Photo credit: Toronto Star
Canada Border Services Agency has launched a mobile app to track permanent residents, foreign nationals and refugee claimants who are required to report to border agents while awaiting deportations or final decisions on their immigration status in Canada.
Toronto Star reports that the ReportIn app, uses facial recognition technology and location data to confirm identity and the person’s whereabouts. It is meant to be an alternative to detention, allowing people subject to immigration enforcement conditions to report to authorities without attending a Canada Border Services Agency office in person.
Although the app is intended to be a reporting tool, experts have warned that it has the potential to facilitate surveillance and removal.
Rebecca Purdy a spokesperson for the agency said, “An individual’s location will be shared with the CBSA when the individual submits a report, and if an individual fails to comply with tier reporting condition, an investigation is opened.
“ReportIn does not continuously track their movements through their phones as a means of ongoing surveillance.”
An Immigration lawyer who monitors the use of technologies in immigration, Will Tao said, “This tool is going to be scaled up (and) allow for larger numbers. That’s going to be part of the plan of removing temporary residents” with expired status.
