COVID-19: Canada Locks its Gates to Asylum Seekers

Asylum seekers have not been so fortunate. At first, the Canadian government had announced a plan to introduce a 14-day mandatory isolation period for asylum seekers arriving irregularly into Canada from the United States. Several days later, the tone had quickly shifted, with Trudeau declaring during a public address that asylum seekers who attempt to cross the Canada-US border to make claims for asylum would be turned back. It has since been reported that the United States is considering the return of asylum seekers to their country of origin. This would be a violation of nonrefoulement, a cornerstone of the Refugee Convention that prevents states from returning asylum seekers to places of persecution.

Governments worldwide have had to make difficult decisions to address the growing number of covid-19 cases that are threatening lives and wreaking havoc on our healthcare systems and economies. Cancellations and closures have been made in all facets of life. Yet, eliminating the right to seek asylum will have severe implications for those in need of safe ground. What’s more, the Canadian government has already made important exemptions to the border closure under the definition of essential travel, allowing the entry of migrants such as temporary foreign workers, international students, and permanent resident applicants with previously approved applications. If critical health precautions can be put in place to ensure the safe entry of citizens and particular migrant groups – why not include asylum seekers, who have nowhere else to go?

“What is unprecedented is not the loss of a home, but the impossibility of finding a new one”, wrote Hannah Arendt on the calamity facing people on the move in a world of bordered territories. Today, many of us are currently holed up in our homes attempting to weather the storm through unending Zoom calls, stress baking, and at-home exercise videos, checking the news every hour with dread as we fear for our loved ones most susceptible to the disease. But this is a luxury. Not everyone has a home, even within our own borders, and for asylum seekers, the route to a safe home is being all but eliminated.