Let’s Grant ‘Dreamers’ Their Wish to Become Permanent Residents of Canada
Senator Omidvar outlines why the government should offer asylum-seekers, temporary foreign workers and undocumented workers pathways to permanency.
Dreamers
OPINION: Canada must dare to help the ‘DREAMers’
Canada’s response cannot be naively idealistic, nor should it be fuelled by cynicism. We cannot welcome each and every one of these so-called DREAMers, but at the same time we shouldn’t refuse their entry into Canada altogether.
This Canadian Senator Wants DACA Deportees to Come to Canada
Ratna Omidvar, an independent senator appointed by Prime Minister Justin Trudeau in 2016, says DREAMers, as DACA recipients are known, are the "ripe, low-hanging fruit" of immigrants—young people who, in many cases, speak English, are high-school graduates, and have work experience. They have also undergone criminal background checks as a prerequisite to getting DACA status.
WATCH: Senator Omidvar talks DREAMers on CBC’s Power and Politics
Senator Ratna Omidvar explains why she thinks U.S. DACA recipients could apply as international students to Canada.
Canada should welcome up to 30,000 DACA young people facing deportation in U.S., senator says
"So, here are people who could apply for international student programs. Universities and colleges could come up with some special initiative or special outreach — college-to-college, university-to-university — maybe even a special scholarship program. But over time, they would be top of the line for economic integration," Omidvar added.
OPINION: Canada should welcome America’s ‘dreamers’
This is the moment for Canada to extend the Canadian dream southward to young adults entangled in U.S. immigration and border control. A planned policy to welcome undocumented young people would easily fit Canadian immigration-policy goals.