Montrealers gather outside Olympic Stadium to welcome asylum-seekers from U.S.

Montrealers gather outside Olympic Stadium to welcome asylum-seekers from U.S. | iNFOnews.ca
People hold up signs in support of asylum seekers during a rally outside the Olympic Stadium in Montreal, Sunday, August 6, 2017. The stadium is now being used as a temporary shelter for some of the hundreds of asylum claimants pouring across the New York-Quebec border every day. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Graham Hughes

MONTREAL – Several hundred people gathered outside Montreal's Olympic Stadium today to show support for the waves of asylum seekers crossing the border from the United States.

Members of the group stood on a hill outside the entrance, waving signs and chanting messages of welcome.

Several in the crowd said they had come to Canada as immigrants themselves and wanted to show their support for the newcomers.

The Olympic Stadium is being used as a temporary shelter after the number of refugee-claimants has more than tripled in recent weeks.

The city of Montreal says between 250 and 300 people are now crossing the Canada-United States border every day.

Many of those arriving are Haitians who are worried they will be deported if the Trump administration ends a program that has granted them protected status since 2010.

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Taylor Rae

Before university, Taylor spent a year abroad living in Thailand which encouraged her to finish her degree studying in Turkey, both experiences have made her an avid traveller. Taylor graduated from Thompson Rivers University with a degree in Communications and Public Relations. Although born on the coast, Taylor has lived the majority of her life in Kamloops and enjoys what the region has to offer. In her spare time, you can find Taylor volunteering in the community or out on an adventure with her friends and her dogs.

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