Dear Readers, Human Rights Watch has worked tirelessly over the past few years to bring change for migrant and refugee groups across the United States and Canada. Change is sometimes immediate, sometimes incremental. We work on issues for years and know from experience how to transform deep-rooted problems. Here are some examples of some of the recent impact we have made, together with our partners and supporters, to advance human rights in the US and Canada: British Columbia to End
Immigration Detention in JailsIn a historic move, British Columbia’s Minister of Public Safety and Solicitor General, Mike Farnworth, announced yesterday that the province will terminate its immigration detention contract with the Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA). The contract has allowed the CBSA to unjustly incarcerate hundreds of immigration detainees in British Columbia’s jails over the past five years, violating their rights. Human Rights Watch–along with partner organizations–helped lead the charge against this contract: actively documenting cases of abuse in Canadian immigration detention facilities, testifying alongside former asylum seekers who had been incarcerated, and pressuring British Columbia’s government to terminate the contract through our #WelcometoCanada campaign. While this announcement marks an incredible victory for human rights, HRW is just getting started. Our #WelcomeToCanada campaign–which began in British Columbia in October 2021–has since expanded to Quebec and Nova Scotia. We will continue our tireless grassroots work until every province in Canada stops incarcerating immigration detainees in provincial jails.
Victory for Asylum Seekers
in US Supreme CourtThe United States Supreme Court ruled on June 30 that President Joe Biden can end the Migrant Protection Protocols, known as the “Remain in Mexico” program. While this constitutes an important victory for the right to seek asylum in the US, there’s more work to be done. Asylum seekers at the US-Mexico border are still being expelled under a broad, spurious public health policy called Title 42, without their claims for protection being considered. We will continue to demand that the Biden Administration end Title 42 expulsions and invest in humane and rights-respecting border programs.
Some Important Reforms at the US BorderIn recent years, US Customs and Border Protection (CBP) officials have been implicated in sexual assault, physical violence, verbal abuse, and dehumanizing treatment of asylum seekers. But thanks in part to Human Rights Watch’s advocacy, there will soon be more opportunities to hold them accountable for their actions. According to a CBP official, our work put the agency under pressure and pushed Congress to call for greater accountability. While it’s an important start, greater accountability isn’t enough. We will continue to fight for an end to the dehumanizing treatment of asylum seekers.
Temporary Protected Status for Cameroonians in the United StatesAfter publishing a groundbreaking report that documented how Cameroonian asylum seekers were persecuted after being deported from the United States, and following months of joint advocacy with partner organizations, the US government in April 2022 designated Cameroonians for Temporary Protected Status (TPS) in the United States. | 
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