“The Biggest Problem With You…”: Racial Profiling and Canada’s Program of Extra-Territorial Migrant Interdiction

In 2019, two Roma-Hungarian travellers were prevented from boarding their flight to Canada. Even though their documents were in order and their travel was legitimate, they were singled out for examination and extra scrutiny. This article—relying on new evidence produced in a series of legal proceedings—shows how Canada has implemented a de facto system of racial profiling in airports overseas. This program was not built overnight, but produced by a series of historical accretions, all organized around the idea that potential refugees can be detected by their race. This article shows how Canada, to deter asylum seekers, has conscripted private actors to screen out some migrants. In this study, we explain how this racial profiling regime operates and test its legality against international legal instruments. We argue that this law offends basic Canadian legal commitments and that the practice ought to end.