Decrease in Refugee Claims and Acceptance Rates

As expected by most immigration practitioners, the number of refugee claims made at the Canada-US border has dropped significantly. The Canada–U.S. Safe Third Country Agreement came into effect on December 29, 2004, and statistics from CIC’s website indicate a significant decrease of 40 per cent drop in refugee claims since the inception of the Agreement. The Agreement requires an individual who lands in either country to make a claim in that country and does not allow the individual to proceed to the border to attempt to claim in the other country. There are limited exceptions to the Agreement. CIC is also reporting a substantial decrease in refugee claims at other ports of entry (mainly at the airport) that is not covered by the Agreement. There are a number of valid criticisms of that agreement found here and here). Canada’s refugee and asylum history has displayed “refugee trends” that shift and change depending on CIC’s current policies and of course eco-political realities of their home countries. In the past, a number of Central American (El Salvador, Nicaragua) and South America (Peru) countries were major refugee source countries for Canada until political stabilization and a restoration of law and order occurred in... Read more →