Refugee advocates seek travel ban details
Ottawa has yet to reveal terms of interim deal reached with U.S.
With asylum seekers being turned back by Canada at the land border, lawyers and advocates have been wondering what happens to the returnees.
However, since the border measures were introduced on March 21 in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic, the federal government has yet to reveal the terms and conditions of the interim bilateral agreement reached between Ottawa and the White House.
“We understand there’s no public written agreement. We have not seen any and there is nothing on the immigration (department) and Canada Border Services Agency websites,” said Maureen Silcoff of the Canadian Association for Refugee Lawyers.
“We do not have a clear picture of what was agreed between the countries to ensure those who come to the border and are directed back would not be subject to harm.”
In March, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and U.S. President Donald Trump announced they would close the land border except for essential services personnels to stop the spread of COVID-19. The measures also included turning back all asylum seekers who attempted to cross the border.
Although the rules were relaxed last month to allow a few exempted asylum seekers to enter Canada for protection, irregular migrants who cross between official ports of entry are still subject to the ban.
Refugee lawyers and advocates were alarmed and began looking for a copy of the interim agreement, when Trump, at one point, talked up the possibility of deploying1,000 U.S. soldiers along the 9,000-km border to intercept unauthorized crossers — a move immediately retracted after Ottawa protested.
“The U.S. is not refugee-friendly. If these people are turned back and Canada doesn’t have the commitment from the U.S. not to deport, we are complicit to what happens to these refugees,” said Ottawa lawyer Arghavan Gerami.
“There are good reasons to be concerned. With warmer temperatures, refugees in desperate circumstances will make their own arrangement and travel with the assistance from smugglers. We have people to be quarantined to protect the public and this is counterproductive to what we intend to do.”
Canada Border Services Agency did not respond to the Star’s request for a copy of the interim agreement or reveal terms of the deal, but said the latest data showed that 24 asylum seekers were directed back to the U.S. between March 21 and May 6, including five irregular migrants — nine in B.C., three in Ontario; 12 in Quebec. Two asylum seekers met the exemption criteria and were allowed in during the same period.
Queen’s University immigration law professor Sharry Aiken said the Ottawa should go back to the policy that was in place before the travel ban and allow migrants to cross the border for asylum as long as they quarantine themselves for 14 days upon arrival.
Ottawa has recently loosened the travel restrictions to allow migrant workers and some asylum seekers, such as those with immediate families in Canada, to enter the country.
“The refugee population is among the most vulnerable people in the midst,” Aiken said. “They can enter and self-isolate for 14 days. We can manage that.”