Winnipeg immigration lawyers report increase in people wanting leave U.S. after Trump's election

Donald Trump has been back in the White House for less than a week, but his return to the top of the U.S. political pile has been noticeable among some Winnipeg lawyers dating back to November.

The U.S. president claimed his second electoral triumph more than two months ago and since then, lawyers like Alastair Clarke have seen an uptick in inquiries from individuals considering relocating to Canada — if only on a temporary basis.

An immigration lawyer, Clarke estimates he does between 60 and 70 consultations per month with people wanting to come to Canada. About five to 10 per cent of those calls before the election were from people in the U.S., but he believes those numbers have jumped to between 20 and 25 per cent.

"From my point of view, there's a high level of anxiety throughout the United States," Clarke said Thursday.

He says he gets inquiries from across the U.S., particularly from the states of Minnesota, Wisconsin, Florida, New York and California.

Among the executive orders Trump signed Monday that could have a sweeping effect were recognizing only male and female gender identities and tightening the enforcement of immigration laws that could result in the deportation of millions of immigrants.

Some of the calls Clarke has taken have been from transgender people from the U.S. considering filing a refugee claim, including conversations with a family who has a transgender child and another with a transgender teacher worried that their contract could be terminated because they are open with their sexual orientation.

"In both of those cases, what I have advised them is at this point do everything in their power to live safely in the United States, and if it comes to the point when they feel their lives are at risk — if they are being persecuted — then call me at that point and we can discuss the possibility of filing a claim," he said.

Every refugee claim is determined on its merits and the claimant has the chance to give oral testimony at a hearing, he said.

Clarke doesn't hold out a lot of hope for people in the U.S. seeking study permits and permanent resident status in Canada, due in part to new restrictions being imposed by Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada.

But there is an avenue for potential asylum seekers through exceptions to the Safe Third Country Agreement, which deals with individuals entering Canada from the U.S. between ports of entry.

They have to be in Canada for a minimum of 14 days in order to claim asylum, Clarke said, adding that it's a complex piece of legislation that is currently being amended, and those amendments are under litigation.

"I can say in my practice, we have helped individuals who fall under the exceptions," he said.

"They came from the United States, they waited that period of time, they started their claim in Canada, and we're helping them file their refugee claims in Canada."

Sofia Mirza says she's also seen an increase in people living in the U.S. contacting her law firm about the potential of relocating north of the border.

A partner at Fillmore Riley LLP in Winnipeg, Mirza says this time around there have been inquiries with respect to both permanent and temporary immigration to Canada.

"We have American citizens that have actually contacted us that are looking at options to obtain work permits in Canada so that they can actually run their businesses from here instead of from the United States for temporary purposes. They don't have an intent of actually immigrating to Canada, but they have an intent of wanting to run their businesses here for a period of time," she said.

She estimates she's averaged one or two such calls per week since the election, and usually averages five or six weekly calls with questions pertaining to emigrating from the U.S. to Canada.

Mirza has recently sensed more worry and concern among people calling from the U.S. with regard to its unfolding immigration scene.

"In some of the initial consultations that I have done already they have explicitly said that that was the case, that they had concerns or they just had uncertainty of what to expect in the United States. And so they just wanted to keep their doors open," she said.

"This week specifically we've had a spike. No question."