Canada preparing for influx of U.S. migrants facing deportation after Trump’s victory, Le retour de Trump pourrait provoquer des vagues d’immigration à la frontière 

2024/11/07 Leave a comment

Here we go again and we will see whether the revised STCA helps manage the potential flow:

RCMP in Quebec say they have prepared contingency plans in case of an influx of migrants from the United States after Donald Trump’s victory, as Quebec Premier François Legault and Bloc Québécois Leader Yves-François Blanchet raised fears about asylum claimants streaming into the province.

Mr. Legault warned about “turbulence” at the border, saying Wednesday that he expects a stream of asylum seekers from the U.S. and arguing that the capacity of Quebec to integrate new arrivals had already been exceeded.

Mr. Blanchet challenged Prime Minister Justin Trudeau in the Commons about whether Canada was prepared to deal with such an influx. He said there could be millions of people in the U.S. who may want to leave and a significant number could come to Canada.

Mr. Trudeau replied that Ottawa would protect the integrity of Canadian borders….

Source: Canada preparing for influx of U.S. migrants facing deportation after Trump’s victory

Alors qu’un vent de panique se répand dans certaines communautés aux États-Unis, des experts croient qu’il faut se préparer dès maintenant à des vagues d’immigration à la frontière canadienne, à l’instar de la classe politique québécoise. La ruée pourrait être rapide et plus « désordonnée » que celle du chemin Roxham, disent-ils, et les traversées plus « périlleuses », puisque les voies normales sont presque entièrement bouchées.

En campagne, Donald Trump a promis de lancer le plus grand programme d’expulsion d’immigrants de l’histoire au jour 1 de sa présidence en utilisant la Loi sur les ennemis étrangers, un texte législatif écrit pour les périodes de guerre. Plus de 11 millions de personnes vivent sans statut aux États-Unis, et des centaines de milliers d’autres ont un statut temporaire qui expire dans les prochains mois.

« Le gouvernement doit se préparer pour affronter une potentielle crise humanitaire. » Cette exhortation sans détour vient de Fen Hampson, président du Conseil mondial pour les réfugiés et la migration.

Si ces personnes ne se qualifient pas pour demander l’asile à un poste-frontière sur la base des rares exceptions, c’est « à travers bois » et possiblement durant l’hiver qu’elles tenteront leur passage vers le Canada, entrevoit Stephan Reichhold, directeur de la Table de concertation des organismes au service des personnes réfugiées et immigrantes. Les traversées sont déjà « plus périlleuses » depuis la « fermeture » du chemin Roxham, et le risque « va s’intensifier », prévient cet observateur de longue date.

À la frontière, la Gendarmerie royale du Canada (GRC) s’active déjà en prévision d’une augmentation des passages en provenance de chez nos voisins du Sud. Dans un échange avec Le Devoir, le sergent Charles Poirier a confirmé que l’élection de M. Trump risquait d’avoir « une grosse incidence sur le nombre d’entrées irrégulières au Canada ». Un « plan de contingence » qui détermine les ressources supplémentaires à déployer à la frontière a été élaboré.

Craignant des « turbulences » migratoires un an et demi après la fermeture du chemin Roxham, le premier ministre du Québec, François Legault, a toutefois affirmé mercredi qu’il souhaitait s’assurer « que le gouvernement fédéral protège [les] frontières » avec les États-Unis.

Source: Le retour de Trump pourrait provoquer des vagues d’immigration à la frontière

As a wind of panic spreads in some communities in the United States, experts believe that we must prepare now for waves of immigration on the Canadian border, like the Quebec political class. The rush could be fast and more “messy” than that of Roxham Road, they say, and the crossings more “dangerous”, since the normal tracks are almost completely blocked.

During the campaign, Donald Trump promised to launch the largest immigrant expulsion program in history on day 1 of his presidency using the Foreign Enemies Act, a legislative text written for times of war. More than 11 million people live without status in the United States, and hundreds of thousands more have a temporary status that expires in the coming months.

“The government must prepare to face a potential humanitarian crisis. This blunt exhortation comes from Fen Hampson, president of the World Council for Refugees and Migration.

If these people do not qualify to apply for asylum at a border post on the basis of the few exceptions, it is “through the wood” and possibly during the winter that they will try their way to Canada, sees Stephan Reichhold, director of the Consultation Table of Organizations Serving Refugees and Immigrants. Crossings are already “more dangerous” since the “closure” of Roxham Road, and the risk “will intensify”, warns this long-time observer.

At the border, the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) is already working in anticipation of an increase in crossings from our southern neighbours. In an exchange with Le Devoir, Sergeant Charles Poirier confirmed that the election of Mr. Trump risked having “a big impact on the number of irregular entries into Canada”. A “contingency plan” that determines the additional resources to be deployed at the border has been developed.

