How asylum seekers and resettled refugees come to Canada

A recent CBC survey suggeststhat the majority of Canadians are against accepting more refugees, a result coming just weeks after a UN report foundCanada is the global leader in refugee resettlement.

The United Nations Refugee Agency's report found that Canada admitted the largest number of refugees globally who were resettled last year and had the second highest rate of refugees who gained citizenship.

About 18,000 refugees became Canadian citizens last year, an increase from2017when just over 10,000 refugees were naturalized.

The CBC commissionedsurvey by Public Square Research and Maru/Blue, whichpolled 4,500 adults online from among those who registered with the Maru Voice panel, found that 57per cent did not agree with the statement that Canada should be accepting more refugees.

These attitudes come as individuals crossing Canada's borderoutside of the official ports of entry becomea source ofsignificant political debate.

This month-by-month chart showshow RCMP interceptions of irregular crossers spiked in Aug. 2017, after U.S President Donald Trump removed special protection fornationalsfrom several countries.

According to Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC), in 2014, there werejust under 12,000 asylum claims.Of those, just over 7,000 were accepted, while more than 4,500 were rejected, withdrawn or abandoned.

As the following graph shows,asylum claims have been steadily climbingover the past few years. In 2018, there were nearly 27,000 asylum claims.Of those, almost 15,000 were accepted, while just over 12,000 were either rejected, withdrawn or abandoned.

There may also be some confusion around the differences between asylum claimants and resettled refugees. Asylum seekers make a refugee claim in Canada, either at an official port of entry or at an in-land office.

The charts below showthe separateprocesses asylum seekers and resettled refugees go through to enter Canada. Both groups come to the countrythrough different immigration streams.

Asylum eligibilityis based on a number of factors, includingwhether the claimant has committed a serious crime ormade a previous claim in Canada.

Meanwhile, resettled refugees are either government orcommunity sponsored. They arescreened abroad and have undergonesecurity and medical checks beforebeing issued a visa to come to Canada. When they land in Canada, they becomepermanent residents.

Asylum seekers, whose claims are determined eligible, will get a hearing at the Immigration and Refugee Board of Canada. If successful, the claimant will receive "protected person status with the full spectrum of federally funded settlement services becoming available to them," according to the IRCC website.

If unsuccessful, they may be able toappeal, but when all appeal avenues are exhausted, "the conditional removal order that was issued at the time the refugee claim was initially made becomes enforceable." In other words, deportation proceedings begin.

Commissioned by CBC News, the Public Square Research and Maru/Blue online survey was conducted between May 31 and June 10, 2019, interviewing 4,500 eligible voters. Respondentsforthis survey were selected from among those who have registered to participate in theMaruVoice panel. The data have been weighted to reflect thedemographic composition of Canada, according to Statistics Canada. Because the sample isbased on those who initially self-selected for participation in theMaruVoice panel rather than a probability sample, no estimates of sampling error can be calculated. However, a comparable probabilistic national sample of 3,000 voters wouldhave a margin of error of +/- 1.8percentage points, 19 times out of 20, while samples of 500 voters have a margin of error of +/- 4.4 percentage points, 19 times out of 20.