The ability to freely travel between countries is a privilege, but for refugee claimants and asylum seekers, it’s more than that - it’s life saving. Last week I wrote about how COVID-19 has affected migrants crossing irregularly from the U.S. to enter Canada in order to make a refugee claim. More specifically, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced that irregular migrants will be turned away at the U.S.- Canada border.
Canada is known for being a humanitarian country and for many years has welcomed asylum seekers. On March 17, 2020, the United Nations Refugee Agency (UNHCR) announced that it, along with the International Organization for Migration (IOM), will be temporarily suspending resettlement travel for refugees. Canada receives referrals from the UNHCR and other designated referral organizations and private sponsorship groups to identify refugees in need of resettlement in Canada. As for now, refugees and asylum seekers are not able to enter the country.
For refugee claimants already in Canada, all in-person appointments have been cancelled, alongside a temporary extension of standard timelines for the filing and submission of refugee claims. Canada’s top health professionals are predicting that self-isolation and social distancing could be our new normal for weeks (possibly months), which may invariably affect the time whereby these restrictions and conditions [to combat Covid-19] will be lifted.
What now?
If you are a refugee claimant in Canada and have questions about how to navigate the Immigration and Refugee Board of Canada (“IRB”), please contact the IRB by phone, or a lawyer.
If you are a refugee looking to come to Canada, please stay up to date with information posted on the UNHCR’s website.