Spectacle of sick, dying and starving people may turn hearts but immigration rules are tough

People of Haitian origin queue outside a Montreal immigration firm that promises to help accelerate the immigration process for those affected by last week's earthquake. (CBC)

With TV news showing us images of the poor in Haiti, law makers in the United States and Canada are being asked to step up the plate and allow more immigration.

In the past both countries have eased immigration quotas during times of international crisis. Often the annual quota each country has for immigrants is not changed, the government just allocates more to one country than normal.

Humanitarians argue the time is now to ease the rules. People are starving. Naturalized Haitians are literally jumping on planes for Haiti hoping to convince consular officials to let them take relatives back to North America.

There will likely be little work for them in Haiti, some say, and people are in dire straits now.

Others balance that with the amount of reconstruction that will create a construction boom unlike one Haiti has never seen before. Continue reading →