ImmigrantChildren.ca Archive

Category: Refugees

  • Women's Refugee Commission

    News: The Women’s Commission for Refugee Women and Children is changing their name to The Women’s Refugee Commission. 
    The Women’s Refugee Commission is a US-based advocacy organization that seeks to: “improve the lives and defend the rights of refugee women and children, including the internally displaced, returnees and asylum seekers” and works in:

    • Assessing and monitoring the situation of refugee women and children through research, field visits and consultation 
    • Identifying and documenting the widely overlooked problems and issues that affect refugee women and children
    • Developing and promoting policies and practices that will lead to real on-the-ground change by advocating to policy makers, key organizations, donors and the public to ensure their implementation.

    Source: Women’s Refugee Commission ‘About Us’.

  • Integration of vulnerable migrants: An IPPR event

    The Institute for Public Policy Research (UK) is hosting a seminar on the Integration of Vulnerable Migrant Groups. From the website, this description:

    “In recent years, there has been considerable interest in migrant integration and social cohesion. Concerns have focussed on the scale of recent immigration, its impacts on social cohesion, and apparently ‘inassimilable’ migrant and minority ethnic communities. Migrant integration and social cohesion have been accorded high priority across all parts and levels of Government. Policy initiatives have been accompanied by a growing body of research literature that provides new insights into immigrant integration and social cohesion. Yet there still remains a pressing need to ensure that research on migrant integration is used to inform policymaking”.

    The seminar will be held Nov 24/08 in London. IPPR often posts podcasts and transcripts of their events afterwards. 

    We are hopeful that immigrant/refugee children are recognized as among the most vulnerable of migrants and included in the discussion.

  • Microsoft is KIND to unaccompanied children

    Microsoft has launched KIND – Kids In Need of Defense – a funding program that will provide unaccompanied minor migrant children in the United States with legal support. $14.5 million is being shared among nine states in the US for the next three years. See the news story at The Seattle Times.

  • UNICEF news release on UK commitment to protecting rights of immigrant children

    UNICEF Applauds UK Commitment to Protecting Rights of Immigrant Children

    “NEW YORK, 22 September 2008 – UNICEF applauds the decision by the British government to grant children seeking asylum, migrant children, and those who have been trafficked into the UK the same rights as British children, including their right to education, health care and social services. The government also removed its reservation to article 37(c) on children in custody.
    “The move, made over the weekend, signals the government’s full commitment to supporting children’s rights as laid out in the U.N. Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC). The decision paves the way for vulnerable children who are subject to immigration control to enjoy the fundamental human rights spelled out in the Convention for every child, and to ensure that children who find themselves in trouble with the law are kept separate from adult prisoners”.

  • The Liberal Party immigration plan

    <An update for my blog visitors, Jan 24, 2010: From the stats, I see there are many visitors to the blog looking for the “Liberal party immigration plan”. I’ve been searching for some time now and even sent an email to the federal Liberal party last fall to inquire. I have had no response. Once I find it/get a response, I’ll be sure to update the blog here and on the main site (as well as through my twitter account)>.

    ~

    “Immigration: Welcoming New Canadians for a successful Canada”, the Liberals plan for immigration, was released today and is also referred to in our ELECTION ~ Fall ’08 page.
    The Liberals appear to be taking the same tact as the Conservatives. Maybe that’s why they didn’t vote against Bill C-50?  Seems to be agreement that Canada needs certain types of immigrants to meet Canada’s labour needs. Sound familiar?
    Also, no mention of the family reunification aspect of our immigration policy. Here’s what is said:

    “We need to reduce the current backlog, modernize our immigration system, and help new Canadians succeed once they are here. The result will be a stronger economy and a fairer country”.

    This indeed sounds familiar. Here’s what the Conservative government said about the changes to immigration policy embedded in Bill C-50 (which the Liberals did not vote against):

    “The changes aim to modernize Canada’s immigration system and shorten the time it takes to immigrate to Canada….The legislative amendments, combined with the 2008 budget funding, are necessary to better manage applications, to be more responsive to the labour market…”.

  • CCR questions for federal candidates

    The Canadian Council on Refugees has posted a fact sheet and series of questions for political parties and candidates on immigration and refugee issues for the upcoming 2008 federal election. Questions specifically related to children and families include the following: See the ELECTION ~ Fall ’08 page (to the right) for more questions for candidates and parties.

    TRAFFICKING: Will you support the Canadian Council for Refugees’ proposal for legislative amendment to protect trafficked persons in Canada?

    Background: Currently, immigration legislation provides no specific measures to protect trafficked persons.  This means that trafficked persons, after being abused and exploited by their traffickers, may be simply detained and deported by the Canadian authorities.  For example, this summer an 11-year-old girl, who was a suspected victim of trafficking, was detained for over a month by Canadian immigration authorities.
    The Canadian Council for Refugees has developed a proposal to amend the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act  in order to provide temporary and permanent protection to trafficked persons.

    REFUGEE RESETTLEMENT: Will you support an increase in the numbers of refugees resettled to Canada (including Iraqi refugees)?

