An Estonian man living in the United States under an expired visa was arrested over the weekend after being denied entry into Canada, a nation allegedly at odds with President Donald Trump’s policies on illegal immigration and refugees in the U.S.
Customs and Border Protection officials said Wednesday that the 39-year-old alien, who was unnamed in the press release, had come into the United States legally but had overstayed his visa, which expired on May 10, 2015. On top of being in the country illegally, he’d also racked up a DUI charge in Los Angeles on January 30, but had since been released thanks to L.A.’s sanctuary city policies.
But when he tried to get into Canada late last week, Canadian border officials refused to admit him after they ran his name through the National Crime Information Center and realized he was illegally present in the United States. Instead, they sent him back to Blaine, Washington, where U.S. immigration agents then transferred him to the Northwest Detention Center in Tacoma to await court proceedings.
Immigration officials announced their plans to deport the man back to Estonia as soon as possible.
“It is important for frontline officers to scrutinize non-immigrants in order to verify compliance with our immigration laws,” said Area Port Director Ken Williams in a statement, adding “This man had been in the country illegally for almost two years, and didn’t respect our state laws as well since he had a DUI charge last month in California. He soon will be back in Estonia thanks to excellent bilateral collaboration of CBP and CBSA [the Canadian Border Services Agency].”
Larger numbers of illegal aliens who’ve been living in the United States have begun pouring over the Canadian border over the past few weeks, including those who’ve overstayed their visas and asylum seekers who had previously crossed into the United States unlawfully. The wave has come in response to ramped up deportations of illegal aliens living in the U.S. who've committed crimes or have failed to leave the country after being issued a final order of removal and now fear being arrested and sent back home.
For his part, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has thrown numerous backhanded jabs at President Trump’s latest immigration policies, particularly those concerning refugees fleeing terrorism hotbeds in the Middle East, promising that Canada will continue to welcome refugees regardless of their ethnicity or religion. He's also vowed that Canada won't be stopping illegal immigration at their border, but will instead welcome aliens fleeing Trump's new policies in the United States.
But for at least one Estonian man who's found himself likely headed back to his homeland, it turns out trying to get into Canada didn't work out so well, after all.