The Safe Third Country Agreement (STCA)
|
L'ETPS -- EN FRANÇAIS |
Lacolle border crossing, approached from the US side (Google maps)
Background and History:
This Agreement between Canada and the United States came into force at the end of 2004. It means that, if someone crosses into Canada from the USA at an official land border crossing and asks for asylum, they will be sent back to the USA, unless they fall under one of four exceptions to the Agreement. The main exceptions are: having a close family member with an eligible immigration status, being an unaccompanied child under 18 without a parent or guardian in either country, being at risk of the death penalty and having a valid Canadian visa. In addition, American citizens, stateless persons habitually resident in the USA, airport arrivals and irregular arrivals are exempt from the STCA rules.
The Agreement is based on the premise that both countries are safe for asylum seekers and respect human rights law. Nonetheless, from the outset, many refugee and human rights organizations, lawyers and other experts in both countries have been of the opinion that the US is not a safe country for asylum seekers. Problems with the US asylum system have increased over time and in particular under the current Trump administration. For more detailed info see our 2018 STCA briefing document and letters to the Prime Minister below.
Irregular Asylum Seekers. If a person seeking asylum crosses the border at an irregular crossing such as Roxham Road, the Agreement does not apply and they can make a claim for refugee status. That is why many people are choosing that route, so as to not risk being sent back to the USA and thus being unable to make a refugee claim in Canada in the future: there’s only one chance.
2019: New restrictions in refugee law
In 2019 the Canadian government made an important change to refugee law. Since April 2019, anyone who enters Canada and has already made a refugee claim in the United States (or the United Kingdom, Australia or New Zealand) will no longer be eligible to claim asylum in Canada. Instead they will be offered a lesser process called the PRRA (pre-removal risk assessment) which has a far lower success rate than do refugee claims. (See our letter from May 2019 to the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Immigration HERE regarding this change of law.)
This Agreement between Canada and the United States came into force at the end of 2004. It means that, if someone crosses into Canada from the USA at an official land border crossing and asks for asylum, they will be sent back to the USA, unless they fall under one of four exceptions to the Agreement. The main exceptions are: having a close family member with an eligible immigration status, being an unaccompanied child under 18 without a parent or guardian in either country, being at risk of the death penalty and having a valid Canadian visa. In addition, American citizens, stateless persons habitually resident in the USA, airport arrivals and irregular arrivals are exempt from the STCA rules.
The Agreement is based on the premise that both countries are safe for asylum seekers and respect human rights law. Nonetheless, from the outset, many refugee and human rights organizations, lawyers and other experts in both countries have been of the opinion that the US is not a safe country for asylum seekers. Problems with the US asylum system have increased over time and in particular under the current Trump administration. For more detailed info see our 2018 STCA briefing document and letters to the Prime Minister below.
Irregular Asylum Seekers. If a person seeking asylum crosses the border at an irregular crossing such as Roxham Road, the Agreement does not apply and they can make a claim for refugee status. That is why many people are choosing that route, so as to not risk being sent back to the USA and thus being unable to make a refugee claim in Canada in the future: there’s only one chance.
2019: New restrictions in refugee law
In 2019 the Canadian government made an important change to refugee law. Since April 2019, anyone who enters Canada and has already made a refugee claim in the United States (or the United Kingdom, Australia or New Zealand) will no longer be eligible to claim asylum in Canada. Instead they will be offered a lesser process called the PRRA (pre-removal risk assessment) which has a far lower success rate than do refugee claims. (See our letter from May 2019 to the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Immigration HERE regarding this change of law.)
|
2017 - 2020: Federal Court ruling and appeal by the government
In July 2017, the Canadian Council for Refugees, Amnesty International, and the Canadian Council of Churches brought a second legal challenge of the designation of the USA as a safe third country, along with individual plaintiffs who had sought asylum in Canada. The first legal challenge to the STCA, brought by the same organizations in 2007, was successful at the Federal Court level, but was dismissed on appeal on technical grounds. However the finding that the US was not a safe third country was not overturned (see 2017 STCA legal challenge document below). On July 22, 2020, Federal Court justice Ann Marie McDonald ruled that the STCA was invalid (unconstitutional) because it violates the right to liberty, and security of the person as guaranteed under article 7 of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms. See Justice McDonald's full decision HERE. The Canadian government appealed the ruling in August 2020. |
One of the applicants of the legal challenge, Nedira Jemal Mustefa, had been “immediately imprisoned” after being returned to the United States. She was detained for one month, including one week in solitary confinement which she described as a “a terrifying, isolating and psychologically traumatic experience.” Ms. Mustefa lost 15 pounds because her dietary requirements as a Muslim were not respected. She was “detained alongside people who had criminal convictions” and held in “freezing cold” conditions in which prisoners were “not allowed to use blankets during the day.” She “felt scared, alone, and confused at all times” and “did not know when [she] would be released, if at all.” (from the Briefing Note on the court decision from the Canadian Council for Refugees and other parties to the case - see below) |
Bridges not Borders (BnB) responses:
- First Letter to the Prime Minister (July 2018): In view of the drastic policy changes regarding asylum seekers in the USA, we sent a letter to the Prime Minister, the ministers for Public Security and Immigration, Citizenship and Refugees, as well as to the UNHCR office in Canada, asking for the immediate repeal of the Safe Third Country Agreement. The worsening situation in the USA meant that asylum seekers were increasingly at risk and it was untenable to consider the USA a safe country. You can see our letter at the bottom of this page.
- Second Letter to the Prime Minister (July 2020): In response to the Federal Court ruling, we wrote another letter urging the government to accept the ruling, to repeal the STCA, and to stop sending asylum seekers back to the USA immediately. Unfortunately the government has appealed the ruling and continues to return people seeking refuge back to the USA. See our information pages for asylum seekers HERE for important details, and below for our letter.
What you can do:
- Refugee Travel is Essential! You can join the campaign by the Canadian Refugee Lawyers Association (CARL) to end the Safe Third Country Agreement and to stop returning asylum seekers back to the USA. Sign the letter to the Ministers of Immigration and Public Safety and to your local MP HERE. It only takes a few seconds.
- Canada: Don't abandon Refugees! Sign the Amnesty International petition HERE to respect the Federal Court decision and end the STCA .
Further info and documents:
|
BnB Briefing on the STCA (2018):
|
| ||
|
2017 Legal challenge to the STCA - Submission to the Federal Court:
|
| ||
|
Letter to Ministers & Briefing Note on Federal Court STCA Ruling from Canadian Council for Refugees, Amnesty International and Canadian Council of Churches (29-07-2020):
|
| ||
|
2018 BnB Letter to the Prime Minister:
|
| ||
|
2020 BnB Letter to the Prime Minister:
|
| ||