A Canadian refugee claimant who is in ICE custody after accidentally entering the U.S. is prohibited from re-entering the country, the Canada Border Services Agency says.
Mahin Shahriar, a 27-year-old Bangladeshi national and Canadian refugee claimant had been living in Canada since 2019, but says he inadvertently crossed the Canada-U.S. border in May and has been in ICE custody in Buffalo, N.Y. ever since.
The CBSA now says he is permanently barred from re-entering Canada without legal authorization.
Shahriar’s lawyer, Washim Ahmed, a partner with OWS Law in Mississauga
,
says he is taking his client’s case before the Federal Court on Thursday. He is pursuing a judicial review application of the Canada Border Services Agency’s handling of his client’s refugee claim.
He told NP he is concerned his client will be returned to Bangladesh, where he could face imprisonment and possibly torture. In an Oct. 17 email to NP he wrote that his firm “
is in the process of obtaining certified court documents confirming these charges. These records … indicate that Mahin faces a serious … risk of imprisonment and torture if returned.”
Shahriar faces obstruction of justice charges for helping his mother and younger sister flee Bangladesh, Ahmed says. After his parents’ marriage broke down, he explains, Shahriar, his mother and sister fled to Canada.
Meanwhile, he says ICE may not have Mahin’s full case details, but they “are aware that he was a former refugee claimant in Canada and that his mother holds protected-person status here … ICE has explicitly confirmed that it would return him to Canada if CBSA authorizes the transfer — but CBSA has so far declined to do so.”
The CBSA has not provided its decision in Shahriar’s case, Ahmed says. “
Their refusal to provide reasons appears calculated to prevent us from seeking
appropriate legal
recourse.”
Ahmed says he will be seeking court orders compelling the CBSA to provide its decision, as well as cooperate with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement to facilitate Shahriar’s return to Canada, he told the National Post in a second email on Tuesday, Oct. 21. He will also be asking the court to compel the CBSA to disclose all of its communication with ICE.
So, Shahriar “is in limbo,” Ahmed adds.
A person is not allowed to apply in Canada and the U.S simultaneously, Ahmed explains.
“However, since Canada has not agreed to accept him, ICE intends to deport him to his country of citizenship, Bangladesh.”
Shariar’s refugee claim has been complicated by him falling victim to a fraudulent immigration consultant, says Ahmed. His claim was rejected because of that. Before his ICE detention, Ahmed says he was preparing a Humanitarian and Compassionate application for permanent residence and intended to include evidence of the fraud that tainted the refugee claim.
The Post reached out to the CBSA for comment and the first emailed response, received on Oct. 17 from
CBSA spokesperson Rebecca Purdy
, states that information about Shahriar’s case could not be provided because of federal privacy law.
Instead, Purdys aid that the “CBSA is not responsible for a person’s decision to leave Canada and does not intervene on behalf of foreign nationals who are later subject to immigration enforcement after having entered another country.”
A more detailed CBSA response was emailed to the Post on Oct. 19 from
Luke Reimer, senior communications office
r with the CBSA.
Reimer stated that Shahriar’s refugee claim was heard by the Refugee Protection Division and later its Refugee Appeal Division of Immigration and Refugee Board of Canada (IRB). They “found him not to be in need of protection. His request for leave to pursue a judicial review of this decision was dismissed by the Federal Court.”
The latter comment seems to contradict Ahmed’s position.
Further, Reimer wrote, “The CBSA had already initiated removal proceedings when Mr. Shahriar left Canada of his own accord. Having done so, Mr. Shahriar waived the right to any further recourse that could stay his removal, as he was now already outside Canada.
“With evidence that Mr. Shahriar was no longer in Canada, the CBSA administratively enforced his removal order … Canada has no obligation to accept Mr. Shahriar’s return, and he is permanently barred from re-entering Canada without an authorization to return.”
Reimer did not state whether these same arguments will be made during the Federal Court hearing on Thursday.
The Post contacted the ICE office in Buffalo for detailed comment, but none was forthcoming. Instead, an email was sent last week stating “we cannot share any details with you about another person” without proper legal documentation.
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