Canada sent 19 failed asylum seekers back to Afghanistan last year

Canada’s border guards sent 19 rejected Afghan asylum seekers back to the country last year despite Otawa’s Temporary Suspension of Removals (TSR) that has been in place for Afghan nationals since 1994.

CBC reported that none of the 19 Afghans had their cases rejected on the basis of safety or security risks. The border service did not however reveal further details.

The border agency said a TSR is meant to “halt removals to a country or place when general conditions, such as armed conflict or an environmental disaster, pose a risk to the entire civilian population.”

It also said individuals who were found inadmissible “on grounds of criminality, serious criminality, international or human rights violations, organized crime, or security” can be removed despite a TSR, CBC reported.

The CBSA said the 19 who failed their refugee claims left Canada “voluntarily,” and that the Afghans were “aware that they benefit from a stay of removal due to the Temporary Suspension of Removal on Afghanistan but requested to have their removal order enforced despite the legislative stay.

“In other words, the individual was advised that they can remain in Canada until the TSR is lifted and they opted to return to Afghanistan.”

Canada has welcomed some 54,000 Afghans since August 2021, surpassing a commitment it made to bring in 40,000 in 2021.