For 15 years, Manuel Ortega was living his version of the American Dream in Florida.He had steady employment, sometimes working as a detailer for local car dealers, other times as a forklift driver. He earned enough to buy a van and rent a house for his wife and three children. His kids earned good grades in school and played with the family pet, a Shih Tzu named Chaparro (Shorty).

They were safe and kept out of trouble. Ortega's dream, as he recounted it Tuesday standing outside a room at a Windsor motel, is now but a memory. He is one of an estimated 180 Mexicans from Florida who've rushed across the border and into Windsor to claim refugee status, fleeing a crackdown on illegal aliens in Florida. Local agencies that work with refugees have been told to brace for 4,000 to 8,000 refugee claimants.Every single day this month, Mexican nationals who have been living illegally in Florida -- some for a dozen years or more -- are turning up at the Windsor-Detroit border seeking refugee status.

The first group arrived at the YMCA on Aug. 28."They've been coming steadily ever since," said Jacquie Rumiel, director of programs for new Canadians at the YMCA.The Ortegas left Naples, Fla. and say all they ask for in Canada is "a chance," said the father."Give us a chance to show what kind of people we are," the 39-year-old said. "We don't be afraid to work. We don't be afraid to start again. We need the chance, please, to do that."Ortega said his fear of being deported to Mexico intensified within the past three months as immigration officials became more visible on the streets and the incidents of deportation of his acquaintances increased. When his American neighbour threatened to report him to authorities, he told his family to pack-up. They simply couldn't risk returning to Mexico, where he says he fears the powerful drug cartels, corrupt government and poor living conditions. "We don't have a future in Mexico," Ortega's 36-year-old wife said, noting her brother and his family also fled to Windsor fearing deportation. "We can't go back."After driving his 1996 Grand Caravan for 24 hours without stopping -- except for gas and food -- the Ortegas arrived at the Windsor tunnel Sept. 11. When they told the border guard they were seeking refugee status, the Ortegas were given a list of social services organizations to contact for support.The Y is one of the first stops for asylum seekers.

The settlement program there directs new immigrants to legal help, housing and other programs.It's hard to get a firm figure on the numbers who have arrived recently. While 120 have crossed the Y's threshold, the city's social services department, which is in daily contact with the Canada Border Services Agency, thinks the number is closer to 180. But the Salvation Army thinks the real number could be into the hundreds.The Salvation Army has put up 50 families -- some with five, seven and nine children each -- at four city hotels. Their bills, including meals, are being sent directly to the city's social services department. Another 30 single men are sleeping and getting hot meals at the Salvation Army Church Street shelter."We are being inundated with them," said Maj. Wilfred Harbin, Salvation Army administrator. Like others in the city, he has heard that up to 7,000 Mexicans seeking refugee status could be headed this way."What are we going to do with them? We're running out of beds."In fact, said Harbin, all the beds are filled. A handful of men are sleeping on mats on the gymnasium floor of the building. "Maybe the military can help us," said Harbin, unable to think of where else he could get a shipment of cots in a hurry.Salvation Army hostel supervisor Marlene Dufault said she believes the U.S. crackdown on illegal immigrants has led to the influx of Mexicans at our border. She said a church group in Naples has been charging the asylum seekers $400 a head, promising them there will be jobs awaiting them here. The Canadian Council for Refugees sent out an alert Tuesday in response to what it calls an "urgent" situation.

According to the national non-profit group that acts as an umbrella organization for agencies that help refugee claimants, there are "fraudulent advisers in the United States endangering asylum seekers" by telling them there is a "special Canadian program" for Mexicans.The only accurate information the Mexicans are getting from these advisers is that they won't be turned away at the border.Under the U.S.-Canada Safe Third Country Agreement, asylum seekers from the United States would normally be turned back. But those coming through the United States from Mexico are an exception because the United States would require those people to have a visa, but Canada does not.Danny Yen, Canada Border Services Agency spokesman, explained that means the United States would not accept those people if turned back.Legal Aid has begun footing the bill for the refugee claimants to get legal advice.Immigration lawyer John Rokakis said seven Mexicans came through his door Tuesday with Legal Aid certificates paying for three hours of a lawyer's time. Monday he saw three others and had a steady trickle last week as well.Few will have successful refugee claims, he predicted. "Of the ones I've seen there are maybe one or two that may have something," he said. One is a man who sought political asylum in the United States and was denied.In the short term, the refugee claimants are the guests of city taxpayers.

Some have U.S. bank accounts they can't access and others are destitute.Teresa Piruzza, executive director of Ontario Works said, as of Monday, ten families and 18 individuals had applied for social assistance. "We're just starting to process them," Piruzza said of the applications.Welfare currently pays up to $548 per month for individuals and $1,193 for families with two children under the age of 13.As he recounted his story, Ortega repeatedly stressed his thanks to social services for helping his family. "Social services, they help us too much," he said. "I want to say thanks and to Canadians ‘thanks.'"

