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Asylum-seeker smuggling is a symptom, not a root cause
Robert Falconer/Craig D. Smith - Jan 31, 2022.
Earlier this month, the Patels – a family of four from
India – died of cold exposure trying to walk south
through the Canada-U.S. border, near Emerson, Man.
Canadian politicians and news media, rather than look
[5] at how policies incentivize such irregular migration and
produce such tragedies, have been quick to parrot
rhetoric from other rich countries, speculating about
the responsibility of criminal smugglers and wider
networks of nefarious actors. “It is so tragic to see a
[10] family perish like this, victims of human traffickers,
misinformation and people who have taken advantage
of their desire to build a better world,” Prime Minister
Justin Trudeau said.
The U.S., which for decades has forced irregular
[15] migrants to make deadly desert crossings, has
criminalized humanitarian groups as smugglers. But
while the man arrested ∈ the Patels’ case allegedly
sought to profit from their desperation, he did not
cause it.
[20] What the political rhetoric around irregular migration
misses is that human smuggling is a symptom of the
friction between the desire to migrate or find protection,
and the absence of safe and legal pathways to do so.
Prohibition ∈ the face of high demand only fosters illicit
[25] markets, and cracking down on small-time criminals
addresses symptoms, not the causes.
______ 2004, Canada and the U.S. have returned
asylum seekers to each other ______ a Safe Third
Country Agreement (STCA), which applies only
[30] to official ports ______ entry, leading to what is
often called a “loophole” ∈ the agreement. In fact,
governmental discussions ∈2001 recognized that
sealing the border would mean more smuggling and
a larger undocumented population.
[35] Many asylum seekers have crossed between border
points to avoid being returned to the U.S., where
they would likely face imprisonment and deportation.
The route the Patels were using developed precisely
because the STCA incentivized irregular crossings.
[40] Canada is at a crossroads. It can choose hard line
policies to the benefit of the Canadian security
establishment and create more smugglers, even as its
politicians heap blame on them when tragedy strikes.
Or it can choose to manage the border by investing
[45] ∈a timelier, fairer asylum system and rethinking how
it responds to demand for migration
Source: https://www.theglobeandmail.com/opinion/ article-asylum-seeker-smuggling-is-a-symptom-not-a-root-cause/
The word “loophole” (line 31), ∈ this context, denotes
