Illegally in Canada

"If you receive a Removal Order you cannot legally remain in Canada and must leave the country. Depending on your situation, your removal order may be effective immediately, or after a negative decision if you had made an appeal."
"There are three types of Removal Orders issued by Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) or the Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA). These are Departure Orders, Exclusion Orders and Deportation Orders. The form number on the Removal Order indicates what type of order you received."
Canada Border Services Agency Website

The auditor general found despite a recent increase in removals, about 50,000 enforceable cases piled up in the CBSA's inventory during the time of her audit. (Jonathan Hayward/The Canadian Press)

"The timely removal of foreign nationals who are found inadmissible protects the integrity and fairness of Canada's immigration system.It is also one of the most effective ways to deter those who might otherwise seek to abuse the system. In the case of criminals, timely removal protects the safety and security of Canadians."
"The Canada Border Services Agency removed a few of the foreign nationals in Canada who were subject to enforceable removal orders. Despite a recent increase in removals, the level of enforceable removal orders remained largely unchanged, even for priority cases. Most orders had been enforceable for several years."
"We determined that at least 70% of all criminal cases were not reviewed annually, and 75% of all failed asylum cases were not reviewed every three years as required."
"Agency officials confirmed that cases in its wanted inventory are generally considered a low risk to public safety and are not an agency priority."
Auditor General report 

CBSA immigration removals

	Confirmed removed	Working inventory	Wanted inventory
Failed asylum cases	3,600	10,700	24,100
Criminal cases	1,250	1,650	2,800
Other cases	4,650	2,950	7,800
Total	9,500*	15,300	34,700

*Includes 2,800 people refused entry at the border

Source: Auditor General of Canada

Should a foreign tourist overstay their visa or an asylum claimant have their request denied with all legal recourses to appeal exhausted, the federal government then produces an enforceable removal order linked to that individual to ensure they will not remain in the country. This is where the Canada Border Services Agency enters the picture with their responsibility to enforce the mandated removal. Of the foreigners ordered to leave Canada each year, failed asylum seekers represent the largest proportion ordered to leave.

What an audit of the process has revealed to the Auditor General of Canada is that the federal government has no knowledge of the location of over 34,000 foreigners ordered to be removed from the country. Of that total, close to 3,000 are criminal cases. The number of asylum claims in the past three years have increased substantially, leaping from 50,000 in 2017 to 64,000 in 2019. Leaving the CBSA  with the considered impression that removal numbers to be executed will continue to rise.

CBSA doesn’t know the whereabouts of 34,700 foreign nationals to be deported

In 2018-2019, the Canada Border Services Agency was able to remove 6,700 cases representing a small part of an enormous backlog. It is clear the department has a struggle to hope to come anywhere close to reducing its backlog. The agency has, in fact, lost track of 34,700 individuals for whom an order to be removed was issued and who now, having eluded removal, a warrant has been issued in their name. Close to three thousand of the total are considered top priorities for removal, reflecting the fact they represent criminal cases whose presence may pose a safety or security risk.

By law the CBSA and police forces must investigate -- in a search for new information on the whereabouts of these individuals being sought for removal from Canada -- once yearly or every three years in a search for new information which might bring locations to the attention of authorities. According to the audit results, even that detail reflecting Canadian law, fails to be committed to.

Significant issues with the government's data quality, case management protocols and information sharing was also revealed between CBSA and Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada, leading to "avoidable delays" in thousands of the cases.

A (CBSA) sign . Jeff McIntosh/The Canadian Press

Approximately 1,500 cases, as a result, which included 150 instances involving serious criminals had been set aside, not worked on for up to two years. The government indicated its acceptance of the auditor's recommendations for change to the system as it is currently practised. Removals strategy is slated for improvement; the way the border agency tracks and triages cases to ensure priority cases are speedily addressed will now come into play -- if assurances from the Public Safety Minister can be taken at face value.

Illegal Migrants Bypassing Official Border Entry, Canada

"...Once legal avenues have been exhausted, individuals are expected to respect our laws and leave Canada, or as per our commitments, be removed."
"We are reinvesting in the agency [Canada Border Services Agency] to ensure that processing continues to happen in a manner that is fair, fast and final."
Marie-Emmanuelle Cadieux, spokesperson, Border Security Minister Bill Blair

Aug. 11, 2017: A group of asylum seekers wait to be processed after being escorted from their tent encampment to the Canada Border Services facility in Lacolle, Que.

Christinne Muschi/Reuters

Asylum seekers who enter Canada crossing the border between it and the United States deliberately bypassing official border crossings, and who are unsuccessful in their refugee applications -- which take up to two years to process, and additional lengthy periods of time before all avenues of appeal are exhausted -- are being gradually and slowly removed by the Canada Border Services Agency. Slowly and gradually because of an immense backlog of cases that the agency is hard put to deal with.

A target was set last fall for ten thousand removals for the fiscal year of 2018-19, an increase over the previous years when the average removal rate went from 7,900 to 8,600. Since 2017, 45,000 illegal entries from the U.S. into Canada have taken place. Creating a total backlog of 75,000. The flood of border crossers has diminished since their height two years earlier and the CBSA is prioritizing the removal of those whose claims have been denied.

Those considered to represent threats to national security or who are involved in organized crime, crimes against humanity or other kinds of criminal activity are given removal priority. Even so, a small minority of the tens of thousands of illegal asylum seekers entering Canada in the last two years have been deported with merely 723 illegals with failed refugee claims deported between April 1, 2017 and June 21, 2019.

The number of asylum-seekers crossing into Canada at unofficial points of entry is on the decline: the RCMP intercepted 888 people during the month of January 2019, and 808 in February 2019, compared to 1,517 and 1,565, respectively, the previous year. (Charles Krupa/The Associated Press)

Some 6,609 people have been detained in holding centres in 2017-18, an increase from the year before. There are centers in Toronto, Laval and Vancouver; in other regions of the country people who have been detained as posing security risks may be held in provincial jails. In the holding centres separate accommodation is provided for men, women and families who have access to outdoor recreational areas, are provided daily meals, access to games, televisions and telephones, medical services and visitation areas.

In theory, parents decide for the most part whether or not their children remain with them in detention. "This is really a false choice", points out Hanna Gros, immigration and refugee lawyer. "When you're new to a country, you don't necessarily know anybody here, you don't have family friends, contacts or community support. You have people here who are left with really horrifying choices to make in these situations." Needless to say, these are the same people who chose to enter Canada illegally....

For deportation to another country to take place, both countries involved must agree to an individual leaving one state to arrive at another. "Deportation is a two-way agreement between states, and not so much contingent on the individual. There has to be an admission or an entrance of some sort into another state", points out Stephanie Silverman, with migrant advocacy group Thinking Forward Network. If the detainee's identity cannot be verified by the state nor the person leaving, proof must be achieved from within a detention centre, which is extremely difficult.

Certain states will not issue travel documents for nationals who are convicted of crimes in another country, lengthening the detention process, complicating the process for immigrants with a criminal record.

Asylum seekers line up to enter Olympic Stadium, Friday, August 4, 2017 near Montreal.
THE CANADIAN PRESS/Paul Chiasson