Canada imposes a visa on Mexico Ottawa, July 13, 2009 - Beginning 12:01 a.m. EDT on July 14, 2009, Mexican nationals will require a visa to travel to Canada, Citizenship, Immigration and Multiculturalism Minister Jason Kenney announced today. For the first 48 hours, Mexican citizens may apply for entry on arrival in Canada. After 11:59 p.m. EDT July 15, 2009, a visa will be required.

Refugee claims from Mexico have almost tripled since 2005, making it the number one source country for claims. In 2008, more than 9,400 claims filed in Canada came from Mexican nationals, representing 25 per cent of all claims received. Of the Mexican claims reviewed and finalized in 2008 by the Immigration and Refugee Board, an independent administrative tribunal, only 11 per cent were accepted.

"In addition to creating significant delays and spiraling new costs in our refugee program, the sheer volume of these claims is undermining our ability to help people fleeing real persecution," said Minister Kenney. "All too often, people who really need Canada's protection find themselves in a long line, waiting for months and sometimes years to have their claims heard. This is unacceptable.

"The visa requirement I am announcing will give us a greater ability to manage the flow of people into Canada and verify bona fides. By taking this important step towards reducing the burden on our refugee system, we will be better equipped to process genuine refugee claims faster."

"The visa process will allow us to assess who is coming to Canada as a legitimate visitor and who might be trying to use the refugee system to jump the immigration queue," Minister Kenney said. "It is not fair for those who have been waiting patiently to come to Canada, sometimes for years, when others succeed in bypassing our immigration system."

Canada regularly reviews its visa policies toward other countries. Countries are aware that if they do not satisfy the conditions of a visa-exemption, a visa may be imposed.

This change means that nationals from Mexico who want to travel to Canada will first need to apply for a Temporary Resident Visa and meet the requirements to receive one. It is up to the applicant to satisfy the visa officer their visit to Canada is temporary, they will not overstay their approved time in Canada, they have enough money to cover their stay in Canada, they are in good health, they do not have a criminal record, and are not a security risk to Canadians. These requirements are the same for anyone who wants to visit Canada.

Citizenship and Immigration Canada (CIC) has been working to increase processing capacity in Mexico City. Nevertheless, the imposition of the visa will mean short-term delays in travel as CIC puts resources in place. Applicants are encouraged to send their applications by courier or registered mail and to avoid visiting the Embassy unless specifically invited for an interview.

"Canada has strong ties with Mexico," said Minister Kenney. "We continue to welcome all genuine travellers to Canada from this country."

Prague, July 9 (CTK) - The Romany Resistance Movement, an informal alliance of several Romany associations that in May called on Romanies to leave the Czech Republic, does not stand behind their current mass immigration to Canada, movement spokesman Vaclav Miko told CTK Thursday.

He added that neither he nor his aides are in touch with the "prospectors" who allegedly help Romanies contact the Canadian authorities.

"We are definitely not those who are organising it," Miko said.

However, he admitted that the movement members would provide the necessary information on a respective country for those who would plan to emigrate.

Canada is considering reimposing visa requirements on Czech citizens, which were lifted in 2007, over a rising number of Czech Romanies who have claimed refugee status in the past few months, arguing with alleged discrimination in the Czech Republic.

According to the Canadian embassy in Prague, Czechs submitted 1720 refugee claims in Canada in the first half of the year only, which makes the Czech Republic the second top source country behind Mexico.

Information emerged that the immigration of Czech Romanies is organised by some people as a profitable business and that refugee status claimants abuse the Canadian system.

Sociologist Roman Kristof, former director of the Government Council for Romany Affairs, writes in his report for a Czech state office that the immigration of Czech Romanies to Canada is accompanied with a client system in which some former citizens of the Czech Republic and Slovakia have a "professional and financial interest."

Kristof did not release the name of the institution that had ordered the report.

The report directly mentions Karolina Banomova, a former student of Romany studies at Charles University in Prague who was granted asylum in Canada in 1997, and Paul St. Clair, head of the Romany Community Centre in Toronto, as "prospectors" of the asylum immigration.

Banomova dismissed Kristof's statement on the website romea.cz.

Miko says he does not actively participate in the Romanies' exodus to Canada, but he does not deny his previous contacts with their possible organisers.

According to the Romany Resistance Movement, as many Romanies who feel discriminated against and threatened by extremists as possible should use the opportunity to leave the Czech Republic.

"There are two solutions - either aggression or escape," said Miko, adding that Romanies have chosen the latter.

Moreover, he stressed that many more Romany families should leave the country.

Even if Canada reimposed visas on Czechs and thus complicated the Romanies' departure, there would be other countries for which the Romanies could head, Miko said but he did not elaborate.

The Romany Resistance Movement with some 200 members in total comprises the associations Roma Realia, Romany Alliance, Futurum Roma and Initiative of Youth from Louny. Nevertheless, experts in Romany issues say they do not know this movement that is not formally registered. Some experts also point out that the movement may actually have fewer than some tens of members.