CIMM - COVID-19 Impact on Asylum Operations - Dec 2, 2020
Key messages
To protect the health and safety of Canadians, we extended a reciprocal and temporary measure with the United States to restrict entry into Canada for the purpose of claiming asylum until December 21.
This means that generally asylum claimants entering Canada from the United States between official land ports of entry will continue to be directed back. Individuals who are directed back will generally have the opportunity to return to make a claim, once the border measures no longer apply.
The Government of Canada remains firmly committed to upholding a fair and compassionate refugee protection system. Canada continues to accept asylum claims made by people who are already inside Canada: 21,388 asylum claims were received between January 1 and October 31, 2020.
While in-person interviews were paused temporarily, IRCC has started to reach out to claimants to book appointments for their biometrics and eligibility interview. IRCC offices in Etobicoke, Montréal, Hamilton, Calgary, Edmonton, and Vancouver are booking biometrics and eligibility interviews with pilots in development to enhance capacity through virtual interviews. This will allow eligible claimants to be referred to the Immigration and Refugee Board for further processing.
To keep employees and clients safe, IRCC is following public health guidance from the Public Health Agency of Canada and provincial and municipal public health authorities.
Supplementary messages
Domestic Network inland refugee claims
IRCC has been accepting refugee claims throughout the pandemic, despite office closures, as continuing to offer protection to asylum claimants is a critical service provided by IRCC.
Following the public health guidelines, IRCC closed its offices in March 2020, and since that time, clients have been unable to make refugee claims in person. As such, IRCC initially facilitated an alternative process to whereby the intention to make a refugee claim was accepted by email.
Subsequently, the use of Canada Post’s epost Connect was introduced to the asylum program as of July 8, 2020, allowing for continued submission of a refugee protection claim.
Claimants are issued an Acknowledgement of Claim document, which includes Interim Federal Health Program coverage, including coverage of COVID-19 related services in the absence of other forms of coverage (i.e. under current provincial or territorial public health measures).
Beginning in mid-September, several offices were reopened and reintegrated to provide partial services. Biometrics collection was re-started and officers have been able to resume making eligibility decisions on refugee claims, to allow for referral of claims to the Immigration and Refugee Board for further assessment.
IRCC offices collecting biometrics and conducing eligibility interviews: Vancouver, Calgary, Edmonton, Hamilton, Etobicoke, and Montréal
As of November 16, 2020:
Biometrics completed for 715 claimants
Eligibility interviews conducted for 571 claimants
Due to the limited ability to conduct these in-person services, a backlog of clients awaiting biometrics collection and eligibility decisions exists.
After a refugee claimant receives the Acknowledgement of Claim document, they may apply for provincial social services and register children for school.
Further, requests for a work or study permit may be made as part of the refugee claim. However, prior to receiving one, all asylum seekers must have undergone an immigration medical exam.
From March 17, 2020 to October 31, 2020, over 8,100 work permits have been issued to asylum claimants. IRCC is meeting its service standard for these permits, issuing work permits to asylum seekers within 30 days. However, claimants who are pending an eligibility decision (mostly inland claimants) are not able to apply for a work permit until the eligibility decision is rendered.
Irregular migration
Border measures to decrease the spread of COVID-19 have significantly reduced the number of irregular asylum claimants since they were implemented. From March 17 to October 31, 2020, Canada received 374 irregular asylum claims.
There were 3,371 irregular asylum claims between January 1 and October 31, 2020, a decrease of 76% when compared to the same period in 2019 (13,887).
Since March 21, 2020, there have been 200 asylum seekers who were directed back to the United States after arriving in Canada between ports of entry as of October 31, 2020.
Since the introduction of Order in Council 11 on April 22, 2020 there have been over 700 asylum seekers who were permitted entry to Canada as they met either a Safe Third Country Agreement or Order-in-Council exception as of October 31, 2020.
Accommodations for asymptomatic asylum seekers
In the context of COVID-19, IRCC provides temporary accommodation and basic necessities of life (e.g. meals and basic health services) to asymptomatic asylum seekers to ensure they have the means to comply with the Order-in-Council requiring them to self-quarantine for 14 days.
Currently, IRCC has 6 hotels (139 rooms) near key ports of entry, to provide temporary accommodations to asymptomatic asylum seekers who do not have a suitable plan for quarantine. Since April 19, IRCC has accommodated just over 320 asymptomatic asylum seekers across the 6 hotels (as of October 31).
Upon arrival at the hotel, asymptomatic asylum seekers are greeted by IRCC staff and service providers who explain their role and what they can expect during their stay. In addition, upon departure, they meet again with IRCC staff and service providers to confirm that they have completed their quarantine period and to undergo a basic COVID-19 screening test to detect signs and symptoms of the virus.
