Windsor can't handle more asylum seekers from the U.S. without federal help, report says

Windsor city councillors will decide this week whether to write Ottawa saying the city needs help, or it can't handle any more asylum seekers.

Five councillors, as part of the community services standing committee, will discuss Wednesday the arrival of hundreds of asylum seekers this month, many from Quebec's Roxham Road border crossing.

The committee will vote on whether to write to Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC). In the letter, the city would say it "does not have the capacity or resources to support additional asylum claimants beyond those estimated based on the current number of secured temporary accommodation."

"The large number of asylum claimants arriving in Windsor over a relatively short period raises concerns about the City of Windsor" if there aren't "additional resources from the federal and provincial governments," said Stephen Lynn, manager of social policy and planning, in a report this week. 

The arrival has had "no impact on the local emergency shelter system," Lynn's report says, but it could if claimants leave the hotels.

There's also been an "influx" in people applying for social assistance, with as many as 650 more cases expected, the report says. There's also a "high probability" it would impact the housing market.

The city needs more help from the provincial and federal governments, Lynn's report says. It's already asked the province to handle more Ontario Works cases. 

The city "values all people," it says, and "will continue to work with our federal, provincial and community partners to respond to the unique needs of asylum claimants in a timely, caring and non-judgmental manner." But it needs help, and for the federal government to appoint a lead agency. 

The move comes as Windsor, like other border cities, sees an increase in asylum seekers sent northeast from some southern Republican states.

Many in Ontario arrived via Quebec. IRCC said this month that about 3,300 people seeking asylum are in Ontario. In Windsor, it said, 518 claimants are staying in Windsor hotels, having "arrived between designated ports of entry on the Canada/U.S. land border."

These new arrivals, the report says, are in a different category than permanent resident government-assisted or privately sponsored refugees.

Asylum claimants, he says, have traveled to Canada without government assistance and made their refugee claim in this country. Such claimants can get a permit to work if that income is required to pay for basic needs.

CBC News is pursuing comment from IRCC.

This month, a claimant from Afghanistan, Shair Aryan, said he just wants to be free.