NCJ Number
215276
Journal
Crime, Law and Social Change Volume: 44 Issue: 2 Dated: 2005 Pages: 153-180
Date Published
2005
Length
28 pages
Annotation
This paper examines immigrants who have been criminally convicted, and are then subject to removal or deportation as determined by the Immigration and Refugee Board of Canada.
Abstract
Findings indicate that gender and racial ideologies were shown to shape the outcome of immigration appeal hearing decisions for those immigrants convicted of crimes. Criminality is now one of the most frequently used provisions for deporting non-citizens from the country of Canada. Canadian immigration policies have always included measures to govern those who did not belong, with race and gender continuing to remain key markers in the practice of expulsion and regulation. The Immigration and Refugee Protection Act is the most current legislation governing deportation from Canada. The Appeal Division of the Immigration and Refugee Board (IRB) hears and determines all questions of law and fact arising from removal order appeals. When more serious cases of criminality are involved, access to the Appeal Process Act becomes much more restrictive. This study examined criminal deportees sent back to the Caribbean by Canadian immigration authorities. It examined 177 reported immigration appeal hearings involving non-citizens who were ordered deported on the basis of criminality. A documentary analysis was used along with basic statistics to analyze the appeal hearing decision. It is argued that deportation is as much about the expulsion of particular “undesirable” immigrants as it is about making “good” citizens, given that many more immigrants are investigated for deportation than are actually deported. References