Non-citizen criminals can now postpone deportation hearings with appeal
Effective June 1, the Immigration and Refugee Board guidelines expand when convicted foreign nationals can delay admissibility hearings.
Author: Alex Dhaliwal
Foreign nationals convicted of serious crimes may be able to postpone deportation hearings while appealing their convictions under new guidelines from the head of Canada’s immigration tribunal.
Effective June 1, the Immigration and Refugee Board (IRB) guidelines expand when convicted foreign nationals can delay admissibility hearings that precede deportation, drawing pushback from federal Conservatives.
Immigration critic Michelle Rempel Garner is calling for tougher deportation rules and limits on judges considering immigration status or deportation impacts at sentencing.
She said allowing criminals to avoid deportation is “a massive problem that could now become worse,” arguing the Liberals should enforce “one law for all” and deport non-citizens when required rather than enabling delays.
Rempel Garner said Immigration Minister Lena Metlege Diab should direct the IRB to enforce existing laws and “deport non-citizens convicted of serious crimes in Canada.”
Under Canadian law, foreign nationals convicted of serious crimes, including offences punishable by at least 10 years in prison, are subject to deportation, including cases involving organized crime.
Last fall, Conservatives proposed amending Section 718.202 of the Criminal Code to bar judges from considering a non-citizen’s immigration status in sentencing, but the effort was unsuccessful, with the party arguing it would end “two-tier justice.”
They cite a 2013 Supreme Court ruling that allows immigration consequences to be considered in sentencing and point to recent cases where offenders received lighter penalties they say were influenced by immigration status.
On Friday, Conservative leader Pierre Poilievre told ethnic media that even first-time offenders should receive mandatory prison sentences.
“I don’t care,” he said about a first offence. “They should get mandatory 10-year prison sentences… and I bet a lot of them [foreigners] will be too frightened to actually commit [crimes] in the first place.”
In 2025, only 934 foreign nationals were deported from Canada for criminal inadmissibility, with 260 more in the first quarter of this year, according to Canada Border Services Agency data. Another 132 were deported for transborder criminality last year (21 more in early 2026), and 98 for organized crime (18 so far this year).
Before the CBSA can deport a foreign national convicted of a serious crime, an Immigration Division hearing must first determine admissibility, with the Public Safety Minister represented.
Current Immigration and Refugee Board (IRB) guidance allows hearings to be rescheduled only in “exceptional circumstances,” while new guidelines require decision-makers to weigh several factors when considering requests to delay admissibility hearings during a criminal appeal.
These include whether an appeal has been filed and is expected to conclude soon, whether it could make the hearing unnecessary, potential prejudice to either party, and whether a delay would be unreasonable.
Poilievre, rejecting the new guidance, said criminals with temporary status in Canada “should immediately and automatically be deported without exception and without delay,” urging the federal government to direct the IRB accordingly.
“If the IRB won’t do it, then the members of the IRB should be fired and replaced with people who will enforce our laws and kick the criminals out,” he said.
In a statement to the Globe and Mail, the IRB said the revised guideline clarifies how members handle rescheduling requests, supporting “fairness, efficiency, transparency, and consistency” by outlining the factors considered in decisions.
“This provision has been added in the new Chairperson’s guideline to promote consistent consideration of such applications, in line with current Federal Court jurisprudence, which Board members are required to follow,” it added.
The statement clarified that CBSA can arrest and detain applicants deemed a public danger. CBSA and IRCC declined to comment.