Refugees Say Canada Handed Them Over to ICE, Detained in US
Olivia Bowden
As Canada tightens asylum rules, refugees seeking to reunite with family say Canadian authorities have handed them over to US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), where they are detained for months after their claims are denied at the border. Lawyers report a rise in such cases since President Trump's second term, criticizing Canada’s role in handing people over to a country they argue is not a safe third country.
As Canada tightens its asylum rules, many refugees seeking to reunite with family say Canadian authorities have handed them over to ICE, where they have been detained for months after their asylum claims were denied at the border.
Markens Appolon, 25, fled Haiti to escape rampant gang violence that cut short his economics studies. He planned to reach Montreal to reunite with family. But for more than four months, Appolon has been held at an ICE detention center. “Every day that goes by, my mental health gets worse,” he said. “You see the world moving and you’re stuck here just watching.”
Appolon sought asylum in Canada, believing it was a safe haven for those in danger. He has family in Canada and qualified for asylum, but Canadian officials themselves handed him over to ICE. Immigration lawyer Erin Simpson, who represents Appolon, said: “The shocking part is Canada is facilitating this. Canada is handing people over to ICE.”
According to Canadian immigration lawyers, similar cases have increased since the start of President Donald Trump’s second term. Refugees attempt to claim asylum in Canada through an exception to the Safe Third Country Agreement between Canada and the U.S. Under the agreement, refugees must seek asylum in the first safe country they reach. But legal experts argue the U.S. should not be considered a safe third country due to its long-term detention of asylum seekers and threats to deport them to places where they risk harm or death.
Meanwhile, Canada is tightening its asylum system. A new law enacted in March created additional ineligibility rules for asylum seekers, prompting critics to accuse Prime Minister Mark Carney’s government of adopting Trump-style immigration policies.
Appolon left Haiti in 2023 as the country descended into gang warfare, political power vacuums, economic collapse, and famine. He moved to Florida and lived with an uncle under a special humanitarian visa program granted by the Biden administration. When Trump returned to power and threatened to end the program, Appolon decided to apply for asylum in Canada.
To enter Canada from the U.S., a refugee must prove they have a family member in Canada. Appolon arrived at the Quebec-Vermont border on December 28 but was denied entry and handed over to ICE. His aunt, a Canadian citizen, was temporarily abroad for a family emergency. Border agents ruled that without the aunt in Canada, he could not enter.
According to lawyer Simpson, Canadian border agents were previously more flexible and should have allowed Appolon’s aunt time to return. Canadian law does not require that the relative be physically present in the country at the moment the refugee makes the claim.
Tenzin, a refugee from Tibet, said Canada’s willingness to put him in an ICE detention center seemed completely at odds with the country’s international image. He tried to claim asylum in Canada at the U.S. border in August, with Canadian family members waiting for him. “I thought Canadians are better than Americans… but when I was treated like that, I thought there are some bad people in Canada,” he said.
Tenzin was taken to an ICE facility in Buffalo. By December, he began losing muscle control on the left side of his face. After days of requesting medical care, ICE agents took him to a hospital, with his hands and feet shackled, during a snowstorm, wearing only a thin jumpsuit. Agents said they had run out of jackets. Doctors diagnosed him with Bell’s palsy, which causes sudden facial paralysis.
His lawyer, Heather Neufeld, said that as a stateless refugee from Nepal, Tenzin was not eligible for a travel document. His only way out of Nepal was through a fake passport from India to reach Canada from the U.S. border. When he sought asylum, border officials refused to interview Tenzin’s family. Neufeld successfully argued that the treatment of Tenzin at the Canadian border involved multiple procedural errors. He was released in February and reunited with his family in Toronto.
Gurbir Singh said he fled India after receiving death threats from police and tried to seek asylum in Canada on March 25, hoping to reunite with his family in Brampton. However, Canadian border officials did not believe he was Singh, despite documents and fingerprints matching records in the system. He was handed over to ICE and held at the Buffalo detention center before lawyer Simpson convinced Canadian officials of his identity. He was released and allowed into Canada in late April.
The Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA) said it could not comment on the cases of Appolon, Tenzin, and Singh due to privacy issues, but stressed that border officers process claims “objectively” and that claimants “understand their rights.” CBSA said refugees are responsible for proving they are eligible to enter Canada, and officers must be “satisfied” that “it is more likely than not that the family relationship exists.” A spokesperson said CBSA can review a refugee’s claim in “exceptional” cases. ICE did not respond to a request for comment.
