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Canada: Whether Citizenship and Immigration Canada (CIC) removes foreign nationals (failed refugee claimants) who are not American citizens or residents back to their country of origin or to the United States after they have made refugee claims at the American/Canadian land border; any differences under C-86 or C-11 prior to the border accord

An investigations and removals official at Citizenship and Immigration Canada (CIC) stated that third country nationals are removed by CIC to the United States under the Reciprocal Arrangement Between the Canada Employment and Immigration Commission and the United States Immigration and Naturalization Service (INS), Department of Justice (Canada 29 Jan. 2003). The Deputy Director of Investigations and Removals at CIC added that "the Reciprocal Agreement is still valid and is being applied the same now as pre-IRPA [Immigration and Refugee Protection Act]" (ibid. 23 Jan. 2003).

According to the Reciprocal Agreement,

Any of the classes of aliens hereinafter defined, even though such persons would be subject to deportation by the receiving country, will be permitted to return to Canada or the United States under the terms of this Arrangement provided:

The alien was admitted to the receiving country for permanent residence and:

– The alien has not abandoned such residence by residing in a third country; and

– The alien proceeded directly from the receiving country to the deporting country and was not admitted for permanent residence at that time; and

– Formal request is made for consent to return the alien within one year from the date of a final order of deportation; and

– The alien came into the deporting country on or subsequent to August 1, 1949; or

– b) The alien was not admitted to the receiving country for permanent residence but: The alien was denied admission at a port of entry and was ordered removed from the deporting country; and

– The alien proceeded directly from the receiving country to the deporting country; and

– Formal request for consent to return the alien is made within one year from the date of a final order of removal.

Before a deportee described in paragraphs 1 or 2 above is returned to Canada or the United States, a letter consenting to such return will first be obtained from the receiving Service.

A deportee described in paragraph 2 above will be permitted to return to the United States or Canada under the terms of this Arrangement, provided appropriate arrangements are made in the receiving country for a deportee who requires medical evaluation or institutional care or treatment. The receiving Service will undertake to arrange appropriate reception as expeditiously as possible (CIC June 2002, Appendix A, Sec. 3).

Correspondence sent by an investigations and removals official at CIC, further states that

Persons may be returned pursuant to the Reciprocal agreement but both the US and Canada have the right to determine the destination of the removal. In other words simply because a case may be eligible for return under the agreement, we may still decide to return to another as per the authority under the old act/IRPA (i.e. country of citizenship, country of birth, country from which they entered Canada (essentially the reciprocal situation), or any country which will take them back). Officers decide where the person will be sent; it is usually financially advantageous to the Crown to remove to US and no travel document is required. That said, certain nationalities are not removable from the US, the person may wish to be sent home, the person has a demonstrated history of returning to Canada from the US or is deemed likely to return to Canada if simply sent back to the US – in which case the officer may decide that returning the person to his country of birth (etc.) makes more sense from an enforcement point of view (30 Jan. 2003).

This Response was prepared after researching publicly accessible information currently available to the Research Directorate within time constraints. This Response is not, and does not purport to be, conclusive as to the merit of any particular claim to refugee status or asylum.

References

Canada. 30 January 2003. Citizenship and Immigration Canada (CIC). Correspondence sent by an investigations and removals official.

_____. 29 January 2003. Citizenship and Immigration Canada (CIC). Correspondence sent by an investigations and removals official.

_____. 23 January 2003. Citizenship and Immigration Canada (CIC). Correspondence sent by the Deputy Director of Investigations and Removals.

_____. June 2002. Citizenship and Immigration Canada (CIC). <http://www.cic.gc.ca/manuals-guides/english/enf/index.html> [Accessed 29 Jan. 2003]