Fearing migratory “turmoil” a year and a half after the closure of Roxham Road, Quebec’s Prime Minister, François Legault, said on Wednesday that he wanted to ensure “that the federal government protects [the] borders” with the United States.

Filed under Immigration, Refugees Tagged with , ,

Canada’s refugee system is overwhelmed by skyrocketing claims. What can Ottawa do to reduce backlogs?

2024/08/02 Leave a comment

It starts with reversing some of the visa waivers or relaxed requirements for source countries that are experiencing a major increase along with some of the post-arrival suggestions mentioned by lawyers. And while some will not like it, AI should be part of the triage process:

Canada’s refugee system has been the envy of the world. It’s recognized as being orderly, fair and efficient when compared to any other western country.

But as the number of asylum seekers keeps surging here — and with the queue and processing times getting longer, the beleaguered system is in desperate need of a rethink to save it from spiraling out of control and being clogged up in endless backlogs.

“It didn’t take long for me to realize with the team that we needed to maintain our ability to render fair decisions despite the growing intake,” Manon Brassard, who was appointed as the chair of the Immigration and Refugee Board a year ago, told a Senate committee in June. “We need to do something about that.”

In 2023, the country’s largest independent tribunal received 138,000 new claims, up by 129 per cent from the year before and by 136 per cent in 2019, before the pandemic halted international travels and slowed the inflow. In the first three months of 2024, already 46,700 claims were lodged, with a total of 186,000 cases in the queue.

In the spring, the federal government tried unsuccessfully to ram through some much-needed changes to the asylum system through an omnibus bill that it said were necessary to streamline the process and tackle a growing backlog.

Those changes would have simplified the initial registration of a refugee claim; imposed “mandatory conditions” and timelines that claimants must follow to avoid their cases from being deemed abandoned; and allowed immigration officials to hold on to a file before referring it to the refugee board for hearing. 

Immigration Minister Marc Miller told the Star in a recent interview that the status quo is unsustainable.

“It was unfortunate,” he said of the foiled reforms carved out of the budget bill amid complaints by advocates for the lack of consultation. “Those amendments were fair in nature, and they were intended to accelerate some of the processing.”

Miller said he has some decisions to make in the coming months and is not ruling out reintroducing the proposed changes in a new bill.

The refugee board’s dilemma

Despite an extra $87 million in federal funding over two years — and new rules to crack down on irregular migration through U.S. land border — the refugee board only has the capacity to process 50,000 claims a year. With more than 186,000 cases pending, it would take almost four years to clear its inventory, even if new intakes were halted.

And the board is not going to get more money. As part of the federal budget cuts, the tribunal must reduce spending by $8.3 million this year, $10.5 million in 2025 and $13.6 million in 2026 and beyond.

Without the proposed legislative changes, the tribunal has few tools at its disposal.

“Money is part of the solution, but it’s not the only solution,” Brassard, who declined the Star’s interview request for this story, told senators in June. “We need to improve the way we do things.”

The board is developing a plan, known as “Horizon 26-27,” to streamline its operations and processes with the help of technology and automation, but few details are available. The aim is that by next March it will be able to process 80 per cent of claims within two years, as opposed to the current 37 months.

Critics urge for greater efficiency 

Critics say that while the board does need more decision-makers, it must also improve efficiency, and the government could help take some of the asylum seekers out of the queue by providing them with alternative pathways.

The tribunal already has policies to expedite less complex claims, such as those that appear to have solid evidence and are from clearly troubled countries.

Brassard told the Senate committee that the board has a task force to review cases — covering Afghanistan, Iran, Pakistan, Turkey and Venezuela — for quicker processing and about a third of the claims go through the screening.

However, immigration lawyer Robert Blanshay said even if an asylum seeker is selected for less complex screening, the case is still required to go before a refugee judge for a decision.

He said the board could hire trained administrative staff to review cases and interview claimants to make a record for the adjudicator to just sign off on, to save time and resources for formal hearings.

“On paper, it has been implemented, but it’s been severely underutilized,” said Blanshay, vice-chair of the refugee and litigation committee of the Canadian Bar Association’s immigration section.

Immigration lawyer Maureen Silcoff, who served as an adjudicator on the refugee board in the 1990s, said there used to be refugee protection officers — neutral parties — tasked with interviewing claimants where credibility was the only concern.

“You had an opportunity to ask questions and get clarification about some points that might be troubling you and could be resolved,” she explained. “The member (adjudicator) who signed off on the decision did so with more comfort.”

Silcoff said it’s worth bringing back the eliminated administrative position and triaging cases into three streams based on complexity: those requiring a full hearing, an interview if there are a few questions, or just a paper review for the most solid claims.

