Scores of asylum claimants waiting for their cases to be assessed have in the past few days been warned by the Immigration Department they may imminently face deportation, with many letters sent the day after a bill tightening up asylum rules became law.<\/p>\n
Immigration<\/a> lawyers said the letters have caused panic among clients waiting for their cases to be assessed by the independent Immigration and Refugee Board (IRB) and who now face removal from Canada. <\/p>\n A spokesperson for Immigration Minister Lena Metlege Diab said 30,000 asylum seekers could be affected by the law.<\/p>\n \u201cNow that Bill C-12 has become law, we are in the process of sending procedural fairness letters to individuals who could be impacted,\u201d said Taous Ait, the spokesperson.<\/p>\n \u201cAs of January 31, 2026, this number was estimated to reach approximately 30,000 individuals,\u201d she said in an e-mail. <\/p>\n Bill C-12 curbing asylum, immigration rights becomes law amid warnings of court challenges<\/a><\/p>\n The lawyers predict there will be a surge in filings to the Federal Court for judicial review of deportation decisions, leading to further backlogs of immigration and asylum cases. <\/p>\n Some letters from Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada, marked \u201credetermination – ineligibility,\u201d were sent out March 27, the day after the Strengthening Canada\u2019s Immigration System and Borders Act became law. They state that foreign nationals who made their asylum claim more than a year after entering Canada are no longer eligible to have their case heard by the IRB and may face deportation. <\/p>\n The new rules apply to asylum claimants who entered Canada after June 24, 2020. <\/p>\n Many of those who have received the letters are in the queue at the IRB for their case to be considered. The backlog is so long at the IRB it takes about two years for claims to be assessed either with a hearing or through a paper-only \u201cfile review\u201d process. <\/p>\n The letters, stating the date of the asylum claimant\u2019s arrival in Canada and date of asylum claim, ask recipients to send additional information about their entry to Canada saying that if none is received by April 17 a decision on whether their claim can be heard by the IRB will be based on the information on file. <\/p>\n \u201cIf the decision is that your claim is ineligible for referral to the Refugee Protection Division, you will face removal from Canada,\u201d it said. <\/p>\n