Interview for ‘Notes from the Field’: Jennifer Hyndman, by Rachel McNally

Interview with Jennifer Hyndman, by Rachel McNally We discussed the politics, practices, challenges, and ‘mutual citizenship’ goals of private refugee sponsorship in Canada as well as exciting research projects shedding new light on this Canadian model of resettlement. Jennifer Hyndman is the Director of the Centre for Refugee Studies at York University and a geographer who investigates how space and place impact the lives of refugees. Rachel McNally is a refugee sponsor and a Politics student who recently completed…

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Interview for ‘Notes from the Field’: Jona Zyfi, by Madelin Burt-D’Agnillo

Interview with Jona Zyfi, by Madelin Burt-D’Agnillo This multifaceted conversation covered considerable terrain; we focused on Jona`s commitment and research journey regarding “safe country of origin” policies, some challenges she’s encountered in the peer review process, and prioritizing self-care and mental health in student life. Jona Zyfi is a CARFMS executive member, working at Ryerson in a Senate Policy and Appeals Administrator position, and engaged in a number of research projects regarding private refugee sponsorship,…

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Interview for ‘Notes from the Field’: Shauna Labman, by Kate Motluk

Interview with Dr. Shauna Labman, February 23rd, 2018, by Kate Motluk Dr. Labman shared her thoughts on the role of interdisciplinary study, ‘layered legality’, and Canada’s legal obligation to refugees and asylum seekers.  Dr. Shauna Labman is a law professor at the University of Manitoba and an advocate for refugee protection. Kate Motluk works with the Refugee Sponsorship Support Program and was previously a program coordinator with Lifeline Syria.   Across the globe, forced migration is…

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Interview for ‘Notes from the Field’: Petra Molnar, by Alessia Avola

Notes from the Field CARFMS is excited to launch a new initiative called Notes from the Field. Each Note is based on a conversation between an undergraduate student finishing their degree or a postgraduate student starting off their degree, and a more established researcher in refugee and forced migration studies. While all Notes will be different, the unifying thread connecting them is a focus on recent developments in research, law, policy, and approaches within Canada…

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Financial Predators Take Advantage of Refugees by Dangling Federal Benefits, by Omar Khan

  Refugees are being taken advantage of by unscrupulous finance companies and salespeople who are using a family’s interest in their child’s education, combined with federal government letters of encouragement and federal benefits, to enroll refugees in savings programs with a high risk of financial loss.   Background Registered Education Savings Plans (RESPs) are incentive-based, tax-advantaged savings plans that people, traditionally parents, can use to save money for children’s post-secondary education (PSE). The funds become…

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Reforming Immigration Detention Now: Responding to the Canadian Border Services Agency (CBSA) Calls for Public Consultations, by Petra Molnar and Stephanie J. Silverman

August 22, 2017 The Canadian Border Services Agency (CBSA) is the immigration enforcement wing of the Government of Canada. As a result of ongoing efforts to reform Canadian immigration detention policies, in May 2017, CBSA released a call for public consultations. This call followed a series of stakeholder meetings in Ottawa, Montréal, Toronto, Regina, Edmonton, Winnipeg, and Vancouver, “[a]s part of the Government’s commitment to openness and transparency as well as to create a better,…

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Asserting Universal Human Rights to Decriminalize Migration, by James C. Simeon

“Man is born free, and everywhere he is in chains. One man thinks himself the master of others, but remains more of a slave than they are.” Jean-Jacques Rousseau, The Social Contract or Principles of Political Law [Du contrat social ou Principes du droit politique] (1762)   The Assault on the Universal Right of the Freedom of Movement Over the last three decades there has been an assault on our universal right to the freedom…

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The Illegalization of Maribel Trujillo-Diaz (2/2), by Stephanie J. Silverman

In this second of a two-part contribution, I discuss how Maribel’s case reflects tensions and fissures in immigration and refugee politics and law in the United States. I outline the political and legal contexts for her case. I also argue that the fact of Maribel’s deportation speaks to the power of the criminalization and illegalization of migrants paradigm currently dominating the United States. The first part described the case of Maribel Trujillo-Diaz. Maribel is a long-time…

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The Illegalization of Maribel Trujillo-Diaz (1/2), by Stephanie J. Silverman

In this first of a two-part contribution, I describe the case of Maribel Trujillo-Diaz. Maribel is a long-time resident of Fairfield, Ohio, United States. She is a worker in a local candy factory, and the married mother of four dependent American citizens. After cooperating fully with a series of escalating immigration enforcement requirements, Maribel was arrested in February, incarcerated in a detention centre, and slated for deportation on 19 April. In Part II, I will…

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What You Plant Now, You Will Harvest Later, by Amal Othman

I came to Canada in June, 2011 with my family as a refugee. The government sponsored us under the Government Assessment Refugee (GAR) program. We came from Syria, but I am originally from Somalia. First, when I came to Canada I did not speak English very well, I was in level one English. My first year in Canada, I faced a lot of obstacles such as language barriers, lack of Canadian experience and the culture…

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