Amanda Ghahremani is an international human rights lawyer and a research fellow at the Human Rights Center at UC Berkeley School of Law.
The U.S. immigration system is collapsing before our eyes and the Canadian government remains wilfully blind to the dangers this poses to Canadian citizens, residents and asylum-seekers. Now that a Canadian man has died in U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) custody, Canada can no longer justify its misplaced U.S. exceptionalism.
Last week, Canadian Johnny Noviello died in a Florida ICE facility at 49 years old. He is one of in ICE custody this year alone, making it the deadliest year yet for immigration detention in the U.S. There are currently detained by ICE, in “barbaric†and “negligent†conditions to expert inspectors hired by the U.S. government.
Canadian lawyers and advocates have been sounding the alarm for years, urging Canada to reconsider its close relationship with U.S. immigration authorities. Under the , Canada delegates its legal responsibility to process refugee claims to the U.S. while turning back genuine asylum-seekers at the Canada-U.S. border. The U.S. is the only country designated as “safe†for these purposes, on the basis that it is a democratic country that respects human rights.
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Yet, the inhumane detention conditions in ICE facilities reveal just one way U.S. authorities consistently violate human rights. According to the National Immigrant Justice Center, people in U.S. detention experience wide-ranging abuses that include , , punitive use of , lack of , obstructed Ìý²¹²Ô»å and treatment.
It is against this backdrop that Trump’s administration is aggressively expanding mass deportation efforts, with targets to detain  in an already strained and broken system. ICE is currently 140 per cent over capacity, with a staggering in custody, which is contributing to rapidly deteriorating detention conditions.
Recent ICE in Los Angeles sparked massive that have since spread across of U.S. cities. Millions of Americans have mobilized under the “†slogan to reject Trump’s authoritarianism, including his administration’s , , , and attacks against civil rights. Trump’s roll back of gender affirming care and elimination of protections for have also triggered a rise in in Canada.
If Canadians can die in U.S. immigration custody, Americans can be deported from their country and trans people are fleeing the U.S. due to discriminatory and harmful policies, in what reality is the U.S. safe for asylum-seekers and refugees who are among the world’s most vulnerable populations and many of whom ?
Our government should listen to the courageous crowds fighting to uphold democracy and heed their warnings about U.S. authoritarianism. Instead, Prime Minister Mark Carney has and his xenophobia. Among Carney’s first orders of business is the Strong Borders Act (also known as Bill C-2), which experts argue and gives immigration authorities sweeping new powers to , cancel existing status documents and carry out .
At a time when Canada should be distinguishing itself from the U.S. and reaffirming our values, which include human rights, dignity and equality for all, Carney’s administration is through this proposed legislation.
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Instead of abandoning the Safe Third Country Agreement, the government is expanding it.
Instead of strengthening respect for the Charter of Rights and Freedoms, the government is and .
Instead of standing for humanity and compassion, the government is capitulating to the U.S.’s harmful vilification of migrants and refugees.
What will this mean for the remaining 55 Canadians languishing in ICE detention facilities or the asylum-seekers coming to Canada through the U.S. border? Empty rhetoric and deadly outcomes.
If you agree that a U.S.-style immigration overhaul in Canada is dangerous and disturbing, to rescind the Strong Borders Act and to abandon the Safe Third Country Agreement. Our country will be better and safer for all without them.
Amanda Ghahremani is an international human rights lawyer and a research fellow at the Human Rights Center at UC Berkeley School of Law.
Opinion articles are based on the author’s interpretations and judgments of facts, data and events. More details
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