    Background: The UN Refugee Agency has recently estimated the number of refugees in need of resettlement at 560,000, a huge increase over previous years.  The Iraqi crisis has led to two million refugees fleeing to neighbouring countries.  Canada has not responded in any significant way to this crisis, unlike similar situations in the past where Canada has responded with special resettlement efforts.
    Meanwhile Canada is resettling significantly fewer refugees today than we were in the 1990s (average annual in 90’s: 14,600; average annual 2000-2007: 10,600).
    For more information, see Iraqi refugee crisis: Call for increased Canadian response, Dec 2007.

    FAMILY REUNIFICATION: How will you make family reunification a priority and ensure that children are quickly reunited with their parents?

    Background: In recent years, the immigration program has been increasingly oriented towards economic immigration, at the expense of family reunification.  Refugee families in particular face extremely long processing times: in some visa posts, families routinely wait more than a year and a half for reunification – this includes children that are separated from both their parents.  There are also barriers: for example, separated children in Canada have no right in law to reunite with their parents.
    The CCR has developed a Manifesto on Family Reunification, calling for an immigration and refugee system that respects basic rights by favouring the speedy reunification of families. It calls in particular for the processing of family members of refugees, especially separated children, to be done in Canada.

  • Child Watch Column by Marian Wright Edelman (Children's Defense Fund)

    An excerpt of the Child Watch column of the Children’s Defense Fund, taken from the NAME listserv (National Association for Multicultural Education), posted Aug 22/08:

    Immigration Enforcement: Raiding Children’s Dreams

    “On May 12, 2008, teachers in Potsville, Iowa, interrupted their classes, called the names of some of their Latino students and directed them to report to the principal’s office. Usually, this would mean that they were in for punishment for some infraction. But these children had done nothing wrong. In the principal’s office, they were informed that one or in some cases, both of their parents would not be coming home because they had been taken into custody by federal law enforcement officers.

    “Earlier that day, hundreds of helmeted Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents in combat gear, toting assault rifles, swooped down on the Agriprocessors kosher meat processing plant in this town of about 3,000. With military precision, nearly 400 of the plant’s alleged undocumented immigrant workers were shackled and marched out of the slaughterhouse in single file and herded onto buses and vans. Those rounded up in the raid, one of the biggest in our nation’s history, were transported to detention facilities miles away. The raid not only economically devastated the town but also left in its trail hundreds of children wondering when or even if they would see their parents again. Postville was just one of a series of ICE raids in search of undocumented immigrants.

    “According to a report by the National Council of La Raza and the Urban Institute, “Paying the Price: The Impact of Immigration Raids on America’s Children,” there are about five million children in the United States with at least one undocumented parent. The stepped-up ICE raids have put the children of these families at increased risk of separation, psychological distress and economic hardship. These raids have disrupted communities across the country and separated thousands of parents from their children. The majority of these children are American citizens who are integrated into the schools and communities of the only country they know. After the arrest or disappearance of their parents, children have experienced psychological duress and developed mental health problems including feelings of abandonment, separation anxiety disorder, depression and post-traumatic stress disorder.

    “The ‘Paying the Price’ report states that the raids affect children, who are “emotionally, financially and developmentally dependent on their parents’ care, protection and earnings.” Children and other family members left behind face serious and immediate economic hardships when the primary breadwinner has been hauled off into custody. The majority of the children affected are under the age of 10~many are infants, toddlers, and preschoolers. Their immediate needs are for food, baby formula, diapers, clothing and other essentials. One of the great challenges for the communities where raids are carried out is to ensure that no child has been left behind in school, left at home without adult supervision or taken into foster care. Some children have been left in the care of teenagers or even babysitters for weeks and months at a time. Those who suffer the greatest harm in ICE raids are children. If our nation is to make any claim for humanity, children deserve to be protected and cared for when their parents are taken away.

    Related links: 

    The Children’s Defense Fund

    Paying the Price: The Impact of Immigration Raids on America’s Children. 

    The Right to Learn: Access to Public Education for Non-Status Immigrants (Community Social Planning Council of Toronto).

  • Council of Europe: "Refugees must be able to reunite with their family members"

    The Council of Europe (COE) has issued a statement on refugees and their right to family reunification. Citing the UN Convention Relating to the Status of Refugees, the COE says:

    “the respect of the right to family unity requires not only that States refrain from action which would split families, but also to take measures to reunite separated family members when they are unable to enjoy the right to family unity somewhere else”.

    Canada is a party to the Convention and to the Protocol Relating to the Status of Refugees.

  • Resources from BRYCS

    A few resources posted during a recent discussion on child care for refugee families from the BRYCS listserv. BRYCS is the US-based organization Bridging Refugee Youth and Children’s Services. 

    Enhancing Child Care for Refugee Self-Sufficiency: A Training Resource and Toolkit
    Family, Friend and Neighbor Child Care Providers in Recent Immigrant and Refugee Communities

  • UNHCR on the best interests of the child

    The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNCRC) have updated their 2006 Guidelines on Determining the Best Interests of the Child. From the announcement on the Child Rights Information Network (CRIN):

    The principle of the best interests of the child has been the subject of extensive consideration in academic, operational and other circles. Legal documents relating to the protection of children, including those adopted by UNHCRs Executive Committee on children of concern to the Office, systematically refer to it.

    How to apply this principle in practice, however, often remains challenging for UNHCR and its partners. Limited guidance is available on how to operationalise the best interests principle. UNHCR’s Guidelines on Determining the Best Interests of the Child are intended as one step to help fill this gap.