Human rights defenders in BC are calling on the province to end its contract with the Canada Border Services Agency and stop imprisoning immigrants and refugees in provincial prisons.
A coalition of human rights organizations and advocates, including the BC Civil Liberties Association (BCCLA), Human Rights Watch, and Amnesty International, launched a campaign in October to urge Canadians to ask the provincial government to stop allowing CBSA uses provincial prisons to block. asylum seekers.
“It simply came to our notice then [the campaign] those were years of inaction by the federal government, “Samer Muscati of Human Rights Watch said in an email to CBC News.
“So we decided to turn to the provincial governments for their complicity in this horrible system.”
According to campaign organizers, between April 2019 and March 2020, nearly 9,000 people were detained for immigration to Canada, including 138 babies and children. Since 2000, at least 16 people have been killed in these detention centers.
“Actually, this is much more common than people would think. Over the last five years, there have been tens of thousands of people detained in immigrant detention. This gives you an idea of how many people are experiencing this invisibly. “, he said. Mara Selanders with the BCCLA.
Selanders says there are only three immigration detention centers in Canada: in Surrey, BC, Laval, Que. in Toronto. Outside of that, immigrants and refugees are being sent to provincial prisons while awaiting approval for their legal status in Canada.
Sara Lopez, right, with Mara Selanders of the BCCLA at her home in Burnaby, BC Selanders, says Lopez’s experience of being detained in a provincial prison is common and a violation of human rights. (Ben Nelms / CBC)
“They are experiencing the same imprisonment measures that anyone convicted of the Penal Code would experience, to clothing, to isolation, restricted access to loved ones, to legal advice … It’s extremely unfair,” he said. to say.
He added that advocates want the CBSA to offer “rights-claiming” alternatives for immigrants and refugees with administrative challenges, such as being able to continue their work, living in their communities and receiving support from organizations to resolve any issues. status issue they may have. the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act.
“We don’t believe that alternatives to arrest should be any kind of motion-restricting measure, for example, curfews or ankle control wristbands,” he said.
‘Get ready to be deported’
Sara Lopez spent three months in jail awaiting approval for her asylum claim in BC
A human rights activist in Mexico, Lopez said he first applied for asylum in the United States and then illegally entered Canada on foot in October 2012.
With the help of the Immigrant Services Society of BC, Lopez began her asylum claim in BC before being detained at the Fraser Regional Correctional Center.
“I received my pink paper for the date of the eligibility interview and two days later these CBSA officers appeared at the shelter where I was staying and once my feet were out of the premises, I was arrested “Lopez told CBC News.
Lopez said he was asked why he was seeking asylum in Canada and why he could not return to Mexico.
Lopez says she was diagnosed with PTSD shortly after she was jailed in 2012. (Ben Nelms / CBC)
“The officer started saying, ‘Did you know that we deport 98 percent of Mexicans who come to Canada to seek asylum? So get ready to be deported.’ I just fell there, everything was broken, my confidence. I was confused, “he said.
Considered a risk of absconding, Lopez says she was detained for three months without legal advice or being able to talk to her family at home.
“I have no friends or family in this country. How am I a flight risk? And no one told me what the flight risk meant,” he said.
Lopez says she was handcuffed and placed in a Maple Ridge jail for three months because CBSA officers considered her a flight risk. (Ben Nelms / CBC)
After her experience, Lopez said she started having panic attacks and nightmares and could not get out without fear of being arrested again. Finally, he was diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder.
Vancouver Board vote
Vancouver City Council is due to vote on a motion Tuesday asking the provincial government to end its contract with the CBSA and prevent officers from detaining immigrants and refugees in provincial prisons.
“I don’t think it’s right to put people in jail just to come to our country,” Coun said. Jean Swanson, who moved the motion to the council.
Swanson said he once met a woman in prison who was being held for administrative immigration matters.
Vancouver County. Jean Swanson says a motion calling on the BC government to stop imprisoning immigrants and refugees in provincial prisons is consistent with the city’s fearless access to services policy. (Ben Nelms / CBC)
“I had a hearing impairment and one of the other women who was imprisoned with me knew sign language. It was the first time she had communicated with anyone,” said Swanson, who had been jailed for protesting against the extension of the Trans Mountain pipelines.
“They put her in extreme detention and went on to moderate us, so she didn’t run out of ways to communicate again.”
Swanson said his motion is consistent with the city’s policy of access to services without fear, “which means that people with uncertain immigration status have the right to obtain a leisure and access card. swimming for free, going to libraries, doing all the things that everyone else can do.