Irregular Migration Trends

1. Irregular Migration Trends Liaison Officers Network to Combat Migrant Smuggling and Trafficking in Persons Regional Conference on Migration Managua, Nicaragua June 24-27, 2014

2. CBSA At A Glance – 2012-2013 ON AN AVERAGE DAY! • 274,822 travellers are processed into Canada • 14,713 trucks enter Canada from the U.S. • 94,314 courier shipments processed 2012-2013 Comparison to 2011-2012 • 2.3 million more travellers • 700 thousand more cars • 500 thousand more air passengers • 500 thousand more commercial releases • 1.7 million decrease in courier shipments

3. CBSA International Network 2013-2014 Moscow The Hague London Brussels Kyiv Frankfurt Paris Vienna Rome New York Istanbul Beijing Ankara Washington Seoul Algiers Tokyo Los Angeles Islamabad Shanghai Amman Chandigarh Cairo Miami New Delhi Taipei Dubai Abu Dhabi Hong Kong Guangzhou Mexico City Santo Domingo Kingston Port au Prince Manila Bangkok Port of Spain Panama Ho Chi Minh Colombo Accra Bogota Singapore Nairobi Lima Sao Paulo Pretoria Canberra

4. CBSA Liaison Officer Mandate To protect the integrity and security of the Canadian border through a range of intelligence, interdiction, investigative and liaison activities related to: • Prevention and disruption of irregular migration • Human smuggling and trafficking • Supply-chain security • Contraband • Food plant and animal safety • National security • Crisis response

5. Irregular Migration Statistics and Recent Trends • Irregular migration is measured in terms of refugee protection claimants and improperly documented arrivals at Canada’s borders. While these may be separate groups people, these statistics help to quantify irregular migrants. • The number of refugee claims in Canada decreased significantly in 2013. China is responsible for nearly 7.3% of all refugee claims in Canada. Closely followed by Pakistan at 4.5%. • Refugee claims from formerly high volume visa-exempt countries such as Hungary, Croatia and the Slovak Republic dropped out of the top 20 in 2013. Organizedmovements: Iranian, Romanian, Chinese and Sri Lankannationals.

6. Irregular Migration – Refugee Claims in Canada

7. Irregular Migration – Top Source Countries 2013 • Significant change in makeup of top 10 from 2012 to 2013 • New top source countries: • Syria, Egypt, DRC, Afghanistan, Haiti • Countries still of interest: • India, North Korea

8. Irregular Migration – Top Source Countries 2012

9. Improperly Documented Arrivals by Citizenship 2013by air, land and marine modes

10. Transit Points of IDA Refugee Claimants 2013

11. Weaknesses at the Border itself • Safe Third with the U.S. – loophole of “anchor relative” in Canada has been used increasingly by different nationals to obtain entry into Canada for the purposes of making refugee claims.  Even more so when dealing with “clans” or “tribes” where many of the last names are the same, e.g. Romas and most recently, Eritreans. • Native Reserves – The ability to move goods and people across the Canada/U.S. border through native reserves, e.g. Akwesasne or Walpole Island, continues unabated with enforcement activities having minimal affect.

12. Iranian Nationals • Iranians are the most frequently detected improperly documented migrants arriving in Canada from points in the Americas. • Iranians tend to target the passports of visa-exempt countries (most often Canada, France and Israel). • They tend to arrive from Mexico City, Caracas or Panama City. • They have often previously transited Turkey. • They are often male, travelling alone, and between the ages of 20-35. • There are reports that smugglees/refugee claimants are being co-erced to support criminal enterprises.

13. Romanian Nationals • In 2012, CBSA identified an organized movement of Romanian nationals entering Canada by air via Mexico and entering clandestinely into the U.S. on foot. • In Fall 2012, they started to run between Canada-U.S. ports of entry using vehicles and were subsequently determined to be “designated arrivals”. • Numerous law enforcement actions have proven successful in weakening this network’s ability to continue its illegal activities in Canada and abroad. • It is believed that in 2012, the network relocated to the Vancouver area after law enforcement began cracking down on distraction thefts and fraud involving Roma in the Ontario and Québec regions. • U.S. authorities are continuing to apprehend Romanian Roma nationals along the U.S. southern border with Mexico. • We anticipate another northbound movement into Canada in the near future.