Aviva Basman, president of the Canadian Association of Refugee Lawyers, said the current asylum process is complicated and cumbersome, and the online portal, launched in 2021, takes a long time to fill out, especially when a claim involves multiple applicants.

Currently, foreign nationals can seek asylum at port of entry or make an inland claim after entering the country. However, there continues to be inconsistent and confusing information, for example, about deadlines to file documents, depending on the entry point into the refugee system. 

The less complex file review process is also somewhat unclear, which discourages counsel from even making an attempt because it requires substantial resources to make a case.

“What you have is a complicated, cumbersome refugee claim process where a lot of people are having a hard time,” said Basman. “Having simpler, streamlined processes would be a good thing.”

Alternative pathways for refugees

In addition to adequately resourcing asylum processes, a recent international report recommends governments alleviate pressure on their refugee determination systems by providing safe, orderly alternatives through resettlement programs and regular immigration pathways.

“Narrow- or short-sighted policies that focus on only one piece of the puzzle are likely to merely push the problem elsewhere,” warned the report by Washington-based Migration Policy Institute and the Robert Bosch Stiftung, a German foundation. 

Silcoff said Ottawa could expand on initiatives that offer immigration status to asylum seekers employed in fields with labour shortages, such as a one-time program during the pandemic that granted permanent residence to asylum seekers working in health care and a current pilot that resettles skilled refugees abroad to fill in-demand jobs here. 

“That could be a win-win,” said Silcoff. “It meets our labour market needs and it helps relieve the pressure from the refugee board.”

Source: Canada’s refugee system is overwhelmed by skyrocketing claims. What can Ottawa do to reduce backlogs?

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Given asylum in Canada but separated from their families for years: Is there a better way to grant permanent residence?

2024/07/30 Leave a comment

Hard to see the government agreeing pending approval as refugees for the primary applicant and the difficulties of removals of those refused:

For many refugee claimants, being granted protection in Canada can take 18 months. It can be much longer to reunite with the spouses and children they left behind.

And these family reunifications are bound to take even longer in the near future with the number of claimants — and accepted cases — surging, while an annual quota limits how many of the “protected persons” and their immediate family members abroad can transition to be permanent residents.

With the federal government freezing the permanent immigration levels this year through 2026, both the Canadian Bar Association and the Canadian Council for Refugees are demanding a public policy from Ottawa to let the overseas dependants of protected persons come on a temporary resident permit, to ease their prolonged separation.

“So at least you’re waiting in Canada for the finalization of your permanent residence,” said Gauri Sreenivasan, the refugee council’s co-executive director. 

“Canada has already said your family is eligible. We just have this really slow process to wait for the paper. So we’re saying, ‘Issue them a temporary resident permit so that they can wait in Canada, surrounded by their parents and the kids can go to school.’”

Asylum seekers on the rise 

The annual number of people seeking asylum in Canada has grown significantly since 2021 when international borders fully reopened after the pandemic, from 24,127 to 137,947 in 2023. In the first three months of this year, 46,693 claimants were reported.

With more cases being processed, the number of positive decisions has also grown, from 30,290 in 2021 to 37,222 in 2023. Between January and March this year, the refugee board already granted protection to 11,082 people. There are about 186,000 claims pending in the system.

Yet, the permanent residence quotas allotted each year for protected persons and families are not catching up. In 2021, there were 23,500 permanent resident spots assigned to them, but the number of people granted asylum surpassed that by 6,790. Last year, there were 25,000 spots resulting in a 12,222 shortfall. The queue just keeps growing. (Note: the number of people granted asylum includes the principal applicants and their family members in Canada only.)

According to the Immigration Department’s website, it currently takes 24 months for the principal applicant (the person granted protection status) and 50 months for their overseas dependants to obtain permanent residence in Canada. That’s on top of the average 18 months it takes the refugee board to adjudicate the applicants’ cases.

“You leave your family behind with the hope of being able to get protection and then bring them here,” said Gabriela Ramo, chair of the Canadian Bar Association’s immigration law section. “That’s not an uncommon experience.

“This is about the quota. There’s only so many spots and you’ve got a huge pool.”

The majority of people granted asylum, already vetted during that process, do ultimately become permanent residents, advocates say, and the delay in reuniting with their families creates further hardship and delays their settlement.

“You can’t fully integrate in Canada when you’re worried about your family on the other side of the world and you’re in a state of limbo,” said Ramo. “Everything in your life is suspended.”

‘I was missing them so much’

Former refugee Verene Mukabera knows that feeling well; it took her a total of four years before her husband and daughter joined her in Canada.

The Rwandan woman was seven months pregnant when she arrived alone in 2006. She had to care for her baby on her own for four years while working to support herself and her family abroad.

