New approach protects the ‘undocumented’
Police agencies in some big Canadian cities stop referring illegal immigrants to CBSA
Vancouver’s transit police force once boasted it had referred more undocumented migrants to federal immigration authorities than any other local police agency.
Then came the custody death of Lucia Vega Jimenez and accusations train stations were being turned into ‘border checkpoints.’
As of this week, the transit authority is striking a different tone. Strict conditions have been imposed on when transit officers can turn over someone to the Canada Border Services Agency. In some cases, officers will just let illegal migrants go.
“We’re not in the business of seeking out illegal immigrants,” Transit Police spokeswoman Anne Drennan said.
Other police agencies seem to be taking a similar approach — and Ottawa is not happy about it.
Some Canadian police agencies have adopted something akin to don’t ask, don’t tell: They will ask about immigration status only in limited circumstances and may turn a blind eye if an undocumented migrant is a victim or crime witness — the idea being, people should not be afraid to seek help just because they are undocumented. It comes amid a growing movement among North American cities to accommodate the undocumented — typically those who overstay visas or are failed refugee claimants — and to make sure they and their families have access to basic city services.
“There certainly is a trend,” said Harald Bauder, a professor in immigration and settlement studies at Ryerson University.
“It’s resonating with people because it’s not only for the protection of the undocumented immigrants, but it’s also in the general public’s interest because we want all crimes to be reported, we want all people to access health services, we want all our children to go to school.”
There are no reliable estimates for how many undocumented individuals reside in Canada. But Bauder said the numbers are likely to grow because of new restrictions on temporary foreign workers wanting to become permanent residents.
Kevin Menard, a spokesman for Citizenship and Immigration Minister Chris Alexander, said the government will not support efforts by any city that offers “sanctuary” to undocumented individuals.
“Canadians have told us that they have no tolerance for those who use fraudulent means to enter Canada, and abuse Canadian generosity,” Menard said.
Jimenez was one of those illegal migrants.
In December 2013, Vancouver transit police stopped the Mexican national for fare evasion at a SkyTrain station. They called the CBSA to verify her identity and learned she had previously been deported from the country over a failed refugee claim.
Transit police transferred her into the custody of the CBSA, where she later committed suicide in a holding cell. The 42-year-old woman had previously said she feared a ‘‘domestic situation’’ if returned to Mexico.
As part of the fallout from the death, the transit police force ended its memorandum of understanding with the CBSA, meaning the average 300-plus calls they used to make to CBSA annually will likely plummet, officials said.
Under the new policy, only a watch commander can authorize calls to CBSA and only after ensuring all options to confirm a person’s identity have been exhausted.
Unless there’s an active warrant, any followup action against the undocumented person must be carried out by CBSA.
That means the encounter with Jimenez would play out very differently today, Drennan said.
“We issue her a violation ticket (for the fare evasion) and she leaves.”
Drennan characterized the policy as “socially progressive” — one that will “foster a climate … where all persons can access transit regardless of status.”
Officials with the border services agency, which has memorandums of understanding with a handful of other agencies, said Friday they received 15,597 calls from law enforcement partners in 2014 with immigration-related queries.