Immigration Detention (Global Order Studies) by Amy Nethery & Stephanie J. Silverman

Author:Amy Nethery & Stephanie J. Silverman [Nethery, Amy & Silverman, Stephanie J.]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Migration
ISBN: 9781317613909
Publisher: Taylor and Francis
Published: 2015-04-24T07:00:00+00:00

8

Not so short and sweet

Immigration detention in Canada

Janet Cleveland

Although brief detention of foreigners pending deportation has existed in Canada since at least the 19th century, systematic use of detention as a migratory control tool became more prevalent in the 1980s, notably with the creation of dedicated immigration detention centres (Pratt 2005). Immigration detention is used for two main purposes: to control incoming migration and as part of the deportation process.

About 5 to 10% of incoming asylum seekers are detained by the Canadian Border Services Agency (CBSA), primarily for identity checks, flight risk or, more rarely, investigation of concerns about security or criminality (Nakache 2011: Chapter 2). Once these checks are completed, asylum seekers are generally released into the community to pursue their refugee claim, with or without conditions. Precise figures are unavailable because CBSA statistics conflate asylum seekers and refused claimants. This latter group accounts for about 43% of immigration detainees, a proportion that has changed little over the past 10 years (Nakache 2011: 41). In 2010–2011, for example, Canada detained 4,151 people who were either asylum seekers or refused refugee claimants out of a total of 8,838 immigration detainees (Nakache 2011: 41). Men are disproportionately likely to be detained (on average, 76% of detainees [Nakache 2011: 42]). The rate of detention of asylum seekers relative to the incoming population has remained fairly stable in recent years, fluctuating up or down with variations in the number of asylum seekers. The rate of deportations of refused claimants and other inadmissible migrants, on the other hand, has sharply risen alongside an increase of resources allocated to enforcement by the Conservative government of Stephen Harper beginning in 2006.

In 2012, provisions were adopted giving the government broad discretionary powers to designate groups of foreign nationals entering Canada as ‘irregular arrivals’. This provision, known as C-31 or the Protecting Canada’s Immigration System Act, was passed into law on June 28, 2012, and amended the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act (IRPA) (2001). Under C-31, all Designated Foreign Nationals (DFNs) over 15 years old are subject to mandatory detention with very limited access to review. Even if they are accepted as refugees, DFNs are deprived of the right to travel, sponsor family members, and apply for permanent residence for five years. Although these arbitrary and unjust provisions are a serious cause for concern, they have only been used once at the time of writing.

The second main rationale for immigration detention is to hold non-citizens pending deportation. This function of detention affects three different categories of non-citizens. The first comprises people who are subject to removal because of lack of official migration status: for the most part, these are refused refugee claimants or visa overstayers. The second group is non-citizens who have committed certain criminal offenses, served their sentences, and are now subject to deportation. Deportation under these circumstances can take place after years of residence in Canada and thus constitutes a form of dual punishment. Finally, non-citizens may, in exceptional circumstances, be detained pending deportation under a ‘security certificate’ if they are suspected of representing a threat to public safety.

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