A Canadian border services superintendent stands at the border crossing with the United States in Stanstead, Que., in March, 2025.Evan Buhler/Reuters
Immigration experts say the front-line officials charged with initially questioning refugee claimants do not have enough latitude to probe the details of claimants’ stories, even if there is reason to doubt them.
The issue of how and when claimants are questioned came to public attention late last month. That’s when figures provided to MPs on the Commons immigration committee revealed that the Immigration and Refugee Board, which adjudicates asylum claims, has since 2019 processed more than 45,000 refugee cases based on paperwork alone, without in-person hearings, as it deals with a backlog of claims.
Critics say this practice may not subject claimants to an appropriate level of scrutiny. Many “file review” cases originate from countries with high refugee approval rates in Canada, though it is not clear how many of these cases were approved and how many were rejected.
The federal government has defended this way of doing things in part by noting that refugee claimants are interviewed in person by border and immigration officers before their cases are handed to the IRB.
Last week, the office of Immigration Minister Lena Metlege Diab said in an e-mail that “when it comes to claiming asylum in Canada, officers rigorously review each and every claim before they reach the Immigration and Refugee Board and nobody can claim asylum in Canada without questioning.”
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But immigration lawyer Richard Kurland said current rules prevent those officers from probing the truth of asylum seekers’ stories.
“A person can show up at the border, give a written story prepared with AI, and the officer is instructed to not ask questions that will verify the credibility of the story. Even if officers want to question, and ask permission to so do, they can’t,” Mr. Kurland wrote in an e-mail.
Internal documents Mr. Kurland obtained from Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada under access to information law, which were reviewed by The Globe and Mail, show that immigration officers have been instructed not to block people’s access to the IRB only because they doubt their stories.
The documents include an e-mail sent in October of last year from an immigration official to a senior IRCC colleague asking, in response to questions from another officer, “if we believe the client is not being truthful, can we withhold our eligibility decision until they provide a reasonable story?”
The senior IRCC official, Gianfranco Bonofiglio, responded: “Our role is not to verify the credibility of their story/entry. The IRB (and R&I) will assess that. The declaration/interview we hold is just collecting facts/information.”
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An IRCC manual used by immigration officers as a resource says when people “indicate a fear of returning to their country of nationality, the Minister’s delegate is to refrain from evaluating whether the fear is well-founded.”
Separate guidance for immigration officers on policy and procedure when conducting interviews assessing “in-Canada claims” for refugee protection say that immigration officers “are under a duty to act impartially” and “should not evaluate the credibility of the refugee claim.”
“Assessment of the merits of the refugee claim, including credibility, is the responsibility of the Immigration and Refugee Board,” it says.
Immigration officers and officers of the Canada Border Services Agency are the first points of contact for most people claiming asylum. They determine whether the claimant is eligible to proceed to the IRB.
The CBSA processes asylum claimants at the border and foreign nationals apprehended by the RCMP or local police after being intercepted crossing into Canada irregularly.
Claimants can be deemed ineligible to be referred to the IRB if they have claimed asylum first in the United States, because of the Safe Third Country Agreement with the U.S., which says people must claim asylum in the first country they arrive in. If a claimant has violated human rights or has been involved in serious or organized crime they could also be barred from claiming refugee status.
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Taous Ait, spokesperson for Ms. Metlege Diab, said in a statement that “all asylum claimants attend an in-person interview with either an official from IRCC or the CBSA to assess the eligibility of their claim.”
“This interview is a key step in confirming basic facts, ensuring the integrity of the process, and deciding whether the refugee claim can move forward to the IRB,” she said. “It allows the officer to ask questions directly to the claimant to verify their identity, clarify any inconsistencies, and confirm that the person is physically present on Canadian soil.”
She added that after referral to the IRB, IRCC and CBSA conduct security screening with a “thorough review of the file for any credibility, program integrity and/or public safety concerns that may warrant an intervention before the IRB.”
James Yousif, a former IRCC policy director and IRB adjudicator, said such interviews alone are not sufficient.
“The questions asked by IRCC or CBSA officials before the file is referred to the IRB are intended to establish eligibility,” he said. “For example, if a person already has refugee status in another country, they may be ineligible to make a claim in Canada,” he said.
“Fraud and national security issues often do not emerge until the claimant is questioned. If that happens, the IRB is required by law to halt the hearing and notify the relevant Minister.”
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Guillaume Bérubé, a CBSA media relations manager, said all refugee claimants are “subject to a risk assessment, including mandatory screening questions, biometrics, a search of criminal history databases, and an officer interview. CBSA officers will conduct an examination to determine if, on a balance of probabilities, a claim is eligible for referral to the Refugee Protection Division of the IRB.”
“During the examination, officers are responsible for assessing the admissibility of the claimant and the eligibility of the claim. Officers are under a duty to act impartially and should not evaluate the credibility of the refugee claim,” he added.
But he said concerns about the credibility or reliability of statements and documents are noted by interviewing officers and added to the claimant file, which may be considered by the IRB.
Last month, Manon Brassard, chairperson and chief executive officer of the IRB, told MPs on the Commons immigration committee that, when claims are made, CBSA or IRCC questions the claimant, gathers identity and biometric information, and conducts criminal record checks through the RCMP. Security checks are also made through the CBSA and the Canadian Security Intelligence Service.
She said based on the results they decide if the claim is eligible to be heard by the IRB and “if it is eligible, whether the minister should intervene on the case.”
She said if the IRB feels something should be brought to the attention of the Immigration Minister, it formally notifies her staff.