Was E.T. a refugee?

E.T. was stranded on earth, but do you think he was one of the first refugees? I happened to come across a humorous story told years ago when President Bush was re-elected. The humorist speculated Bush’s re-election caused an exodus among left leaning citizens, and Canadian border farmers said it wasn’t uncommon to see dozens of sociology professors and animal rights activists crossing their fields at night.

“I went out to milk the cows the other day, and there was a Hollywood producer huddled in the barn,” said a Manitoba farmer, whose acreage bordered the U.S. The Hollywood producer was cold, exhausted and hungry.

“He asked me if I could spare a latte and some free-range chicken. When I said I didn’t have any, he left.”

This funny fellow continued explaining, when liberals from the U.S. were caught, they were sent back across the border. However others posed as senior citizens on bus trips. After catching a half-dozen, Canadian immigration authorities asked the fake seniors if they could identify the accordion player on The Lawrence Welk Show, a unique form of vetting, to be sure. It’s all fiction, but funny nonetheless.

People were much more likely to joke about illegals entering Canada back then, but now – not so much. The cost of Canada’s refugee program will range between $564 to $678 million, which is no laughing matter, especially since we have thousands of additional people coming from the U.S. and crossing farmer’s fields to declare themselves refugees in Canada.

But what is a refugee? By definition it’s a person who has been forced to leave their country in order to escape war, persecution or natural disaster. Let’s take a look at just two of the people who waded through waist deep snow in frigid temperatures, inadequately dressed for the weather, and finally made an illegal entry into Manitoba in late December, having successfully avoided passport checkpoints. One of the men would lose fingers because of frost bite; a sad story to be sure. But are they refugees?

Originally, the men came from Ghana, which is considered one of the more stable countries in West Africa with multi party democracy. Currently it has a growing public deficit (so does Canada), high inflation (so does Canada), and a weakening currency (so does Canada). They had spent eight months in the States where their visas were about to expire, so they set off on a jaunt to Canada.

They were in no danger of war, persecution or natural disaster, from the U.S. or their country of origin. The only danger they faced was their own choice to go on a winter hike wearing summer attire. They were, however, fleeing from Minneapolis where they had been denied refugee status.

It appears Canada’s immigration system is being overwhelmed by the entrance of illegal immigrants who are pulling on Canada’s heart strings so they can gain refugee status and immediately partake of all the perks that go with it. Unlike our legal immigrants who endure a long and tedious process, because as one Canadian immigration lawyer said, “there is no fast way to come here as permanent residents.”

A joke I recently read asked, “What is the difference between an illegal immigrant and E.T.?” The answer: “E.T. eventually went home”.