CCR Resolutions Database

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  • Res.: 16
    Whereas:

    There are a number of refugee claims based on sexual orientation being rejected by the Immigration and Refugee Board for reasons that indicate prejudice at worst and a lack of knowledge at best;

    Therefore be it resolved:

    That the CCR strongly urge the Immigration and Refugee Board to develop and adopt Guidelines for determination of claims of persecution on the basis of sexual orientation and provide on-going education on the Guidelines and on combatting homophobia to members, refugee hearings officers and interpreters.

  • Res.: 18
    Whereas:
    1. The combination of eligibility criteria for overseas refugee processing confirming the person is either a Convention Refugee or a member of a Designated Class and the admissibility criteria based on immigration criteria is a contradiction of the humanitarian and protection focus of the refugee programme;
    2. The combination of the eligibility and admissibility criteria, named above, causes the particular exclusion of women, who suffer from a gender bias in any test based on economic achievement. Sociologist Monica Boyd writes of the triple disadvantage immigrant women face in the job market - gender, nationality and race - which is further compounded by the refugee experience;
    3. The Adjustment Assistance Programme is a source of immigration funds available to support government and jointly sponsored refugees. Refugee levels take into account the budget requirements. Until most recently AAP funds were used to assist indigent immigrants, whose cases and the policy for selection is the responsibility of the immigration (not refugee) section, thereby negatively impacting on the fact that Canada has repeatedly fallen short in its overseas government-assisted refugee resettlement levels;
    4. Refugees in need of protection processed for entry to Canada are frequently denied a transportation loan based on a projection of "inability to repay the loan". The transportation loan system must be administered consistent with the policy objectives of the refugee programme i.e. protection;
    5. The issue of the separation of refugee humanitarian programmes and budget is listed as the fifth of five major topics to be referred to the broad consultations on immigration;
    Therefore be it resolved:

    That the CCR Executive communicate with the Minister and Department of Citizenship and Immigration recommending that the refugee programmes, policy and budget, including Adjustment Assistance Programme and the Transportation Loan be separated from the immigration programmes, policy and budget. This process should be undertaken in conjunction with stakeholders, such as CCR, Sponsorship Agreement holders, community groups, refugees and settlement agencies. The discussions should include recommendations on the placement of Family Class, immigration levels, levels of special needs cases and programming needs.

  • Res.: 26
    Whereas:
    1. Genocide is going on in various parts of the world by the governments, armies, paramilitary and civil forces;
    2. Refugees are victims and survivors of and witnesses to genocides;
    3. The present international legal mechanisms cannot adequately address the widespread perpetration of genocide today, notably as it affects girls and women, by means of rape in war;
    4. The United Nations has recently begun to discuss the failure of international mechanisms to respond adequately to the crime of genocide;
    Therefore be it resolved:
    1. That the CCR call upon the government of Canada, in international fora:
    2. To address the inadequacy of international mechanisms to respond adequately to the crime of genocide;
    3. To ask for a review of the Genocide Convention;
    4. To provide new funding to the United Nations Human Rights Centre for international human rights mechanisms because these are seriously underfunded.
  • Res.: 1
    Whereas:
    1. Certain clients will not be accessing the services they need if they are aware that information about them will be transmitted to the government;
    2. NGOs' integrity cannot be comprised by supplying confidential information to the government;
    3. NGOs are not satisfied that SMIS has taken into consideration the operational implications or workload on them, nor are they convinced of the accuracy and therefore usefulness of the performance indicators;
    4. Citizenship and Immigration Minister Marchi announced the creation of a National Working Group to reach a compromise agreement on outstanding issues that will be mutually acceptable to the NGO community and the Government;
    Therefore be it resolved:

    That the CCR urge: 