The Public Health Agency of Canada is responsible for providing temporary accommodation to all symptomatic travelers, including asylum seekers. If an asymptomatic asylum seeker at an IRCC temporary accommodation site becomes symptomatic during their stay, they along with all family members will be transferred to a Public Health Agency of Canada quarantine facility, as agreed upon by the Agency and IRCC.
Mitigation measures actions taken (including immigration medical exams and biometrics)
To ensure sufficient capacity to conduct immigration medical examinations, the Department reviewed the Panel Physician Network capacity near the Canada-United States border and targeted ports of entry. IRCC developed and is implementing a plan to increase the capacity of panel physicians in some cities, and ensuring that they are enrolled with the Interim Federal Health Program.
Streamlining health screening requirements for low-risk protected persons
To facilitate immigration while continuing to manage public health risks, the Department has put in place a public policy on September 10, 2020 that exempts low-risk in-Canada protected persons and their family members from having to undergo an additional immigration medical examination when applying for permanent residence.
These are seen as low-risk applicants because they would have undergone a medical exam at the start of the refugee protection process after arriving in Canada. Those who posed a risk to public safety would have been immediately referred to public health authorities for medical surveillance and treatment, if needed. These are applicants who are already linked into and well-managed by Canada’s health care system.
This low-risk measure improves processing efficiency by streamlining duplicative application requirements, helping the Government advance permanent residence admissions. It also supports vulnerable applicants by eliminating the added examination fees, supporting faster application timelines, and ensuring protected persons can more quickly obtain permanent residence status.
Safe Third Country Agreement and impact of COVID-19
For claims made at a land port of entry, the Safe Third Country Agreement will be applied.
The Safe Third Country Agreement was enacted in recognition that both countries share a mutual responsibility to protect human rights and fundamental freedoms.
On July 22, 2020, the Federal Court rendered its decision and found that s. 101(1)(e) of the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act and s. 159.3 of the Immigration and Refugee Protection Regulations violate section 7 of the Charter, thus rendering the Safe Third Country Agreement regime invalid. The Federal Court of Appeal has granted a stay of the Federal Court’s July 2020 ruling on the Agreement. As a result, the Agreement remains in effect until a decision on that appeal is made.
IRCC and the Canada Border Services Agency are co-leading on an interdepartmental response to the Federal Court ruling on the Safe Third Country Agreement to remain operationally prepared and ensure continuation of well managed migration flows in the event that the Agreement is no longer in effect.
Supporting facts and figures
2020 refugee claim intake:
Between January 1 and October 31, 2020, total asylum claims (inland and irregular) decreased by 59% when compared to the same period last year.
Canada received 21,388 asylum claims between January 1 and October 31, 2020 compared to 52,746 the same period last year.
3,397 claims have been received via epost from July 8, 2020 to November 14, 2020.
As of November 9, 2020, there are 8,677 asylum claims (inland, port of entry, and irregular) pending an eligibility decision. While volumes are lower, top nationalities continue to reflect pre-COVID trends, with claims from Indian (1,535), Iranian (1,318) and Mexican nationals (1,276) making up the top 3 source countries from March 17, 2020 to October 31, 2020.
Background
IRCC is satisfied with the stay motion decision, as the Safe Third Country Agreement remains in effect until a decision on that appeal is made. The Government of Canada is appealing the decision of the Federal Court because we believe there are errors in some of the key findings. There are important legal principles to be determined in this case, and it is the responsibility of the Government of Canada to appeal to ensure clarity on the legal framework governing asylum law.
Should the Safe Third Country Agreement be invalidated, there is the potential risk of a surge of asylum seekers at designated ports of entry across Canada. Significantly high volume of asylum seekers will create pressures across the asylum continuum including operations, processing capacity, accommodations capacity, resources as well as immigration health and security screening programs.
In order to ensure that the Government of Canada is prepared on all levels for the potential influx of asylum claimants in 2021, the Department is co-leading with Canada Border Services Agency on developing an interdepartmental operational contingency plan for border management in close coordination with other government departments and federal partners.
It is also anticipated that a higher volume of claimants expected from a potential invalidation of the Safe Third Country Agreement could put pressure on health service providers. To help ease these pressures, the Department will ensure that there are sufficient registered Interim Federal Health Program service providers in locations where claimant volumes increase to support this population.
Additionally, COVID-19 limits the efficiency of numerous lines of business, where work cannot be completed remotely and physical distancing requirements are in effect due to COVID-19 restrictions.
If the Order-in-Council (health requirements) remain in place, IRCC will continue to provide accommodations for asymptomatic asylum seekers to complete their 14-day quarantine. IRCC continues to plan and prepare for a surge of asylum seekers which would create additional pressure on the Department’s accommodations capacity.