U.S. authority detains kids for prolonged periods post alleged border crossover from Canada

Canada's Deportation of Refugees to the US: Controversial Practices and the Impact on Vulnerable Families

In a controversial move, Canada is escalating the deportation of asylum seekers to the United States – a practice that has raised concerns about the treatment of refugees, especially families with young children.

By fleeing dangerous situations in their home countries and crossing the border into Canada, these families are finding themselves in the hands of US immigration authorities, thanks to Canadian border services. Some may actually qualify for asylum under safe third country agreement exceptions, according to lawyers representing them.

By continuing this practice, Canada is facing accusations of complicity in the harsh policies down south, argues immigration attorney Heather Neufeld, representing a family.

Recent weeks have seen an increase in Canadian border services agency (CBSA) deportations – a number not seen in a decade, with 1,281 asylum seekers sent to the US.

Two Venezuelan children, aged 6 and 8, were detained for three weeks in a barren room with no window, followed by another three weeks in a Texas center. Their cries for school lessons and escape were heart-breaking, shared their lawyer, Laura Flores-Dixit. Their family may potentially be subject to deportation back to Venezuela, a country they could have been protected from in Canada, due to the volatile nature of the country.

Another case involved a Yemeni man, coming to join his brother and son on this side of the border. However, a Canadian border agent simply didn't find the family documents convincing, as shared by Stephanie Valois, co-president of the Quebec Association of Immigration Lawyers.

Unjustified Deportations?

Another case in point, the daughters of Aracely (aged 4 and 14) from El Salvador, were denied entry to Canada – seeing it only through a window in a detention center corridor. The family spent two weeks in a windowless room, only allowed out three times during their detention.

"We tried to play with the youngest, but there were no toys. We played hide and seek, but the only place to hide was between the sheets," recalled the mother, choosing to protect her identity due to safety concerns. Aracely's attorney, Heather Neufeld, described these conditions as "family solitary confinement," and spoke of poor quality food served in small portions and a camping-style shower in a bag.

Aracely had the opportunity to have a Canadian brother, qualifying her for asylum in Canada under the safe third country agreement exceptions. After over a decade on American territory, she had always refused to regularize herself, due to fears of self-incrimination.

"I had all the documentation, so I never imagined they would refuse us and detain us," she said. The Canadian border agent was not persuaded by the papers presented. The main difference was that Aracely's father's birth certificate had only one last name, while her brother's had two, as is common practice among Latin Americans.

Her brother was on the other side of the walls of the ASFC building, "so close yet so far," but he was not called to testify or present other evidence. "At least we should have access to them when they are in that room," notes M. Neufeld.

Barriers to Recourse

In M. Valois' opinion, the case of the Yemeni client showcases the increasingly strict application of the agreement, at a time when many are calling for Canada to withdraw from it, no longer considering the US a safe country. Although the issue has been submitted to the Supreme Court, which upheld the bilateral agreement, the valves exist mostly on Canadian soil.

M. Valois suggests that decisions to deport asylum seekers are becoming increasingly difficult to challenge.

M. Neufeld also presented a request for reconsideration, complete with sworn declarations, expert opinions, and original certificates certified by authorities of that country. "We thought we had an extremely strong case. The response [from ASFC] came back in one line and without any indication of what was found insufficient," she explains.

She now hopes for a review in Federal Court, but the process can take several months, which she considers "not an effective recourse," especially since the US is now seeking to expedite deportations more than ever before.

No options have been offered to the family of the 6 and 8-year-old Venezuelan children, who were transferred to the detention center in Karnes, Texas - a place known for its poor conditions, including notoriously terrible water quality, according to their attorney.

Several families have been in similar situations, shares Javier Hidalgo, legal director of RAICES.

Bilateral Context

The CBSA claims to carefully examine each asylum application at the border. If not deemed admissible, "the person is generally returned to the US on the same day" of the decision, a spokesperson wrote. However, the agency declines to comment on individual cases.

The CBSA then hands these people over to the US Customs and Border Protection (CBP).

At the Ambassador Bridge alone, which connects Detroit, Michigan and Windsor, Ontario, a dozen families were reportedly detained by CBP, according to the American organization ACLU. In total, over 200 people have been detained since January, Representative Rashida Tlaib said during a press conference this week. Several had crossed the border bridge by mistake, a situation distinct from that of asylum seekers.

The problem, adds Ruby Robinson, attorney for the Michigan Immigrant Rights Center, is that detention by CBP is effectively a black box where lawyers have difficulty accessing detainees.

These facilities near the Canadian border were generally reserved for detentions of less than 72 hours, per agency norms. However, the return of Donald Trump to the White House indicates a departure from the previous practice of releasing asylum seekers while their cases are pending. This means a need for more detention spaces, even if they may not be suitable for families.

More Uncertainty

"We used to wait until nighttime to cry with my husband, so our daughters wouldn't see us and lose hope," Aracely recalls. The family hoped to escape Trump's wave of deportations, and since their youngest was born in the US and is a citizen, they aimed to avoid separation at all costs. "But it was the opposite of what we expected," Aracely said in an interview with our site this week.

On April 1st, she was released wearing an electronic ankle monitor, with her daughters. She had just three minutes to say goodbye, and then her husband was taken to another detention center, run by Immigration and Customs Enforcement, where he awaits a decision.

Additional Reads

Threat of Deportation for Parents of Canadian Citizens
Donald Trump Attacks Judges in Easter Message
US Senator Condemns Staged Meeting with Salvadoran Wrongly Deported

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The youngest member of a Venezuelan family, aged 6, was sent to a US detention center after Canada's policy-and-legislation on deportations resulted in their family's deportation to the US.
Lawyer Heather Neufeld, representing an El Salvadorian family, criticized Canada's general-news and crime-and-justice policy for subjecting the daughters of a 4-year-old and a 14-year-old to deportation despite their potential qualification for asylum in Canada under the safe third country agreement exceptions.
Quebec Association of Immigration Lawyers co-president Stephanie Valois expressed concerns about the multiplying number of deportations in Ontario, pointing to the case of a Yemeni man who was denied entry to Canada due to a border agent's unjustified sentencing.
Aracely, a mother from El Salvador, was sent back to the US with her daughters after being denied entry to Canada, despite having a brother who is a Canadian citizen, due to a Canadian border agent's failure to recognize the difference in the presentation of her family documents and her brother's.
Javier Hidalgo, legal director of RAICES, shared that several families have faced similar situations to the 6 and 8-year-old Venezuelan children, who were detained in a US detention center known for its poor conditions, including terrible water quality.