    1. That a moratorium be placed on the implementation and piloting of the SMIS until such time as a mutually acceptable agreement is reached by the National Working Group;
    2. That the National Working Group be comprised of:
      1. one provincial representative nominated by each of AMSSA, AAISA, SAISA, MICA, OCASI, and one for the Atlantic Region;
      2. an Information Technology Expert, nominated by the CCR;
      3. a legal expert on privacy, nominated by the CCR;
      4. an expert on programme evaluation, nominated by the CCR;
      5. a refugee client of a CCR member agency;
      6. an immigrant client of a CCR member agency;
      7. government staff including Settlement and Integration Policy, Research and Settlement Operations;
    3. That the National Working Group be co-chaired by an NGO and a government representative;
    4. That the agreements reached by the National Working Group be implemented in a timely fashion;
    5. That the NGO representatives keep the refugee and immigrant services organizations fully informed of the progress and seek their input including but not limited to the following issues:
      1. client confidentiality
      2. who has access to the reports produced
      3. a review of the mandatory information required
      4. what clients and programmes can be exempt from the SMIS reports
      5. the use and the meaningfulness of the performance indicators
      6. what kind of reports will be generated and how will they be used
      7. the security of the data
      8. what process will be used to ensure that planning will be collaborative;
    6. That sufficient funding be made available to the NGO representatives for:
      1. travel
      2. consultation
      3. telephone and fax
      4. expert advice
      5. honoraria for refugee and immigrant client representatives.
  • Res.: 31
    Whereas:
    1. The Canadian Government has encouraged greater self-sufficiency of refugee claimants by authorizing work permits
    2. The Canadian Government has extended the residency period of many thousands of refugee claimants through new "interim measures";
    Therefore be it resolved:

    That the CCR:

    1. Ask the Minister of Citizenship and Immigration to instruct his department to grant work permits to refused refugee claimants eligible for the "interim measures" programme;
    2. Urge the Canadian Government to use its best efforts to ensure basic health care for refugee claimants awaiting processing through the "interim measures" programme;
    3. Urge the Minister to impose a moratorium on removals of all failed refugee claimants pending the outcome of the "interim measures programme".
  • Res.: 6
    Whereas:
    1. Ministries of Education and Boards of Education across Canada are developing and implementing policies of Race Relations and Ethno-cultural Equity;
    2. Anti-racism education is most effective when it involves participants in a process that addresses attitudinal change;
    3. Member groups of CCR have grassroots, community experience, as well as an analysis from international experience, in the meaning and effects of racism;
    Therefore be it resolved:
    That the CCR communicate with the Ministries of Education with a list of CCR member groups and the recommendation that Boards of Education be encouraged to communicate with these groups as sources of local resource people for teacher workshops, classroom presentations and representation on policy-shaping committees at the Board level.
  • Res.: 36
    Whereas:
    The education of the Canadian public and promotion of rights and concerns relating to refugees are vitally important matters to those concerned with the plight of refugees;
    Therefore be it resolved:

    That the CCR:

    1. Adopt the week in which April 4 falls each year as Refugee Awareness Week and April 4 as Refugee Rights Day;
    2. Recommend to its members the organization of programmes to promote greater understanding of the plight of refugees at this time each year.
  • Res.: 11
    Whereas:
    1. Settlement workers provide essential services in providing support during transition and adaptation of immigrants and refugees;
    2. Settlement workers have immense linguistic, cultural and crosscultural skills that are in demand by both the host community and immigrants and refugees;
    3. The majority of settlement workers are immigrants, visible minorities and women;
    4. Two of the four priority groups as identified by the federal government's employment equity plan are visible minorities and women;
    5. The ISAP contracts provided by the Department of Immigration to settlement agencies refuse to acknowledge and/or provide funding for any benefits except those mandated by law (i.e. CPP and UIC);
    6. Settlement agencies are independent and should not be subject to government wage freezes;
    Therefore be it resolved:

    That the CCR write to the Minister of Citizenship and Immigration urging him to fully recognize Settlement Worker skills by providing funds to allow settlement agencies to implement an adequate salary structure and benefit package including health and retirement plans.