“I was crying all the time for no reasons. I got irritated and depressed easily,” recalled Mukabera, who needed mental health counselling. “I was missing them so much. Even after I got the protected person status, I couldn’t go see them. Money was an issue and I couldn’t go back.”

Her daughter joined her in Canada when she was nine, four years after Mukabera had left.

“I felt like a stranger to my daughter. That’s the hardest thing,” said the 50-year-old woman, who works as a personal support worker in Gatineau, Que.

Since Mukabera had already been here for several years, she was the breadwinner in the household, and the role change between her and her husband became a source of tension. “Our family relationship suffered. It took us a few years to start over as a family again.”

Pilot project launched

The Immigration Department said all permanent residence applicants must undergo medical and security clearances, and dependants are required to have their immigration history and status examined. Officials have launched a pilot to centralize and streamline the processing of dependants abroad within Canada rather than through visa posts in other countries. 

“Timely adjustment of immigration status and family reunification remains one of the objectives of Canada’s asylum system,” said the department, adding that temporary resident permits are already available on a case-by-case basis.

The refugee council’s Sreenivasan said many protected persons are compelled to go before the Federal Court for orders to push immigration officials to fast-track their permanent residence applications, which bring unnecessary legal costs.

Despite the recent public pushback against the surging temporary residents arriving to work and study in Canada, Sreenivasan cautioned that the circumstances of protected persons are totally different.

“They are not like temporary foreign workers or international students, who come and then can return home,” she said. “We should not think of refugees and their families as temporary residents. To me, the whole discussion of refugees is misplaced in that category.”

Source: Given asylum in Canada but separated from their families for years: Is there a better way to grant permanent residence?

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Quebec’s attack on refugee sponsorship

2024/07/16 Leave a comment

Of note but unlikely to influence change in policy in Quebec:

There is a rich history of communities across Canada working together to raise funds to sponsor refugees who come to our country. Local groups with humanitarian goals are focused on ensuring a brighter future for people forced to flee their homelands. However, groups in Quebec are facing challenges not experienced elsewhere in Canada.

Sponsoring refugees changes lives and enriches our society. The arrival of refugees from Vietnam, Cambodia and Laos in the late 1970s was a notable point in our history, as was the more recent arrival of Syrians, about a decade ago. Both times, Quebec played an important role in these initiatives.

Perhaps less well-known is that more than 400,000 people have immigrated to Canada through refugee sponsorship. Sponsorship allows Canadians to respond to humanitarian crises and express solidarity. Today, groups support Afghans, Iraqis, Congolese and Eritreans. They also support other refugees, including LGBTQ individuals whose rights are not protected in their home countries.

The program relies on citizens who form sponsorship groups and provide financial aid and integration support for a refugee’s first year in Canada. Groups choose who they will help. Often, the refugee is a friend or relative of a group member. In all but Quebec, the program is administered solely by the federal government.

Many immigration policies in Quebec are distinct from the rest of Canada as the federal government allows the province more control over its affairs. Since the late 1990s, Quebec’s government has controlled aspects of refugee sponsorship. Four key differences show how Quebec’s program is threatened by its own government.

Reduced and insufficient landing targets

Quebec has drastically reduced the number of sponsored refugees allowed in the province. As part of its annual immigration target, the government has cut the figures this year to between 1,850 and 2,100 from a maximum of 4,400 six years ago.

Once targets are set, both levels of government must work to reach them, but Quebec has consistently failed in recent years to hold up its end, as figure 1 shows.

Travel restrictions during the COVID-19 pandemic dampened numbers in 2020 and 2021. But the following year, as the world began to emerge from restrictions, 2,010 sponsored refugeesarrived out of a target of 2,750 to 3000. In 2023, the same goal was set, but only 1,190 arrived. This is in stark contrast to the over 4,000 sponsored refugees who arrived in Quebec each year from 2016 to 2018.

Quebec’s lower targets and inability to meet them contrast with the rest of the country, where targets have increased and have been met. Some 22,517 sponsored refugees arrived in Canada in 2022 and 27,655 in 2023. Quebec has the lowest rate of resettlement of all provinces.

Lengthy processing times

Finalizing fewer applications causes wait times to increase. News reports a year ago revealed the Quebec government had shelved applications from Afghan refugees while Ottawa prioritized those requests. As reported in Le Devoir, an application submitted by a Toronto group saw an Afghan family arrive within six months. But a Montreal group was still waiting a year later for Quebec to assess an application made at the same time.

Quebec Immigration Minister Christine Fréchette promised that all applications would be processed and sent to the federal government by the end of 2023, yet many organizations have not received any response on requests  submitted as far back as 2022, even as advocates for refugee sponsorship made clear calls for improvement.

Lengthy wait times leave refugees overseas in perilous situations. Afghan families who fled to countries such as Pakistan or Tajikistan to escape the Taliban often need to pay bribes to extend their immigration status or find housing. Some develop health concerns. Sponsor groups end up sending money abroad to help refugees, who can do little more than wait.

