More than 64,000 spouses, common-law partners, and conjugal partners were sponsored for Canadian immigration in 2021. Of these, most came from India. Last year, Canadians sponsored about 10,715 loved ones from India, according to data from Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC). The second most popular source country was the US, where nearly 4,810 spouses and partners immigrated from. Here are the top 10 source countries of new immigrants through the Spousal and Common-law Sponsorship program for 2021. ReSponsoring Spouses for Canadian ImmigrationCanadian citizens and permanent residents can sponsor their spouses, common-law partners, and conjugal partners for Canadian immigration.
Spouses need to be married to their sponsor in an in-person ceremony. Virtual marriages are not recognized for the purposes of immigration. Common-law partners need to demonstrate that they have lived together for at least 12 months. Conjugal partners are living outside Canada and have been in a relationship for at least one year. They need to demonstrate that there are legal or social barriers preventing them from getting married or living together. You cannot sponsor a conjugal partner who is living in Canada. Both sponsors and their partners must meet some basic eligibility criteria. The sponsor needs to be at least 18 years old, have Canadian citizenship, permanent residency, or Indian status (under the Indian Act). Sponsors also must prove they are not receiving social assistance, and be able to financially support the family. Canadian citizens can apply to sponsor their spouse from outside Canada, but must demonstrate an intent to return once IRCC makes a decision on their file. Permanent residents must sponsor their spouses from inside Canada. There are also a number of circumstances that could make one ineligible for sponsorship, such as not being discharged for bankruptcy. Democrats running for reelection in the midterms are intensifying their fight against the Biden administration's decision to roll back a Trump-era immigration rule, going directly to the border and signing onto legislation that would block the Biden administration's actions in an escalation that could leave the party splintered on the issue before the midterms. While immigration advocates celebrated the decision to reverse Title 42, many moderate Democrats have sounded the alarm warning that lifting the policy without an adequate plan in place will lead to a rapid influx of migrants at the Southern border, something that Republicans will be quick to seize on the campaign trail. This week alone, two vulnerable Democrats Sen. Maggie Hassan of New Hampshire and Mark Kelly of Arizona toured or plan to tour the southern border, meeting with customs and border officials to get information on the ground about how Title 42 will impact communities there and show voters that they aren't running in lockstep with Biden. While both Hassan and Kelly have taken previous trips to the border, the visits come as concerns about the end of Title 42 have reached a fever pitch.
Hassan, who serves on the Senate Homeland Security Committee, visited a centralized processing center in McAllen, Texas, as well as a port of entry and the area along the border in Nogales, Arizona, over the weekend. Kelly plans to visit Douglas port of entry in Arizona on Wednesday where he will also meet with local officials about the impact Title 42 could have. For Hassan, the trip only crystallized her worries over the Biden administration's immigration move. "My trip to the southern border reinforced my concerns about the administration preemptively ending Title 42. Border agents were very clear with me that the end of Title 42 will lead to a steep increase of attempted crossings that they will not be able to effectively handle because they don't have enough resources," Hassan told CNN in a statement. "In particular, border agents told me that they need additional personnel, physical barriers, and technology at the border to stop unlawful crossings, which is especially important because they expect that smugglers will try to take advantage of the increase in attempted crossings." The memo is the latest effort on the part of the Biden administration’s push to reshape the role of immigration enforcement in the US. The Biden administration issued a memo to ICE prosecutors on Monday authorizing them to consider dismissing certain cases involving immigrants who did not cross the border recently and are not public safety threats , according to a document obtained by BuzzFeed News.
The memo is the latest effort on the part of the Biden administration’s push to reshape the role of immigration enforcement in the US by focusing on what they consider more serious targets. Unlike the Trump administration, which treated every undocumented immigrant as a priority for arrest and removal, President Joe Biden wants to target immigrants who are deemed “public safety” threats. Conservative critics have said officers have been hamstrung and effectively told not to do their jobs. |