Canada's New Immigration Law: Refugee Claimants Warned

0:00Canada's immigration department just started mailing letters to around 30,000 refugee claimants warning them their asylum bids might not qualify under a brand new law. This bill, past last month, cracks down on late applications, hitting folks who entered the country more than a year before filing or crossed the US border irregularly and waited over 14 days. The rules kick in retroactively from June 24th, 2020, and apply to claims after June 3rd, 2025. Officers give recipients 21 days to submit extra details about their entry, but it's not a deportation notice, just the heads up to explain. Before any final call, lawyers are sounding alarms, saying swapping in-person hearings for paper forms like the pre-removal risk assessment strips away chances to show real. Fear or clear up inconsistencies. One expert called it a recipe for wrong decisions, says no one's there to read your vibe or hear your story live.

1:00Some letters go further, straight up telling people to leave Canada now and check in with border services or face deportation orders. But advocates point out constitutional rights to that risk assessment first, plus issues like families getting split, some approved, others not. Shady consultants charging for forms clients might not even qualify for. Meanwhile, folks from 22 safe countries could end up in limbo, in eligible for hearings or assessments, blocking family reunions or benefits. This shakeups just rolling out, so expect more pushback as these letters land and lives hang in the balance. This has been Calgary News Today, powered by AI. I'm Cory with the story.