Immigration detention study finds harsher treatment for people from African and Caribbean countries

A new, first-of-its-kind Canadian study using CBSA data and interviews finds people from African and Caribbean countries are disproportionately represented among those held in long-term immigration detention, and notes Canada does not collect race-disaggregated detention data.

A new study combining Canada Border Services Agency data and 50 interviews with detainees, lawyers and service providers examines race and the country's immigration detention system. The researchers say the study is the first comprehensive analysis of race in Canadian immigration detention. They report that people from African and Caribbean countries are overrepresented among those held for long periods. The authors also note gaps in oversight and in the collection of race-based data. Key findings: - In 2019 the average time in immigration detention was about two weeks, while 68 per cent of people detained for 270 days or longer were from African countries or the Caribbean, as reported in CBSA figures cited by the study. - Over the past decade nearly 60,000 people, including hundreds of children, were placed in immigration detention according to the report's analysis of CBSA data. - Canada is one of the few Western countries without statutory time limits on immigration detention, the report notes. - The CBSA collects country-of-origin data but not race, and the report says country of origin is not an effective proxy for race. - The report states fewer than 10 per cent of detainees over the past decade were arrested because they were deemed a danger to the public or for serious criminality, while around 80 per cent were held because agents judged them unlikely to appear at future proceedings. - The CBSA is the only major Canadian law-enforcement agency without independent civilian oversight; a bill passed in 2024 to create such oversight has not yet resulted in an established body. Summary: The study reports that racialized people, and Black men in particular, bear the brunt of the system's harshest conditions and face barriers to timely release. It recommends a national independent review, publication of race-disaggregated detention data, expansion of alternatives to detention and a gradual move away from detention as an immigration enforcement tool; the timing and outcomes of such measures are undetermined at this time.