  • Res.: 16
    Whereas:
    1. The UNHCR estimates that 80% of the world's refugees are women and their dependants;
    2. Women refugees comprise a high proportion of the refugee camp populations;
    3. As a result of the gender consultations the need for gender proportionality in Canada's resettlement activities and the possibility of establishing targets for 1995 has been recognized and referred as a major topic to the broad consultation on immigration;
    4. Between 1985 and 1991 women comprised only 23% of the principal applicants of the refugees landed in Canada;
    5. Women refugees face various obstacles throughout the process of overseas selection, admission and integration in Canada. The strong emphasis on immigration criteria uses inappropriate measurement tools to assess a woman's ability to successfully establish in Canada;
    Therefore be it resolved:

    That the CCR communicate with the Minister of Citizenship and Immigration recommending:

    1. An action plan for the next five years (1995-2000) be developed by government and NGO representatives to enable the enactment of gender quotas of a minimum of 50% women as principal applicants by the year 1997. The development of this action plan should be developed in conjunction with stakeholders;
    2. A minimum level be set for the Women at Risk Programme, effective immediately. This level would include CR1 and CR5 Women at Risk and would access the 20% of the 1994 AAP monies originally destined for indigent immigrants.
  • Res.: 21
    Whereas:
    1. The collapse of the Communist regime in Afghanistan did not bring a lasting solution to that country, as was proposed in the UN peace plan that was never implemented, but rather precipitated a more brutal war between rival extremist warlords resulting in heavy civilian casualties, thousands more internally displaced, a new wave of over 100,000 refugees on the Pakistani border and a severe escalation of human rights abuses (as reported in the most recent 1994 publication of Amnesty International);
    2. The UN repatriation programme for Afghan refugees has become an international embarrassment and a gross failure;
    3. Recent UNHCR reports run contrary to the findings of human rights organizations such as Amnesty International and the Report of the UN Special Rapporteur on Afghanistan and inappropriately suggest that Afghans are not in need of resettlement abroad;
    4. Afghan refugees constitute the largest refugee population in the world, but Canadian government sponsorship of Afghans had come to a halt until the recent agreement mentioned below, and the rejection rate for private sponsorship is over 90%;
    5. The Minister of Citizenship and Immigration recently negotiated a joint resettlement agreement signed by Sergio Marchi and Mr Aziz Bhaloo, President of the Ismaili Council of Canada and FOCUS Humanitarian Assistance Canada;
    6. The CCR has raised concerns over Afghan refugees in conversations with the Immigration Department numerous times without any results;
    Therefore be it resolved:

    That the CCR:

    1. Call on the government of Canada to:
      1. In addition to the Ismaili joint resettlement agreement, open the doors for all Afghan refugees, especially women and children who comprise the majority;
      2. Conduct a review of all rejected Afghan refugee sponsorship cases;
      3. Support the UN initiative to end the Afghan conflict through a negotiated settlement;
      4. Discourage neighbouring countries from arming the warring factions;
      5. Call on the UNHCR to provide more accurate information on the situation in Afghanistan;
    2. Write a letter to the government of Canada expressing the following concerns about the new joint resettlement agreement between the government of Canada and the Ismaili Council of Canada and Focus Humanitarian Assistance Canada:
      1. We are concerned that the 500 places per year for Ismailis in Pakistan are part of the current quota for government-assisted refugees for the Middle East, not in addition to that quota. Because of this, there will be fewer places available for Iranians, Iraqis, and other Afghans;
      2. This agreement seems to set a dangerous precedent for off-loading the government's obligation for resettling refugees onto ethnic groups or other private sponsors;
      3. While resettlement of Afghan refugees is welcome, we are concerned about the predetermined selection of refugees based on religious affiliation in a region where many refugees of varying religious affiliations are in need of resettlement;
      4. We urge the government either to treat these 500 refugees as privately sponsored refugees or to expand the regional quota in order to respond to the needs of refugees of all religious affiliations.
  • Res.: 24
    Whereas:
    1. The government of Iran has struck two separate extradition treaties with the governments of Turkey and Pakistan;
    2. Pakistan and Turkey are so-called "first countries of asylum" for refugees fleeing from Iran;
    3. It was reported widely and confirmed by Amnesty International that in return for 14 alleged Kurdish political activists extradited to Turkey, the government of Turkey has extradited at least on one occasion 6 UNHCR refugees to Iran;
    Therefore be it resolved:

