The U.S. and Canada quietly agreed to share personal data on permanent residents crossing the border

Understandable given some recent examples of security risks. Dated pre pre-Trump. But government should have been more transparent:

Top immigration lawyers say it’s “shocking” that the federal government quietly signed a new deal with the U.S. government that automatically trades troves of personal data of millions of permanent residents in either country when they try to cross the U.S.-Canada border.

In July, the U.S. and Canadian government quietly made a major change to a 2012 agreement that authorized the automatic sharing of personal information between both countries of non-residents who applied for visas.

The original deal deliberately excluded permanent residents and citizens of both countries from the information sharing regime. But an updated agreement quietly tabled in Parliament in October added permanent residents to the list of individuals whose personal information would automatically be sent to either government if they tried to cross the U.S.-Canada border.

The updated agreement, which was signed in July but came into force this month, impacts potentially millions of permanent residents in Canada and even more in the U.S. if they decide to apply for a visa to visit either country.

In a statement, Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) spokesperson Jeffrey MacDonald said that information sharing between the U.S. and Canada “strengthens visitor screening and supports managed migration.”

“The Government of Canada will be authorized to use biographic or biometric information of U.S. permanent residents (PR) making an immigration application to Canada to query and obtain information concerning their immigration history with the U.S,” MacDonald wrote.

“Likewise, the U.S. will be authorized to use biographic or biometric information of Canadian PRs making an immigration application to the U.S. to query and obtain information concerning their immigration history with Canada,” he added.

According to a government website, the information being shared ranges from a visa applicant’s personal information, picture, fingerprint and immigration history.

In an interview, immigration lawyer Mario Bellissimo said that automatically sending the U.S. government data about Canadian permanent residents wanting to cross the southern border is akin to a “devaluation” of permanent resident status.

“On what basis did the government determine that permanent residence needed to be surveilled in this way?,” wondered the chair of the Canadian Bar Association’ national immigration law section.

But the changes were kept quiet by the Canadian government until a brief mention by Immigration Minister Marc Miller during a press conference Wednesday, raising significant concerns among immigration lawyers as to why the major change was kept quiet for so long.

Source: The U.S. and Canada quietly agreed to share personal data on permanent residents crossing the border