By Murray Bush, Vancouver Media Co-op, Mar. 14 2011

VANCOUVER – No One Is Illegal members were on hand to ‘welcome’ federal immigration minister Jason Kenney to Vancouver this morning. Kenney was slated to speak at a new immigrant swearing in ceremony. Despite being a public event, opponents of Kenney’s rascist policies were barred from entering. A squad of Vancouver Police were brought in to help the RCMP keep the anti-rascists from confronting Kenney.

Harjap Grewal of No One Is Illegal  (NOII) said, “Kenney is routinely called the Minister of Censorship and  deportation because of his record as one of the most repressive immigration ministers in Canadian history. But there is a growing grassroots movement to reject Kenney’s oppressive, violent and racist policies.”

Grewal added that, “Kenney has been under fire for soliciting money for advertising campaigns through the ‘Conservative Ethnic Paid Media Strategy’ targeted at immigrant voters. The Conservative government’s Bill C49, which would have enforced mandatory detention for at least one year for asylum seekers ‘suspected of using a smuggler,’ has been rejected despite constant rhetoric and photo-ops.”

Also on hand to try to speak with Kenny were members of the war resisters movement and the wife of deported Salvadoran Jose Figueroa

Check out NOII’s press release on the event.