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Photo by Patrick Doyle/Canadian Press

The government announced that it was planning to send Pablo Rodriguez, a Spanish-speaking member of Parliament, to California in the coming days to speak to community groups, lawyers and Spanish-language media. His message is simple: If you don’t qualify for refugee or asylum status, don’t try to cross into Canada.

“Canada has a robust and structured immigration system that must be respected,” Argentina-born Rodriguez told La Presse newspaper in a French-language interview. “Before leaving your job, pulling your child from school and selling your house to come to Canada, make sure you understand the rules and the laws. Because if you don’t fill these criteria, chances are you’ll be returned, not to the U.S. but to your native country.”

The government also says there are plans for a “targeted digital campaign” aimed at TPS-affected communities.

We are not being complacent. We are making sure we are prepared for any eventuality, including a future influx of asylum seekers

Last summer, when rumors swirled through the Haitian community that they were going to lose the TPS designation in place since the 2010 Haiti earthquake (the designation was lifted in November), a wave of Haitians headed to the Canadian border. As many as 250 people a day crossed “irregularly” along a rural road in upstate New York into neighboring Quebec, prompting a crisis of sorts, with authorities forced to put a temporary tent encampment at the border and house migrants at Montreal’s Olympic stadium.

Following an outreach program to the Haitian community in places like Miami, the influx of migrants has slowed. Only 60 or so migrants now cross into the country in Quebec per day and most of those crossing are from Nigeria, not Haiti, according to Scott Bardsley, spokesman for Canadian Public Safety Minister Ralph Goodale.