Overview
- Introduced June 3, the Strong Borders Act would bar asylum claims filed more than a year after arrival or later than 14 days after unofficial US crossings.
- The bill grants cabinet authority to suspend or cancel immigration documents on public health or security grounds and to share migrants’ personal information with provincial and territorial governments.
- Expanded law enforcement measures include new mail-search rights for police and greater Coast Guard duties to combat fentanyl trafficking and money laundering.
- Late claimants would bypass the Immigration and Refugee Board for lower-level pre-removal risk assessments, a change critics warn could undermine due process.
- Immigration Minister Lena Metlege Diab says built-in safeguards will protect civil rights and help clear a backlog of more than 280,000 pending cases.