Untangling Deportation Law from National Security: The Pandemic Calls for a Softer Touch

<p dir="ltr">There is a significant overlap between national security law and deportation law. Non-citizens, even refugees and permanent residents, found to be terrorists, members of organized criminal groups, spies, criminals, or money launders can be declared “inadmissible” and deported from Canada (IRPA, ss. 34–40). For the government, deportation is a security-enforcement tool. As Public Safety Canada explains, “immigration removal is an integral part of the [Canada Border Services Agency’s (CBSA)] security mandate” (CBSA 2020a).<br>Moreover, deportation is an often-used tool. Compared to the criminal system, immigration adjudicators are regularly called upon to grapple with terrorism cases. A recent study showed that between 2004 and 2018, there were only 15 criminal trials based on terrorism charges (Nesbitt and Hagg 2020, 597). In contrast, the Immigration and Refugee Board adjudicated 123 national security and terrorism deportation cases in 2018 alone (Immigration and Refugee Board 2021). There is a practical reason for the national security community to concern itself with what happens in the deportation space: the immigration tribunals adjudicate exponentially more national security cases than do the criminal courts.</p>