Feds to crack down on illegal migrants

Federal Public Safety Minister Vic Toews has human smuggling in his sights as he speaks later today in Delta, just south of Vancouver.

Toews and Immigration Minister Jason Kenney are expected to announce federal plans to punish human smugglers and deter migrants arriving illegally on Canadian shores.

The plan is expected to include a mandatory 10-year sentence for anyone convicted of smuggling 50 or more people.

Migrants could face at least one year of detention, limits on sponsoring other immigrants and travel restrictions before they earn Canadian citizenship.

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  Migrants are escorted from the M V Sun Sea after it arrived in Colwood, B.C. on Friday, Aug 13, 2010.

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  Migrants are escorted from the M V Sun Sea after it was escorted into CFB Esquimalt in Colwood, B.C.,Friday, Aug. 13, 2010. The suspect Tamil migrant boat is believed to be holding as many as 500 refugees with unknown numbers of women and children. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Jonathan Hayward