People from African, Caribbean countries face harsher treatment by immigration system, study finds
2026/02/17 Leave a comment
Think this study needs more context in understanding the differences as some of this may reflect valid risk factors:
…CBSA data cited in the report and obtained by Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch under freedom-of-information laws show that in 2019, the majority of detainees held for a month or longer were from African and Caribbean countries.
Publicly available data from the CBSA and the Immigration and Refugee Board indicate that the overall number of people held in immigration detention, as well as the length of their detention, has declined in recent years: the vast majority of detainees are released within 30 days, the study notes.
However, over the past decade, nearly 60,000 people – including hundreds of children – have been placed in immigration detention, the study’s analysis of Canada Border Services Agency data found.
The CBSA can detain non-citizens, including permanent residents and foreign nationals, who are believed to be inadmissible to Canada. The factors the border agency considers include whether the person may pose a public-safety risk or is a possible flight risk.
Over that past decade, fewer than 10 per cent of immigration detainees were arrested because they were deemed a danger to the public or because of serious criminality, the data show.
The same proportion were held because of questions about their identity documents or because a border agent needed more information to complete an immigration examination.
The vast majority – around 80 per cent – were held because border agents deemed them unlikely to appear at future immigration proceedings.
Source: People from African, Caribbean countries face harsher treatment by immigration system, study finds
