SOUTH CANADA – The tiny nation of South Canada, located between the borders of Vermont and Quebec, has agreed to take in more than 200,000 people from El Salvador that have been living in the United States for more than 15 years, but who now find their situations uncertain. The Trump administration made the decision earlier this week to end Temporary Protected Status (TPS) protection for the Salvadorans after the president was asked to renew the measure, but the TPS documents he was presented with did not include the new cover sheet that he had recently come up with.
With 18 months until deportation, many Salvadorans are concerned with their future status. Some are trying to find other ways to remain in the U.S. legally, but many are now heading to South Canada, where they are being welcomed without question, due to a lack of immigration policy.
“It did seem like a lot of them,” said Secretary of Defense Brad Wetherby. “But I couldn’t think of a reason not to let them in. Plus it was technically my day off, and I was only there at the border to get my coffee mug I left there yesterday.”
With an area of only 43 square miles, some are wondering how South Canada will deal with the 200,000 new residents that could potentially move in. But others say that this isn’t as much of an issue as people are making it.
“It’s not going to be 200,000. Not really,” said South Canadian Secretary of State Angela Washington. “Some of those people are going to stay in America, and some will probably go back to El Salvador. I think we’re looking at 150,000 people max. And they have 18 months to get here. Yeah, we got a big surge at the beginning, but by the time the rest get here we’ll have a plan. My friend has a pretty big barn. We could probably fit a bunch of people in there.”
Either way, an influx of new citizens will have a major impact on the country, whose population as of last week was 2,378. And while the Salvadorans will likely start new businesses and build new homes,providing a boost to the local economy, in the short term it may cost South Canada quite a bit of dirt.
I don’t live in South Canada, but if this means there might be a good place there to get real Central American food, I’ll be making regular visits. Besides I need to brush up on my Spanish. Does South Canada accept expired passports for entry?