federation for American Immigration Reform.
Many are Somalis and others who have resettled in Minnesota. Now Canadian border towns are being overrun with unexpected visitors.
“It has caught us off-guard, like we're well over 500 people here since February, where last year we only had 440 for the whole year,” says Greg Janzen, mayor of Emerson, Manitoba.
“Because we're not ready for this kind of an influx, it is becoming concerning.”
This latest development comes amid reports that illegal border crossings from Mexico have plummeted since Trump took office.
“The perception is that under the new administration things are going to change, that we are going to take immigration laws seriously and recognize that they exist to protect the interests of the American people, and people are responding,” says Mehlman.