The forced removal of the 'criminally inadmissible' as punishment: a double jeopardy

Canada bars non-citizens from entering or staying in the country for a number of reasons, including for conduct considered to be ‘criminally inadmissible’. Informed by a critical race theory, this literature review and analysis of recent Canadian deportation data highlights the ways in which the double punishment of forced removal following the incarceration of non-citizens extends the Canadian criminal justice system which disproportionately incarcerates Black bodies. Focusing on the evolution of Canadian deportation policies, this paper contributes to the criminological and migrant studies literature by developing our understanding of the deportation process in Canada and its highly politicized and racially discriminatory effects,

specifically on the Afro-Caribbean community. It conceptualizes deportation as a form of double punishment and illustrative of how immigration law and criminal law reinforce each other. This paper considers the grave implications of Canadian deportation policies on those who not only experience it, but also on the families and communities of deported persons and on the safety and security of the country which they return to.

Keywords: Canada, Criminality, Race, Deportation, Punishment.