Lack of consultation and collaboration

Sponsored refugees receive permanent residence status upon arrival in Canada and their sponsors help them adjust to their new country. Governments and sponsorship groups need to work together for this approach to succeed.

The federal government makes significant efforts to collaborate with sponsorship groups. It funds training and supports co-ordination efforts by experienced sponsorship organizations, including regular meetings. This ensures clear communication and good program management.

The Quebec government provides some funding to employ a resource person for refugee sponsorship, but there is minimal interaction between organizations and government officials. Sponsor groups are left in the dark when policy changes are introduced.

Roadblocks for experienced organizations

Both federally and in Quebec, there are three types of sponsorship. First, small groups of individuals can step forward on an ad hoc basis in the group of five program at the federal level and the group of 2 to 5 program in Quebec. Second, community organizations can apply through specific programs in both jurisdictions. Third, large bodies with significant experience in sponsorship work with local groups or co-sponsors to help refugees once they arrive. These are known as sponsorship agreement holders (SAHs) in all but Quebec where they are called “experienced organizations.”

The larger, established organizations provide expertise to refugee sponsors and ensure consistent outcomes. At the federal level, most applications are supported by SAHs. In contrast, the Quebec government appears to prefer working with ad hoc groups. Over half the spots available for sponsorship applications in the province are reserved for them.

The Quebec government uses a lottery to select a limited number of applications. This is not the case under the federal program, although intake controls are under consideration. Refugee sponsorship advocates in Quebec have decried the lottery system.

Requirements for financial support vary depending on the type of sponsorship organization. All groups whose applications move forward must have enough money to support the refugees they sponsor. At the federal level, sponsors are encouraged to raise funds and keep them in a trust account. In Quebec, ad hoc sponsors are assessed on the income of the two to five membersin the group. A recent policy change in Quebec targets experienced sponsors and weakens program oversight.

Quebec recently notified organizations that keeping funds in trust is forbidden after investigating suspected cases of fraud. This has left sponsorship groups exasperated and uncertain how to manage. There was no discussion between the government and the sponsorship community on this new policy. Long-standing organizations have indicated they are uncertain if they can continue their work.

Prohibiting groups from keeping trust funds goes against the best practices for refugee sponsorship. These accounts ensure sponsors can provide for the needs of refugees once they arrive. Quebec’s approach of banning trusts and preferring ad hoc groups leaves no way to ensure compliance or good management of sponsorships.

Quebec must change course

Refugee sponsorship has long been a part of Canada’s identity. If Quebec wants to ensure sponsorship remains viable and that humanitarian objectives are respected it needs to reform its program. Many individuals and groups in the province are willing to sponsor refugees, but are disheartened by the roadblocks resulting from the government’s approach.

Targets must be raised, processing times must decrease, more collaboration is needed and sponsor groups should be encouraged to hold funds in trust to ensure a good welcome for newcomers. These changes would also support citizens who are eager to help refugees start a new life in Quebec.

Source: Quebec’s attack on refugee sponsorship

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Business acumen is the antidote to the political backlash against migration

2024/07/13 Leave a comment

Interesting initiative, similar to Talent Beyond Boundaries:

…Some of those businesses, including Saint-Gobain, Colas, Purolator, Lafarge and Fragomen, are already participating in a new partnership launched by the France Canada Chamber of Commerce (Ontario), or FCCCO, this past February.

Project Starfish – the initiative’s name is a nod to returning stranded starfish to the sea – is working with the IOM to provide companies with access to globally displaced talent. Migrants, meanwhile, benefit from job opportunities that allow them to immediately contribute to the Canadian economy. The workers, who originally hail from Djibouti, Costa Rica and Mexico, only arrive in Canada after securing a job and a work permit.

“Virtual Interviews and recruitments are ongoing by companies,” said Riva Walia, founding managing director of FCCCO, adding that 52 candidates were being considered for various jobs as of last week.

Ms. Walia and Sanjay Tugnait, president and chief executive of Fairfax Digital Services, are also conducting a roadshow to solicit more corporate participation in Project Starfish.

“Canada is the best in class when it comes to matching work force needs with a migration policy,” Ms. Pope said. “And that gives Canada a competitive edge compared to other countries. That will become more and more relevant as we see these demographic trends become more and more acute.”…

Source: Business acumen is the antidote to the political backlash against migration

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Saunders: Rishi Sunak’s Rwanda scheme is a global lesson in policy stupidity

2024/05/13 Leave a comment

Valid critique, and not helping the Conservatives much in the polls:

…Mr. Sunak’s scheme is faring even worse. Without having managed to deport a single migrant, his government has already paid $412-million to the government of Rwandan president Paul Kagame, who has an appalling human-rights record. Britain’s National Audit Office recently estimated that it will cost more than $900-million to deport the first 300 people – more than $3-million per migrant – though it seems unlikely that as many as 300 will ever be deported.