14. Chinese Movement • In 2013, a new trend surfaced where Chinese nationals use the Washington State/ British Colombia land border to cross illegally into Canada. We suspect a smuggler in the U.S is creating false identifies for subjects with previous U.S. visa refusals wishing to enter Canada.

15. Sri Lankan Nationals • Despite the arrival of a marine vessel carrying nearly 500 Sri Lankan nationals in 2010, migrants from Sri Lanka have traditionally entered Canada via the Canada/U.S. land border. • The introduction of the Canada-U.S. Safe Third Country Agreement in 2004 significantly reduced this movement. • Refugee claims from Sri Lankan nationals submitted at the land border had been increasing every year since 2007 with a decrease in 2013. • Reporting indicates that many are arriving in Canada after transiting through several points in South America, Central America and the Caribbean.

16. Somali Movement • Somali groups arrive in one of three ways: • undocumented males smuggled through the South Africa/South America/Mexico/U.S. routing; • through Europe as impostors; or, • nationals of Europe who are country shopping. • Undocumented males are transiting through Johannesburg, South Africa to Brazil/Panama on counterfeit/improperly issued S. African and Kenyan passports. • They travel through Mexico and the U.S., and arrive in and around Emerson port of entry in Manitoba where they are caught by authorities and claim at the land border or enter Canada undetected and proceed to Toronto to file a refugee claim inland. • Women and children use methods 2 and 3.

17. Albanian and Kosovar Movement • Recent movement from the Caribbean with improperly document arrivals coming from Curacao, Dominican Republic and attempts in Haiti. • Target passport from visa free countries such as Greece and Italy. • Many have worked in Greece for years, can speak the language and know the country, which can make fraudulent detection difficult. • Some have entered the Americas by the Dominican Republic.

18. Nigerian Nationals • Nigerians are often claiming to be from Ghana, Ivory Coast or Liberia in order to hide their true identity. • Many reports of document labs producing fake Canadian citizenship cards which are then used to obtain Canadian passports to further legitimize their identities. • Criminal activity in the U.S. hidden by either entering from the U.S. surreptitiously or via third country.

19. Dominican Republic Movement • Nationals travel irregularly to Canada from Costa Rica. They usually fly to Nicaragua, after which they enter Costa Rica by land. • Many are found to have a criminal history and/or deportation from the U.S. • Their final destination is often the U.S., Canada being only a transit stop to avoid biometrics. • They seek to enter by presenting; • a bio page substituted Spanish passport; • a fraudulently obtained U.S. passport; or, • a U.S. Permanent Resident Card (which they are no longer entitled after deportation) and a Dominican Republic passport.

20. Cuban Movement • Claims from Cuban nationals are averaging about 12 per month for 2014, forecasting a year-end total of 144. This is a decrease from 2013 where Cubans made 199 claims. • In 2013, 74% of refugee claims were made inland. • This indicates that the Cuban movement is able to circumvent immigration controls at the border.

21. Human Smuggling – U.S./Mexico Corridor • Although Mexican nationals are no longer a significant source of refugee claims in Canada, Mexico continues to be a transit hub for migrants from across the globe. • Citizens of Afghanistan, Colombia, Iran, Pakistan, Romania, Sri Lanka, and Somalia, are known to use Mexico as a transit point for onward travel to Canada. • South/Central America – Mexico – US – Canada • Human smuggling networks utilize Mexico as a transit route for migrants destined to Canada. • Mexican drug cartels are diversifying and increasingly involved in human smuggling.

22. Questions? Canada Border Services Agency www.cbsa-asfc.gc.ca