Ottawa Rejects US Senators’ Security Concerns Over Gazan Refugees Crossing Canada–US Border

The American and Canadian flags fly at the Ambassador Bridge border crossing in Windsor, Ont., Canada, on Feb. 9, 2022. Geoff Robins/AFP via Getty Images

Ottawa is refuting concerns expressed by a group of U.S. senators about Gaza refugees crossing the Canadian-U.S. border into the United States.

Several Republican senators sent a letter to U.S. Department of Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas expressing their concern over the security of the country’s border with Canada.

“Canada allowing Gazan refugees with potential terrorist ties into their country poses a national security threat to the U.S. northern border,” Sen. Rubio, one of the signatories, said in a July 24 post on the platform X.

Beside Sen. Rubio, the letter was signed by Sens. Ted Cruz, Tom Cotton, Mike Braun, Joni Ernst, and Josh Hawley.

In the letter, the senators say they are concerned about documents given to the refugees, including a temporary resident visa (TRV) and a “Refugee Travel Document,” which the letter says “replaces their origin-country passport while they apply for Canadian citizenship and wait to receive a Canadian passport.” They said the refugee travel document serves as a piece of identification that allows refugees to travel outside of Canada.

“The Refugee Travel Document becomes a valid form of identification, which is recognized in 146 countries for the purposes of filling out paperwork and applying for visas. For example, the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) accepts a Refugee Travel Document as a valid form of documentation for traveling purposes in place of a passport,” the senators wrote.

“It would be irresponsible for the U.S. to not take necessary heightened precautions when foreigners attempt to enter the United States.”

The senators said U.S. Customs and Border Protection’s Office of Field Operations has encountered more than 233 suspected terrorists at the Canada–U.S. border so far in fiscal year 2024, a number they said is “already higher than totals in previous years.”

‘Legitimate Refugees’

A spokesperson from Immigration Minister Marc Miller’s office says the senators are wrong about the refugee travel document.

“It is categorically false to suggest that these special measures provide applicants with a Refugee Travel Document to replace their origin-country passport,” the spokesperson said in an email to The Epoch Times.

“Canada only issues Refugee Travel Documents to individuals who have been found to be legitimate refugees through a separate assessment process.”

Successful applicants are given a TRV or a temporary resident permit—something that is only valid for travel to Canada, not the United States, the spokesperson said.

According to the minister’s office, since Oct. 8, 2023, 609 TRVs have been approved for Palestinians outside of Gaza, in addition to the government’s special measures, which have approved 434 Gazans to come to Canada. These individuals left Gaza on their own with TRV applications in progress, and their applications were approved and their entry into Canada was approved after they submitted biometrics, the spokesperson said.

“Records to date show that 189 people have arrived in Canada under the temporary special measures public policy,” the spokesperson told The Epoch Times.

“Let us be clear: the safety of Canadians is paramount. All individuals who submit an application to come to Canada are subject to eligibility and admissibility requirements. IRCC [Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada] screens all applications from all over the world for admissibility in order to maintain the security and safety of Canadians.”

According to the immigration department’s email, travellers who may be a risk are screened by immigration officials along with members of the Canada Border Services Agency, the RCMP, the Canadian Security Intelligence Service, and the United States.