Details on police immigration status policies ‘scant’

City committee asks for access to TPS statistics to protect those who ‘fly under the radar’

The city’s community and recreation committee wants police to clarify when they’re sharing information with federal immigration authorities about the estimated 80,000 to 200,000 Torontonians living here illegally.

Last year, Toronto became the first Canadian city to adopt a formal policy to allow undocumented residents access to city services, regardless of their immigration status. They include people who have overstayed their visas or failed to obtain refugee status.

At the time, council asked Toronto police to review policies to ensure the service was complying with the city’s new directive.

The service determined its “governance, practices and programs” are in compliance with the directives. But a parade of activists and front-line workers argued otherwise Thursday. Many undocumented residents in distress are refusing to contact police with justified fear they will be turned over to immigration officials, the committee heard.

“We have people who are fearful of reporting (to police) and children that are fearful of losing their parents and victims of violence that are fearful of accessing services,” Councillor Kristyn Wong-Tam said.

The “Sanctuary City” policy is just “hollow words” if city agencies and service providers don’t follow what council intended, she said.

Councillor Joe Mihevc said it’s unclear when police are sharing information with Canada Border Services Agency: “If someone robs a bank, that’s one thing, but if someone has a parking ticket . . .”

Councillor Ana Bailao said she’s concerned that Toronto police officers are accompanying CBSA agents on raids targeting undocumented construction workers. “It is not their job to enforce federal immigration policy,” she said.

Toronto police spokesman Mark Pugash said officers accompany CBSA agents only if “there is a fear of breach of the peace.”

Mihevc’s multi-part motion, which the committee passed unanimously, contains information requests to police.

Brendan Jowett of Parkdale Community Legal Services applauded the committee’s move. “The information that is being given to us by police is very scant on this issue,” he said Thursday.

“We don’t know the full extent of what kind of arrangements they have with CBSA, we don’t know how many people they’re sending into CBSA custody in any given year. This is the hardest population to work with. They’re people who by their very nature fly under the radar and try not to be detected.”

The motion, which asks police to report back in October, must still be approved by council.