This vast cost, extraordinary inefficiency, policy pointlessness, unnecessary cruelty and general stupidity could all have been avoided if Mr. Sunak just paid attention to the very rational decision-making processes that guide those migrants. As experts have repeatedly pointed out, Channel crossings would all but disappear if it were easily possible to apply for British humanitarian and labour visas and family-reunification admissions en route, in Europe and elsewhere, creating safe legal paths for applicants.

That would increase his country’s refugee intake by a small, manageable margin (and would require some old-style deportations of those rejected), but it would all but end deadly illegal migration and its political consequences, at far lower cost. This would allow a politician to say “I ended this terrible problem” – something no number of flights to the middle of Africa will accomplish.

Source: Rishi Sunak’s Rwanda scheme is a global lesson in policy stupidity

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Birth Outcomes Differ Across Canadian Immigration Categories

2024/04/06 Leave a comment

Significant difference for refugees, understandable given more arduous immigration journeys, well discussed in the article:

Adverse birth outcomes, such as preterm birth and stillbirth, are more likely to occur among refugees in Canada than among economic-class immigrants, according to a new study.

Overall, babies born to Canadian immigrant parents face increased risks for preterm birth, stillbirth, and small size for gestational age (SGA), but these risks vary according to the life experiences of different immigrant groups, the study authors wrote.

“Immigrants are often considered a single, homogeneous group. Scientific research also often focuses on health differences in immigrants versus native-born people,” lead author Seungmi Yang, PhD, associate professor of epidemiology, biostatistics, and occupational health at McGill University in Montreal, Canada, told Medscape Medical News.

“However, immigrants differ in their lived experiences before immigration, their motivations or reasons for immigrating, and their postimmigration environment,” she said. “Since Canada formally accepts immigrants by admission categories with distinct criteria, we thought the admission category would be a meaningful characteristic [by which] to separate immigrants into different groups. And if any important differences were observed, it may help in our creation and provision of healthcare and support programs for immigrants by tailoring to specific subgroups.”

The study was published online on April 2 in CMAJ.

Stillbirths Among Refugees

The investigators conducted a population-based retrospective study, analyzing Statistics Canada data for nearly 8 million Canadian births during the 25 years from 1993 to 2017. The research team looked at the differences in adverse birth and postnatal outcomes for immigrants in the following three categories: Economic-class immigrants (ie, those selected for their skills), family-class immigrants (those who reunified with their families), and refugees. They compared outcomes in these groups with the outcomes of Canadian-born parents. They focused on preterm births, SGA births, large-for-gestational-age (LGA) births, stillbirths, neonatal death within the first month, and overall infant death within the first year.

Among nearly 8 million births, more than 1.7 million (21.5%) were to immigrant mothers. Of the latter births, 50% were to family-class immigrants, 37% to economic-class immigrants, and 13% to refugees.

At the time of birth, immigrants were more frequently married than Canadian-born parents, although refugees were more often unmarried than other immigrants. Refugees were also more likely to have more children, while economic-class immigrants were more likely to be ages 35 years or older at delivery.

Compared with infants of Canadian-born parents, babies in the immigrant groups had higher risks for preterm birth, SGA birth, and stillbirth. They had a lower risk for LGA birth and neonatal death, however.

Compared with infants of economic-class immigrants, babies of refugees had higher risks for preterm birth and LGA birth but lower risk for SGA. On the other hand, infants of family-class immigrants had a higher risk for SGA birth. These trends were most significant for first births among immigrants.

After adjusting for several sociodemographic characteristics, the researchers found that the risks for stillbirth, neonatal death, and overall infant death did not differ significantly among the immigrant groups, although stillbirths were generally higher among refugees. The findings appear to support previous studies that indicate that refugees remain a vulnerable subgroup of immigrants, likely for several reasons, the study authors wrote.

“Differential risks of adverse outcomes between admission categories vary also across outcomes,” Yang said. “Other outcome-specific patterns of differential risks among immigrant subgroups would need to be further examined to better understand the heterogeneity in health experiences among immigrants and potentially reasons for differences.”

Additional factors may contribute to the differential risks for adverse birth outcomes, including socioeconomic challenges, systematic racism, or immigration experiences that have been linked to birth and postnatal outcomes, the study authors wrote.

Immigrants are typically considered healthier than native-born people in their receiving country and tend to be healthier than nonmigrants in their country of origin. This discrepancy is often called the “healthy immigrant effect.” However, information about birth outcomes among immigrants may change this belief and approach to healthcare policy.

