Trump immigration policies have overwhelmed Canada’s refugee system: report

President Trump’s crackdown on illegal immigration has led to an increase in the number of immigrants in the U.S. illegally now seeking asylum in Canada, according to Reuters.

More than 20,000 people, many fearing that Trump would deport them, crossed the border into Canada in search of asylum in 2017, Reuters reported. The migration wave does not seem to be abating in 2018, with over 1,500 asylum seekers crossing the border in January.

The heavy influx of immigrants has overwhelmed Canada’s asylum system and caused some of the worst delays in recent years.

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All refugee claims are supposed to be processed within 60 days, but in December 2017, 86 percent of hearings didn’t happen when they were supposed to.

According to Reuters, aid agencies are also having difficulty finding accommodations for the migrants.

In November, Toronto spent about $20 million to house refugees in hotel rooms through the end of 2018, according to city documents obtained by Reuters.

The city has said that it needs more help from the federal government to house the refugees.

“We are not saying ‘No’ to refugees. We are saying, ‘Absolutely, come and live in Toronto. Build your life in Toronto.’ But we cannot do this without the support of other orders of government,” Toronto city councilor Kristyn Wong-Tam told Reuters.

The Canadian government has set aside $173 million in its latest budget to cover the costs of processing refugee applications and increasing the patrols at the border.

Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has spoken to Trump about the situation but has not explicitly blamed the Trump administration for the increase in migrants.