New asylum rules for quicker deportations proposed by Canada
Canada is making some significant strides in how it treats asylum applications that will shorten the time required to deport deniers of the claims submitted. The proposed regulations are designed to smooth out and speed things up when it comes to dealing with failed asylum seekers. The government is committed to ensuring that the country’s immigration system works well while ensuring that due processes are followed as well.
A recent increase has seen the number of international students jump the queue by as much as 1500% when making asylum claims in Canada, raising fears that some people are abusing the system to stay longer than permitted. Plowing further in the path of fast-track migration, the 2024 federal budget included measures in this direction even as asylum seekers continued to flood into the country—an observation made by Global News, a major Canadian media house.
A $1 million federal plan that streamlines and speeds up decisions to remove failed refugee claimants. 46,736 applicants have applied for asylum in Canada since March 2024; this is an increase of 62 percent as per the Immigration and Refugee Board (IRB) and thus accounts for a backlog of 186,000 cases. On the other hand, one can also say that PM Trudeau acknowledged that increasing temporary immigration has strained Canada’s capacity, and thus it has created a long waiting time for making asylum decisions. This has in turn added to the number of houses that are going to be built throughout Canada as a result of increased applications.
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Removing Denied Asylum Claimants from Canada
Difficulties remain in eliminating those whose asylum claims have been refused or withdrawn, with CBSA having issued more than 28,000 “active warrants” by February this year. Immigration and refugee lawyer Warren Creates told the Star’s Daniel Leblanc that there is a critical need for Canada to invest massively in the refugee determination process to ensure fairness and effectiveness in the making of decisions. While the Canadian government has pledged to pump $743.5 million into the CBSA, IRCC, and IRB over five years to clear a backlog of 186,000 asylum applications, the deluge of 140,000 new applications alone has put a strain on existing resources.
It underscored a huge gap between the capacity of the Immigration and Refugee Board—which can cope with only 50,000 claims per year—and the avalanche of 140,000 applicants last year. While the IRB can handle about 50,000 claims per year, the sheer volume of 140,000 applicants last year was well over capacity.
Responding to mounting pressures, Ottawa has introduced several measures. Among these are proposed changes to the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act and regulatory actions such as limiting work opportunities for foreign students and reintroducing visa requirements for Mexican nationals. While changes to asylum requirements have not been discussed, there are hints that changes could well be aimed at expediting the asylum process and easing the strain on immigration systems.
This recent change in the Canadian asylum rule, including impetus for expedited deportation, is in response to a feeling that the backlog of the immigration system is one of the more difficult issues. This change, in an attempt to accelerate the process, raises concerns regarding the impact on the rights of the persons involved and due process. As the discussions go on, one will be required to observe how Canada balances the efficiency of the asylum system with humanitarian considerations. Onward to the ever-changing aspect of Canadian immigration policy.
