Fewer immigrants convicted of crimes are facing a loss of their permanent resident status, and the number of people being deported has dropped significantly since Ottawa passed the Faster Removals of Foreign Criminals Act in 2013.

While officials are unable to explain why, the number of permanent residents who have been sent to inadmissibility proceedings after being convicted of crimes has declined by almost one-third, from 1,149 in 2012 to 790 in 2013, and to 499 as of September 2014.

And according to the Canada Border Services Agency, the total number of people removed — including foreign nationals as well as immigrants and citizens stripped of their status — has been falling steadily, from 18,938 in 2012 to 15,473 in 2013.

As of Nov. 7, just 10,780 people had been deported in 2014. And of those, the agency’s data shows, only 963 were sent back to their home countries because of criminal behaviour, down from 1,206 in 2012 and 1,154 in 2013.

The new law tightens the criteria under which people ordered deported for reasons of criminality can appeal that decision. Under the current regime, individuals may file an appeal with the immigration appeal tribunal only if sentenced to less than six months’ imprisonment in Canada. Under the old rules, any sentence less than two years qualified.

Critics have complained the act was mislabeled, as it really tries to capture people who have been here a long time as permanent residents but haven’t acquired Canadian citizenship, and whose crimes may be minor convictions such as possession of marijuana plants.

Lawyers, academics and advocates contacted by the Star said they, too, are baffled by the drop in removals and cannot speculate on any potential link to the new legislation.

Manuel Rieaz Mohamed, 21, is among those long-time permanent residents trying to fight deportation under the new law.

Born in Guyana, Mohamed immigrated to Canada with his mother when he was 3. He was brought up by his grandparents after his mother remarried.

In October 2012, he was convicted of two counts of robbery and single counts of use of an imitation firearm, breaking and entering. He is now serving a jail sentence of three years and three months at the Joyceville penitentiary in Kingston.

“Manuel is not a bad guy. He is a very loving person and smiles a lot,” said his maternal grandmother, Hannah Harinanan, who has serious arthritis that has prevented her from working. “He just felt neglected and fell in with the wrong crowd.”

Harinanan said the family could barely make ends meet and did not have the money to apply for Canadian citizenship, which now costs $530, plus $100 for the right of citizenship fee for successful applicants.

Sol Gombinsky, the family’s lawyer, said his client’s case is not atypical under the new regime.

“We don’t condone criminal convictions, but Manuel does not deserve a life sentence. He’s serving a sentence in jail already for what he did,” said Gombinsky. “He came here as an infant and has lived all his life in Canada. He is a product of Canada. And they want to remove him to a place where he has no friends or family.”

Mohamed is not eligible to file an appeal and ask for clemency from the immigration appeal tribunal because his jail term is over the six-month threshold.

How the Faster Removals of Foreign Criminals Act works to quickly remove a person from Canada is to strip people in Mohamed’s situation of an opportunity for appeal, which now takes an average of 23.2 months to process.

According to government data, the number of appeals by permanent residents convicted of crimes and deemed inadmissible has dropped by a whopping 40 per cent, from 586 cases in 2012 to 350 last year, and to just 151 as of September this year.

Loading... Loading... Loading... Loading... Loading... Loading...

“The decision to remove someone from Canada is not taken lightly. The Immigration and Refugee Protection Act states that removal orders must be enforced as soon as possible,” said Line Guibert-Wolff, a spokesperson for Canada Border Services Agency. “The CBSA is firmly committed to doing so.”

Harinanan said her grandson has learned his lesson and deserves a second chance.

“I’m very scared. Manuel has nobody to go back to and Guyana is not a very nice and safe place,” she said. “Where is he going to go?”