9,000 'ordinary people' flee Mexican drug war

MARINA JIMÉNEZ
IMMIGRATION REPORTER
October 20, 2008 at 8:07 AM EDT

A record number of Mexicans are fleeing to Canada, claiming their own country cannot keep them safe as it struggles to contain a grisly narcotics war that is spilling into nightclubs and restaurants.

There are currently 9,070 Mexican refugee claimants waiting to have their cases heard, the largest number yet from one country since the Immigration and Refugee Board was established in 1989.

"We all know and love Mexico and Mexican beaches, but that is not the real Mexico," said Doug Lehrer, a Toronto lawyer. "Mexican authorities are completely overwhelmed and can't offer ordinary people a reasonable level of protection."

Read on...

More collateral damage from the extended war on drugs. Tom

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