The deportations come amid growing concern from refugee advocates over the unprecedented zeal they say immigration enforcement officers have brought to the job ever since the Conservatives won a majority two years ago, and particularly over the last eight months since the new asylum system was implemented.
“I think there’s an emphasis on enforcing measures against people, whatever the human cost of it,” said Janet Dench, executive director of Canadian Council for Refugees.
Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA) officers, she argued, have been intimidating claimants even before their deportation and many have had their request for a stay of removal on serious health grounds denied contrary to the advice of their physician. Furthermore, she’s troubled by reports that Citizenship and Immigration doctors are overriding the advice of attending physicians without ever examining the patient, possibly as a matter of course that’s raising all sorts of ethical issues.
“They used to be open to compelling reasons why the removal should be deferred,” she said. “You could present those arguments and they would consider them and they would include medical considerations. Now, they’re taking a much firmer line and this is going on since the beginning of the year.”
Figures obtained by Postmedia News from the Canada Border Services Agency show the largest number of deported claimants was shipped off to Hungary (1,652) and Mexico (1,373) — the two biggest producers of failed asylum seekers in recent years and the inspiration behind some of the legislative changes.
Of the 37 countries listed since December as unlikely producers of refugees, Hungary and Mexico are also the most widely disputed due to ongoing safety concerns in those countries that have, despite the designation, also resulted in numerous valid claims compared to other so-called safe countries.
The United States, Colombia, St. Vincent and the Grenadines, China and Croatia were among the other top destinations for deported claimants, according to the figures which include deportations conducted from Jan. 1 to Aug. 13, 2013. The U.S. and Croatia are also on the “designated country of origin” safe list.
Meanwhile, 52 failed claimants were deported to Haiti, Afghanistan, Zimbabwe, Iraq and the Democratic Republic of Congo, which are currently listed on Canada’s Temporary Suspension of Removals list. Canada is prohibited from deporting people to listed countries for safety reasons but the order does not extend to criminals. According to the CBSA, the figures include failed claimants deemed inadmissible due to criminality.
It also includes more than 2,200 failed claimants who agreed to leave the country voluntarily under the Assisted Voluntary Returns and Reintegration Program, a Toronto-area pilot project that provides low-risk failed claimants with a plane ticket and resettlement funding if they agree to leave without a fight.
Montreal lawyer Stewart Istvanffy agreed those who do fight deportation increasingly face an uphill battle.
“I think it’s partly just the Conservatives got a majority in May 2011 and now they figure they could get away with murder so they’re doing it,” he said. “They brought in really bad legislative changes but these changes of being so inhumane came in before the legislation.”
In the last year, he has had about six clients with serious medical problems denied a stay by Ottawa and only after a tough battle that involved a lot of scrambling due to short timelines for filing documents; he won reprieve for three.
He’s shocked, however, that he did not succeed in the case of Khurshid Begum Awan, a 57-year-old Pakistani woman ordered to leave the country at 6 p.m. Wednesday despite a recent heart attack. CBSA officers first barged into her hospital room last month while she was recovering to inform her that she would be deported the next day. Weeks later they showed up at her Montreal home to deliver a deportation letter.
“She has a heart condition. She’s scared sh-tless going back to Pakistan,” Istvanffy said. “We can visibly see her health declining in front of our eyes and these people don’t seem to care.”
Istvanffy learned his client never did show up for her deportation and he’s still trying to figure out what to do next.
While the government will spare no expense for a nurse or full medical evacuation to remove somebody, Istvanffy added, his clients are generally on their own upon arrival at their destination.
“It’s an incredible level of inhumanity what we see now,” he said.
According to the CBSA, “matters concerning the health and safety of our clients are taken very seriously.” If there are health concerns, spokeswoman Esme Bailey said medical professionals are consulted and appropriate measures, including medical escorts, are put in place.
She also rejected allegations of intimidation and unfair treatment by immigration enforcement officers.
“CBSA officers, including our inland enforcement officers, are highly trained professionals who treat all individuals with dignity and respect at all times,” she said. “Our officers are compassionate to the needs and concerns of individuals who are being arrested, detained, referred to an admissibility hearing or removed, and carry out their work in a respectful and professional manner.”
tcohen@postmedia.com
Twitter.com/tobicohen
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Top 10 Removals by country (Jan. 1 to Aug. 13, 2013)
* Designated countries of origin (DCO) countries:
Hungary 1,652
Mexico 1,373
United States 476
Croatia 180
Israel 154
Poland 121
Czech Republic 105
Korea 58
Slovak Republic 54
Portugal 45
Non-DCO countries:
Colombia 360
St. Vincent and the Grenadines 226
China 222
El Salvador 141
India 113
Honduras 104
St. Lucia 91
Panama 80
Philippines 80
Guatemala 80
* Designated countries of origin (DCO) include countries that don’t usually produce refugees, but do respect human rights and offer state protection, according to Citizenship and Immigration Canada.
Original Article
Source: canada.com/
Author: Tobi Cohen
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