‘Arduous Economic Conditions’

Commenting on the study for Medscape Medical News, Marcelo Urquia, PhD, associate professor of community health sciences at the University of Manitoba in Winnipeg, Canada, said, “Immigrants have been shown to possess a health advantage yet are also more likely to reside in arduous economic conditions.”

Urquia, who wasn’t involved with this study, has researched adverse birth outcomes among immigrants, as well as refugee maternal and perinatal health. He and his colleagues found that refugee mothers had higher maternal health risks and more adverse birth outcomes.

“Further research into stressors that refugee mothers experience in their countries of origin, in transition countries, and in countries of resettlement may help support the development of preconception and pregnancy stress prevention and management strategies,” he said. “To help facilitate international comparisons, refugee health researchers may find it useful to state if and how immigration policies shape the health of refugees, relative to other immigrants within their borders.”

Source: Birth Outcomes Differ Across Canadian Immigration Categories

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The U.S. Is Rebuilding a Legal Pathway for Refugees. The Election Could Change That.

2024/04/04 Leave a comment

Indeed:

With national attention focused on the chaos at the southern border, President Biden has been steadily rebuilding a legal pathway for immigration that was gutted during the Trump administration.

The United States has allowed more than 40,000 refugees into the country in the first five months of the fiscal year after they passed a rigorous, often yearslong, screening process that includes security and medical vetting and interviews with American officers overseas.

The figure represents a significant expansion of the refugee program, which is at the heart of U.S. laws that provide desperate people from around the world with a legal way to find safe haven in the United States.

The United States has not granted refugee status to so many people in such a short period of time in more than seven years. The Biden administration is now on target to allow in 125,000 refugees this year, the most in three decades, said Angelo Fernández Hernández, a White House spokesman.

By comparison, roughly 64,000 refugees were admitted during the last three years of the Trump administration.

“The Biden administration has been talking a big talk about resettling more refugees since Biden took office,” said Julia Gelatt, an associate director at the Migration Policy Institute, a nonpartisan research group in Washington. “Finally we are seeing the payoff in higher numbers.”

But as the presidential campaign heats up, immigration advocates fear that the gains will be wiped out if former President Donald J. Trump is elected. The former president has vowed to suspend the program if he takes office again, just as he did in 2017 for 120 days.

Mr. Trump has characterized the program as a security threat, even though refugees go through extensive background checks and screening. He reassigned officers, shuttered overseas posts and slashed the number of refugees allowed into the country every year.

The result, when Mr. Biden took office, was a system devoid of resources.

“The refugee program hangs in the balance with this election,” said Barbara L. Strack, the former lead refugee official at U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services….

Source: The U.S. Is Rebuilding a Legal Pathway for Refugees. The Election Could Change That.

Filed under Immigration, Refugees Tagged with ,

Près de 60 000 dossiers d’immigration approuvés s’empilent à cause des cibles de Québec

2024/03/06 Leave a comment

A noter:

Alors que les ministres de l’Immigration se défient et se déchirent, la pile de dossiers d’immigration déjà approuvés pour la résidence permanente ne cesse de s’épaissir à Ottawa. Créé par la divergence entre les demandes acceptées et les seuils de Québec, le goulot d’étranglement s’épaissit aussi de plus en plus vite.

La mécanique peut paraître complexe entre les deux ordres de gouvernement, mais il reste que le ministère fédéral de l’Immigration, des Réfugiés et de la Citoyenneté (IRCC) s’efforce « de respecter les demandes du Québec quant au nombre de nouveaux résidents permanents », nous écrit-on. Une personne qui a été jugée éligible à la résidence permanente par toutes les instances est donc en attente d’une place parmi les seuils de la province.

Il y a ainsi 38 000 réfugiés déjà reconnus qui vivent au Québec pour un seuil maximum de 3700 places fixé par le gouvernement de François Legault pour 2024 et 2025. Au rythme actuel, il leur faudra donc plus de 10 ans pour avoir accès à la résidence permanente pleinement. Entretemps, ces personnes ont accès aux services et peuvent travailler, mais elles ne peuvent pas demander de carte de résidence permanente. Ces années compteront-elles avant d’obtenir la citoyenneté ? IRCC reste muet sur ces éléments malgré nos questions.

« Il n’existe aucun délai maximal », nous écrit aussi ce ministère.

Il ne s’agit plus d’une simple antichambre de l’immigration, puisque la personne a déjà vu sa demande d’asile acceptée par Commission de l’Immigration et du statut de réfugié (CISR). Après une décision favorable, le demandeur d’asile approuvé se tourne vers le ministère provincial de l’Immigration, qui lui décerne un certificat de sélection du Québec.

