Hospitality or Hostility? The Detention of Irregular Arrivals and Asylum-seekers in Canada as explained by the Hostile Environment Framework

Abstract

Between April 2019 and March 2020, Canada detained 8,825 immigrants. This evidence runs contrary to the image of Canada as a migration haven. In the context of rising anti-immigrant policies in the Global North, Canada has emerged as an outlier in the treatment of immigrants, and of refugees, consistently resettling the highest number of all receiving states. However, the detention of irregular migrants and asylum-seekers hints at a very different reality, one in which Canada institutes policies that are averse to unwanted migrants. Employing a theory-building process tracing method, this thesis proposes a hostile environment framework to comprehend why Canada simultaneously maintains a positive image in migration matters, whilst constructing a highly controlled and punitive immigration regime.