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Supreme Court to rule on migrant detainees’ rights to challenge incarceration

The case centres on a Pakistani man, Tusif Ur Rehman Chhina
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A family from Haiti approach a tent in Saint-Bernard-de-Lacolle, Quebec, stationed by Royal Canadian Mounted Police, as they haul their luggage down Roxham Road in Champlain, N.Y., on August 7, 2017. THE CANADIAN PRESS/AP, Charles Krupa

The Supreme Court is to rule today on whether immigration detainees have the right to challenge their detentions in person before judges.

Migrants who do not hold Canadian citizenship can now only challenge their detentions through an immigration tribunal, whose decisions are subject to only limited judicial review.

The case centres on a Pakistani man, Tusif Ur Rehman Chhina, who was granted refugee protection in Canada in 2006, but was later detained after authorities learned he had a criminal record.

He failed in 12 attempts to the Immigration and Review Board to be released and was eventually deported to Pakistan, but his lawyers have continued to pursue the case.

The federal government argued that extending the right to direct hearings before judges to migrant detainees would create uncertainty in the legal processes involving these decisions.

The Justice Department has argued that the current system offers a comprehensive and expert process by an independent, quasi-judicial board that provides a meaningful review.

READ MORE: Refugee changes will hurt women asylum seekers, women’s organizations say

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The Canadian Press


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