Despite a surge in asylum claims filed at the Canada-U.S. border, Canadian officials say they are monitoring the situation and maintain illegal crossing has not reached a crisis level.

In the first two months of 2017, some 1,700 refugee claims were filed at the land-border entry, more than double the 728 reported in the previous year, officials said during a media briefing in Ottawa Thursday.

However, officials said the number of “irregular crossers” have been about the same monthly entrants as last year. From Feb. 1 to 21, the Mounties intercepted 290 people crossing into Quebec, 94 in Manitoba and 51 in British Columbia. These were people who entered outside of an official port of entry.

Most of the migrants carried identification and a valid U.S. visa. Some had abandoned outstanding asylum claims or had been refused south of the border, said the Canadian officials from the RCMP, Canada Border Services Agency and Immigration Department.

Canadian authorities said there is no basis for speculation that more refugees will cross the border in Emerson, Man., and Lacolle, Que. as the weather gets warmer.

“Everything we do in enforcement is based upon intelligence . . . . There is no foundation (that) that would occur,” said one official, who spoke on the condition of anonymity, adding that refugee levels do fluctuate from year to year, day to day.

According to data obtained by the Star, Canada received a total of 4,961 asylum claims in January and February, including claims filed at the land border and by those who sought asylum after successfully coming through the border legally or illegally.

The latest number accounted for a 48-per-cent increase from the 3,352 claims in the first two months of last year. The source countries that saw the highest surge in claims were: Djibouti (11.5 times), Mexico (9.4 times), Turkey (5.5 times), Sudan (5.4 times), Palestine (2.9 times), and Eritrea (2.4 times).

An RCMP official said no charges have been laid against those who have been intercepted.

After an initial security screening, the refugees were taken to border enforcement offices to lodge asylum claims.

Officials said a vigorous vetting process is in place with international and American counterparts to verify arrivals’ identity and travel history, as well as their asylum and criminal records, if applicable.

“There are other ways to determine identity without documents,” said an official with border services, referring to both bio-personal and biometric screening tools, which are widely used internationally.

Officials said most of the arrivals appear to be eligible to seek asylum in Canada.

Their claims will then be processed by the Immigration and Refugee Board of Canada.

Accepted refugees can proceed to apply for permanent resident status while those refused will be deported.

In February, the refugee board expanded its footprint in Winnipeg from one hearing room to two, and it is planning to send members to the city for in-person hearings in April.

“We believe we are well-equipped to deal with the workload,” said spokesperson Christian Tessier.

Advocacy groups have been urging the government to suspend the bilateral Safe Third Country Agreement that restricts refugees to filing asylum claims in the country of their arrival.

The ban is deigned to prevent what’s known as “asylum shopping.” It has a few conditions for exemptions and does not apply to those who cross at unguarded border entry points.

Officials at the media briefing insisted the United States has a robust refugee-screening system similar to Canada’s and is deemed safe for asylum-seekers, despite rising concerns over the anti-immigration stance of U.S. President Donald Trump’s administration.

Officials said they collaborate with their American counterparts and community groups along the border on prevention education and “do not encourage anyone to cross illegally and put themselves at risk.”

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Meanwhile, Toronto Mayor John Tory has sent a letter to Immigration Minister Ahmed Hussen demanding additional funding for housing and shelters to accommodate the surge of asylum-seekers in Toronto.

“Opening the doors is not enough. We must make sure our cities have the resources they need to support new arrivals and set them up for success over the long term,” wrote Tory.

Federal officials said Ottawa has already allocated $13.7 billion in social-transfer funding for that purpose this year, which will also cover emergency housing, shelters, education, social services and government assistance for asylum-seekers.

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