Nearly 400 people from 53 different nationalities including 53 Haitians who crossed the US border illegally to seek asylum in Canada were expelled. This number represents a small fraction of the 32,173 migrants (all nationalities combined, the majority is Haitian) who crossed Canada's land borders illegally from the United States between April 2017 and the end of August 2018. Most are still waiting for their request to asylum be heard.

The Canadian Border Agency stated that the decision of where a person was deported depended on where they arrived in Canada, their last permanent residence, their citizenship, and their country of birth. The 400 deported persons had their asylum applications rejected by the Refugee Board and had exhausted all legal remedies and procedures.

The 32,173 migrants who crossed illegally from Canada's land borders were declared inadmissible for residency simply for illegally crossing the Canadian border, said Nicholas Dorion, spokesman for the Federal Agency.

According to Stéphane Handfield, an immigration lawyer, if the asylum application is acceptable, a hearing date is set within 60 days, but can be postponed for several weeks or months.

When the asylum application is considered admissible, the person can apply for a work permit. Approximately one year after arriving in Canada, the refugee claimant is heard by the Refugee Board, which must determine whether it is a refugee within the meaning of the law. According to Immigration Canada, the Commission returns its response within 4 months.

If the asylum application is accepted, the person can start a permanent resident procedure. If the application is rejected, the person must return to its country of origin or appeal the decision. For lawyers, Haitian asylum seekers will have great difficulty demonstrating that if they have to return to Haiti they would risk torture, their lives would be threatened or they could be exposed to cruel and unusual treatment or punishment... some of the criteria defined in the law and taken into consideration.

See also :

https://www.icihaiti.com/en/news-22635-icihaiti-flash-barely-3-of-asylum-seekers-in-quebec-have-obtained-a-work-permit.html

TB/ HaitiLibre