Anti-queer Violence in the US
Jun. 19th, 2022 05:14 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
stormdogLeftist pro-gun groups in the USA are sharing memes that suggest that parents of queer youth in the USA be armed and ready to kill people wearing body armor. The increasing validity of such sentiments is a primary reason that I will not return to live in the US for the foreseeable future. (Another primary one is the dumpster fire that is the US healthcare system, but I digress...)
I've wondered for some time whether queer folks might start seeking political asylum in Canada for fear of their lives so I spent a little time reading about the process last night. An agreement called the Safe Third Country Agreement (https://www.unhcr.org/uk/5952a3c54.pdf) makes most people who arrive in Canada via the land border with the US ineligible for asylum claims. However, it may not apply if you arrive via air or sea.
Canada's explanation of this agreement is that it requires that asylum claimants "seek protection in the first safe country that they enter (i.e., either Canada or the U.S.)".
https://www.publicsafety.gc.ca/cnt/trnsprnc/brfng-mtrls/prlmntry-bndrs/20200621/028/index-en.aspx
While that may be the *intent*, It seems like it may not take into account the situation for people for whom the US is *not* a safe country. I've also seen the agreement "explained" in different ways in different places. For instance, this site https://www.canada.ca/en/immigration-refugees-citizenship/corporate/mandate/policies-operational-instructions-agreements/agreements/safe-third-country-agreement.html#toc1 says that the agreement does not apply to US citizens, though other sites do not say that.
Does anyone I know know what might happen in a case where a queer person requests asylum in Canada due to ongoing anti-queer violence and fear of death?
I've wondered for some time whether queer folks might start seeking political asylum in Canada for fear of their lives so I spent a little time reading about the process last night. An agreement called the Safe Third Country Agreement (https://www.unhcr.org/uk/5952a3c54.pdf) makes most people who arrive in Canada via the land border with the US ineligible for asylum claims. However, it may not apply if you arrive via air or sea.
Canada's explanation of this agreement is that it requires that asylum claimants "seek protection in the first safe country that they enter (i.e., either Canada or the U.S.)".
https://www.publicsafety.gc.ca/cnt/trnsprnc/brfng-mtrls/prlmntry-bndrs/20200621/028/index-en.aspx
While that may be the *intent*, It seems like it may not take into account the situation for people for whom the US is *not* a safe country. I've also seen the agreement "explained" in different ways in different places. For instance, this site https://www.canada.ca/en/immigration-refugees-citizenship/corporate/mandate/policies-operational-instructions-agreements/agreements/safe-third-country-agreement.html#toc1 says that the agreement does not apply to US citizens, though other sites do not say that.
Does anyone I know know what might happen in a case where a queer person requests asylum in Canada due to ongoing anti-queer violence and fear of death?
no subject
Date: 2022-06-19 11:35 pm (UTC)