Surrey First Councillor Linda Annis is calling on the federal and provincial governments to explain how they plan to deal with thousands of undocumented immigrants who will likely flee to Canada if President Donald Trump goes ahead with his mass deportations.

 

“There are an estimated 12 million undocumented people in the United States, and Donald Trump has promised the largest mass deportation in his country’s history once he takes office on January 20,” said Annis. “If he is serious, it means anxious people who are afraid of being deported may take a chance and head north. For a border city like Surrey, that could mean absolute chaos. We’re definitely not prepared at our border, which is mostly open fields, and we’re certainly not ready as a city or province when it comes to providing shelter, healthcare, and additional public safety. The number of legal immigrants to Canada has already stretched our local and national resources. Any sudden surge of undocumented immigrants or asylum seekers looking for refuge from Donald Trump will only hurt our already overwhelmed system of public services and infrastructure.”

 

Annis said the Peace Arch Border Crossing in Surrey handles about 5,000 vehicles on a busy day, and Peace Arch Park has some 500,000 visitors annually that do not require a passport or visa as long as they stay within the boundaries of the park and return to their respective countries when they leave.

 

“We all take a great deal of pride in our open border, but if desperate people start looking for escape routes out of the United States, there’s every reason to think they will look north, and border cities like Surrey should expect to be high-traffic destinations,” added Annis. “It also makes some sense that if undocumented people are going to try and flee, they will do it before January 20 when Donald Trump is sworn into office. The uncertainty may drive them to the border. Our federal and provincial governments need to have a serious plan, and border cities like Surrey need to be at the table because we will face the brunt of that influx, whatever the numbers are. Whether it’s a slowly rising tide, or a full-blown human tsunami, there needs to be a plan, because once it happens there won’t be time to react. It could be chaos if we are not ready and prepared for every eventuality.”