Thousands are sent back to Portugal

Source: Euroweekly

Hee-hee, this be kind-o-funny!

BETWEEN 15,000 and 22,000 Portuguese illegal immigrants could be deported from Canada. An unprecedented operation has started to expatriate all the illegal immigrants working in the country.

In February, the Ambassador to the country, João Silveira de Carvalho, received an official communication from the Immigration Ministry saying that all Portuguese working in Canada without a permit would be ordered to return immediately to their country.

The first Portuguese families have been put on aeroplanes and forced to leave. Some of the families had been living in Canada for several years and many had already bought houses there. They were given only a few days’ notice to make preparations, pack their bags, and get rid of possessions they couldn't take on the flight to Lisbon. A large number of the group being deported went to Canada to meet the demands of a booming construction industry, particularly in Toronto. Estimates state that about 75 per cent of the workers are in the country illegally.

"If you have bought a new home or a new condo, you know that the waiting times for getting a place just keep on getting longer and longer," Pedro Barata of the Portuguese National Congress said. "I think that the more we deport people who are needed in the construction industry, the longer those waits are going to be."

Some estimates say that 15,000 people are working illegally in Ontario's construction and hospitality industries, and the Canada-wide figure is 300,000. Immigration sources said there will not be an amnesty. The federal agency said they have a legal duty to remove people who have come to the country without following the proper procedures.

Many in the group deported say they will try to return to Canada and resume the lives they have built. Portuguese Foreign Minister, Diogo Freitas do Amaral, has announced that he will travel to Canada this week for discussions with the Ottawa authorities.

In a statement, Freitas do Amaral said he had decided to travel to Canada to discuss ‘the sudden change in policy by the authorities in relation to Portuguese nationals living and working there without visas’. The Portuguese authorities announced earlier that a reception centre is being set up at Lisbon Airport to give support to nationals arriving from Canada.

Oh my! How insensitive of them. Don't these crazy Canucks know that illegals are the lifeblood of the nation? And homeowners? I'm just chuckling here, I want to hear Michael Medved tell me again that we can't deport people who own homes!

And of course in true Ernesto Derbez fashion the Portugese consul defends illegality!

Technorati Tags: illegal immigration, Canada, Deportation