La personne est donc ironiquement « sélectionnée » par Québec, mais sa demande de résidence stagne à Ottawa, car le ministère respecte les maximums établis par la province. Cet arriéré de résidents permanents en attente a aussi augmenté de 8000 individus en six mois, selon les chiffres déjà publiés par Le Devoir en août dernier….

Source: Près de 60 000 dossiers d’immigration approuvés s’empilent à cause des cibles de Québec

Filed under Immigration, Refugees Tagged with , ,

Aaron Wudrick: It’s time for a grown-up conversation on immigration

2024/01/11 Leave a comment

Wudrick weighs into the question of values even if to date, most critics have focussed on the practicalities (housing, healthcare, infrastructure etc) with little substantiation. However, the influx of 1,000 or so Gaza’s, fleeing the destruction, combined with the range of anti-semitic language and actions, provides a high profile example. Doesn’t appear to be an accident that applicants have to provide their social media links:

Canada has been shaped by large-scale immigration. With the exception of Indigenous Peoples, the vast majority of Canadians today are either immigrants or descendants thereof. Our nation has thrived as a pluralistic and multiethnic society, built through the gradual integration of people from around the world. 

While this is largely a good news story it should not obscure a hard truth: in the 21st century, the challenges associated with immigration are vastly different from those of 50 or 100 years ago, and until recently policymakers have been unwilling to discuss immigration policy accordingly. These challenges can be broadly categorized into three areas: economic impact; infrastructure capacity; and cultural friction.

When it comes to economic impact, immigration has historically, on balance, been beneficial to Canada’s economy and standard of living. But in recent years the evidence has become more mixed. In particular, the sheer number of new arrivals—over one million in 2022 alone—especially in the form of temporary and lower-skilled migrants, is increasingly being used as a substitute for Canadian labour, driving down wages. This downward pressure, while good news for employers trying to contain costs, has the dual effect of dragging down per-capita GDP, while disincentivizing business investment in labour-productivity-enhancing innovations. 

The cause of the jump in total migrants per year is also no secret: there has been an explosion in the number of international postsecondary students studying in Canada over the last decade—jumping from 248,000 in 2012 to 807,000 in 2022—largely as a result of postsecondary institutions seeking a more lucrative income stream since they are able to charge international students much higher fees. With no annual cap on foreign student visas, this has effectively become a massive back-door entry loophole to get into the country. Many of these students arrive with the hope of becoming permanent residents, which also entitles them to sponsor family members to come to Canada, further boosting migration levels.

Equally concerning has been the effect of this population growth on housing prices, which is a straightforward arithmetic function of supply and demand. Canada has some of the most expensive housing in the world, overwhelmingly a result of insufficient housing supply, especially in major cities. High levels of immigration, also concentrated in these cities, exacerbate the problem from the demand side. Both Canadians and newcomers suffer if they cannot afford a place to live. Similarly, many Canadians are unable to find a family doctor and face crowded schools, transit, hospitals, or other crumbling infrastructure. Rapid population growth makes these challenges harder to manage.

But, while concerns about immigration’s impact on our economy and infrastructure have slowly begun to attract more attention and public discussion, the issue of cultural friction remains largely taboo. 

It should be said that historically, Canada has been fairly successful at integrating people from diverse religious, linguistic, and racial backgrounds, and even today there is a strong case that Canada manages these challenges better than most other countries. What was once a fairly organic process that allowed for integration over years, if not generations, has been supplanted by activist government policy that preaches an official doctrine of big-M Multiculturalism, which fetishizes and subsidizes cultural differences while simultaneously erasing and downplaying Canadian history. In effect, the implicit social contract between Canada and newcomers has become unbalanced. Canada is and should remain a place where newcomers are free to retain their religion, language, and culture. But we must also actively invite all Canadians, new and old, to join a shared national project to ensure we are working towards living together rather than simply side by side.

In addition to counterproductive government policies, few have noted that the integration process has been dramatically changed by technological advance which now allows for immigrants to retain permanent, real-time cultural ties to their native countries. This phenomenon—where people can be physically present in one place but maintain daily cultural and social ties to their homeland—presents a special challenge to a country with a relatively weak national identity. This is particularly true of Canada’s large diaspora communities, including those from China, India, and Iran, which have increasingly impacted Canada’s international relationships and given rise to interference (alleged or proven) by these countries on Canadian soil.

Canada has historically enjoyed strong support for immigration across the political spectrum, a consensus that is not common in other countries. Recent opinion polling suggests that this consensus is rapidly eroding, if not already gone. We are long overdue for an honest, constructive, and robust debate about the way forward on immigration. We owe it to Canadians—both present and future.

Aaron Wudrick is the domestic policy director at the Macdonald-Laurier Institute.

Source: Aaron Wudrick: It’s time for a grown-up conversation on immigration

Filed under Antisemitism, Multiculturalism, Refugees Tagged with ,

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