Tuesday afternoon, following the arrival in Quebec of several thousand Haitian asylum seekers from the United States who cross the border illegally near the Saint-Bernard de Lacolle border post, fearing as nearly 60,000 of their compatriots in the United States to lose their "Temporary Protection Status" (TPS) in the US https://www.haitilibre.com/en/news-21037-haiti-flash-extension-of-tps-procedures-to-follow.html nd to be expelled in Haiti, two Haitian ministers arrived in Montreal and were received by the Mayor of Montreal Denis Coderre.

Antonio Rodrigue, the Minister of Foreign Affairs and her colleague Stéphanie Auguste, the Minister of Haitians Living Abroad, said she was mandated by President Jovenel Moïse to meet with Canadian and provincial authorities and determine the best contribution that could be made its government to deal with the situation of migrants flowing to the Canadian border and to facilitate their integration into Canadian society.

At a joint press conference with the mayor of Montreal, Chancellor Rodrigue said that they also had the objective of "reassuring" his fellow citizens who had experienced the trip and if necessary "if there were any, for whatever reason, do not have the identification, passport or other documents they need, we have come to assess this situation with them."

Antonio Rodrigue was careful not to blame of this situation directly, the policy of US President Donald Trump, explaining that anti-immigration measures in the United States are not the only factor, although he acknowledges that these measures may cause concern more than one Haitian living on US territory under the statute of the TPS but he explains "Maybe people see that the new migration policy in the United States is unfavorable to their conditions ? Maybe they see Quebec and Canada as more hospitable lands [...] Haitians speak French, perhaps they think they can better integrate here ?" oncluding that "if there are people who are not accepted in Canada, Haiti will welcome them with their means [...] The government is making efforts to improve things in Haiti. Not only to keep nationals, but to allow those who want to return to find their place in Haitian society [...]"

See also :

https://www.haitilibre.com/en/news-21748-haiti-montreal-nearly-2-400-haitians-seeking-asylum-ceci-calls-for-help.html

https://www.haitilibre.com/en/news-21717-haiti-flash-waves-of-haitian-refugees-unprecedented-in-quebec.html

https://www.haitilibre.com/en/news-21037-haiti-flash-extension-of-tps-procedures-to-follow.html

SL/ HaitiLibre