Asylum claims in Canada has reached highest level in decades
Asylum claims reached highest level in decades in 2017, and that trend isn’t slowing down.
This week, Pew Research Center published a new analysis of data from the Canadian government on the number of people who sought asylum in Canada in 2017, and it found that more people sought asylum in Canada in 2017 than at any point in at least a quarter-century, due in part to a spike in applications from Haitians entering the country from the United States in the Trump anti-immigration climate.
The 50,420 asylum applications Canada received in 2017 were more than double the 23,930 it received in 2016. Applications that meet basic eligibility requirements, such as having no serious criminal convictions, are referred to Canada’s Immigration and Refugee Board for further review; the vast majority of applications in 2017 received this referral.
Asylum claims so far in 2018
From January through March 2018, asylum claims have already reached almost a quarter of the 2017 total number.
In the first three months of the year, 12,145 asylum claims have been received across Canada. Of these claims, 42 per cent were made by irregular migrants, the majority taking place in Quebec and being largely processed by an innovative IRCC mobile processing unit at the Lacolle point of entry.
Yesterday, members of the Ad Hoc Intergovernmental Task Force on Irregular Migration met for the ninth time to discuss better ways to address the increase of irregular migrants crossing into Canada over the last several weeks.
Federal Minister Marc Garneau, task force chair, began the meeting by reiterating the importance of ongoing federal and provincial collaboration in order to manage the influx with compassion and in accordance with Canadian law.
Minister of Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship (IRCC) Ahmed Hussen underlined new federal investments of $173 million over two years to support the intake and processing of asylum claims, security screening, detentions and removals. This includes an investment of $74 million in the Immigration and Refugee Board (IRB) to expand capacity and process claims faster. He noted that a 40 per cent increase in claims finalization was achieved at the IRB last year due to efficiency measures and that the new funding will further speed up processing of claims, which will relieve pressures on provincial services.
Recently, Minister Hussen met with the High Commissioner of Nigeria where the issue of Nigerians transiting through the U.S. to claim asylum in Canada was discussed. IRCC has expanded its social media campaign to include the Nigerian community, as it recognized the background of a large number of asylum claimants is Nigerian.
During his trip to Washington last week, Minister Garneau met with Department of Homeland Security (DHS) officials and raised the issue of irregular migration. Minister of Public Safety and Emergency Preparedness Ralph Goodale will be meeting with DHS Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen on the margins of the upcoming G7 Security Ministerial meeting to discuss joint border security and public safety issues, including irregular migration.
Triage system to help employ claimants faster
Moving forward, officials were directed to explore the development of a triage system at the Canada-U.S. border to enhance the integration and facilitate the rapid employment of asylum claimants. This would include gathering information on asylum claimants’ skill profile and intended destination with the goal of alleviating pressures on major urban centres and reducing labour shortages in the region.
In total, 12,500 work permits were issued to asylum claimants in Quebec, since April 1 2017. An additional 1,474 work permit applications have been approved for asylum claimants who entered Canada outside of Quebec.
”We will keep on working with Quebec and Ontario and the other provinces, as I believe that only together we can find innovative and creative solutions to best manage irregular migration,” says Minister Hussen.
Minister of Public Safety and Emergency Preparedness Ralph Goodale added: “We remain committed to protecting the safety of Canadians and keeping our borders secure. We continue to ensure that Canadian law is applied and that our international obligations are respected.”
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