Recent Asylum Seeker Cases To Be Heard First, Immigration and Refugee Board Says

Canada ‘s Immigration and Refugee Board (IRB) has moved to change the way it prioritizes asylum seeker hearings in an attempt to manage an ever-increasing backlog of candidates waiting to have their cases dealt with.

The change means more recent asylum cases will be heard first, with thousands of hearings scheduled for 2018 cancelled to allow for the new policy.

Recent asylum seekers were notified of the change by letter. Despite them being prioritized, the IRB could still only commit to hearing the most recent cases inside two years. It means that those not considered recent claimants will be waiting 24 months and longer for a decision on their cases.

Watch: Immigration.ca Managing Partner Colin Singer on Tackling Illegal Border Crossings

The waiting time crisis at the IRB has been developing for some time, but it has been fully laid bare after the flood of Haitians who illegally cross into Quebec in summer 2017. At its peak in July and August, as many as 300 people per day were illegally crossing the border, looking to escape a Donald Trump crackdown on immigrants afforded special status.

Although the vast majority of the summer cases are being refused, each one requires a separate hearing, which has added to the IRB’s nightmare.

The board was already routinely failing to meet a 60-day time limit for most asylum cases to be heard, introduce by the previous Conservative government in an attempt to fast-track the process.

Experts say that after setting the 60-day timeline, the requisite increase in resources was not provided to ensure it could be realistically met in anywhere near the majority of cases.

The backlog of cases had reached nearly 35,000 in September 2017, and there is no reason to believe that number has done anything but increase since then. The federal government is currently reviewing the system, with a report expected in June 2018.

In the mean time, there is the potential for a fresh surge of people crossing the border illegally, as Trump terminates Temporary Protected Status for a host of different nationalities in the next two years.

Haitians, Nicaraguans, Salvadorians and Hondurans are all set to lose their TPS in the foreseeable future.

Canadian officials say they are confident an ongoing information campaign will limit the number of people who look to cross in to Canada to escape deportation from the U.S.

The message is that illegal border crossers are just as likely to face deportation from Canada as they are from America.

Safe Third Country Agreement

There have been several calls for Canada to suspend the Safe Third Country Agreement with the U.S., which says an asylum seeker must make their claim in the first country to which they arrive. The agreement is the reason why those coming from the U.S. are electing to cross the border at remote locations, with the aim of getting arrested and entering the Canadian immigration system. Such individuals would otherwise not qualify to submit a claim as the Safe Third Country Agreement would prevent them from doing so.

Be One of the 1 Million New Immigrants Coming to Canada over Next 3 Years!

Find out if you qualify for Immigration to Canada by completing our free online evaluation, now! We will provide you with your evaluation results and immigration options within 1-2 business days.

Follow us on Linkedin and Join the Conversation about Immigration to Canada!

Watch Our Latest Video "Canada's 2018 - 2020 Annual Immigration Levels":

All you Need to Know about the Express Entry System in less than 3 Minutes:

Do you speak Spanish? Watch the Spanish version here!

Quebec Skilled Worker Program is Set to Reopen Soon (A Job Offer is not Required):

About the Author:

Colin R. Singer is immigration counsel for www.immigration.ca since 1994 and Managing Partner of Global Recruiters of Montreal. He is one of Canada's foremost senior corporate immigration attorneys. Colin is internationally recognized as an experienced and recommended authority on Canadian immigration and foreign recruitment. In addition to being a licensed human resources professional, he is a licensed Canadian lawyer in good standing with the Quebec Law Society for more than 25 years and is authorized by the Canadian government in all immigration matters.

Colin's persona on social media, one of the most recognized in the industry, includes the largest compilation of independently produced curated audio content on Canada's immigration policies. A multiple award-winning author on Mondaq, a global leading aggregator of legal, financial and regulatory information from more than 85 countries, his opinions on federal and provincial government immigration policies in Canada are often referenced by national news media, government and industry stakeholders.

Follow Immigration Attorney Colin R. Singer on:

• Twitter: @immigrationca
• Facebook: immigrationca
• Instagram: @Immigrationca
• Google Plus: +immigrationca
• Youtube: Immigration.ca Channel

Resources:

• Immigration.ca Podcasts - Stream or download more than 50 hours of the latest immigration news and Improve your English on the GO!
• Immigration.ca News Articles - A daily news source outlining the latest developments in immigration, employment, and the economy with commentaries by Attorney Colin Singer.
• At SkilledWorker.com - we are dedicated to developing long-term strategic alliances with client companies and candidates alike. We strictly adhere to our guiding principles of honesty, integrity, and confidentiality.