Canada's Strong Border Act will hit Indian asylum-seekers

06-Jun-2025

.

The Canadian government introduced legislation aimed at curbing asylum claims and streamlining the immigration process while also cracking down on cross-border fentanyl trafficking. 

Last year, over 20,245 asylum claims were filed by international students. 

The countries with the most asylum claims filed by students were India and Nigeria, according to federal immigration data obtained by Global News.

A total of 171,850 claims were filed last year, according to federal data. 

Over 32,000 claims were filed by Indians. 

To safeguard the integrity of the asylum system, the Strong Borders Act stipulates that claims submitted more than a year after arriving in Canada (after June 24, 2020) will not be forwarded to the Immigration and Refugee Board (IRB).

This would apply to anyone, including students and temporary residents, regardless of whether they left the country and returned, the proposed bill stated.

Asylum claims from people who enter Canada from the United States along the land border between ports of entry and make a claim after 14 days would not be referred to the IRB, according to the bill.