    That the CCR demand that the Canadian government:

    1. Pressure the Turkish and Pakistani governments to adhere to the principle of non-refoulement (article 33 of the Geneva Convention);
    2. Condemn the violation of human rights by the governments of Iran, Turkey and Pakistan and pursue the prevention of the improper use of the extradition treaties by the signatories.
  • Res.: 29
    Whereas:
    1. There is broad national concern regarding the quality of appointments to the IRB;
    2. There is a need for independent evaluations of new nominees to the IRB;
    3. In the next few months a high percentage of IRB positions are scheduled to be filled or reappointed;
    Therefore be it resolved:
    That the CCR request that the Minister of Citizenship and Immigration declare a moratorium on new IRB appointments until such time as independent review committees can be established.
  • Res.: 4
    Whereas:
    1. Female Genital Mutilation (FGM) affects over 114 million women and girls in the world;
    2. An estimated 6 - 8 million girls under the age of 10 undergo the process of female genital mutilation each year;
    3. Female genital mutilation is the removal of, or injury to, any part of the female genital organ. The three main types are:

      Type 1) Clitoridectomy ("sunna") which may involve:

      1. Pricking the clitoris to induce bleeding,
      2. partial removal of the clitoris,
      3. complete removal of the clitoris

       

      Type 2)  Excision - removal of the clitoris and partial or complete removal of the labia minora

      Type 3) Infibulation ("Pharaonic mutilation") removal of the clitoris, labia minora, parts of the labia majora and the stitching together of the vulva (infibulation) to obliterate the urethra and the vaginal orifice except for a small opening (Women's Health in Women's Hands);

    4. Female Genital Mutilation is valued as a significant ritual within the cultures and communities in which it is practised but it has no valid religious or spiritual basis;
    5. Female Genital Mutilation can cause death in extreme cases or will leave the young woman with ongoing, lifelong health problems such as urinary and menstrual flow retention, dysmenorrhoea, infections of the reproductive and urinary tract, chronic pelvic infection, problems with childbirth, with sexual activity and chronic pain;
    6. Female Genital Mutilation is specifically identified as illegal in many countries and in Canada it is considered as child abuse in the section of physical abuse and aggravated assault;
    7. Female Genital Mutilation is child abuse but is also a violation of women's human rights, is violence against women, is violence against women's sexuality, is torture;
    8. Most importantly, Female Genital Mutilation is being practised in refugee camps, and it is well known what the sanitary conditions of refugees camps are like to undertake a radical surgery such as FGM;
    Therefore be it resolved:

    That the CCR:

    1. Recommend to the UNCHR to recognise that Female Genital Mutilation is a human rights issue, and that it should be treated as such;
    2. Request that the Criminal Code of Canada be amended to specifically identify Female Genital Mutilation as a criminal act, and explore the possibility of appropriate new legislation;
    3. Urge the Federal and Provincial Ministries to appropriate funds and resources to provide counselling and support groups for the victims of FGM, for educational programmes to take place within the communities in which Female Genital Mutilation is practised and in order for the affected communities to educate the mainstream Canadian society, in particular, health service providers and educational institutions;
    4. Continue to pursue the issue of Female Genital Mutilation through information sharing, education and in advocacy;
    5. Explore the inclusion of FGM on the platform for action in the upcoming fourth world conference on Women, in Beijing 1995;
    6. Urge Canada to provide protection to women and to women and their daughters who are fleeing the FGM practice.
  • Res.: 34
    Whereas:
    1. The CCR has learned of a forcible drugging incident involving a pregnant woman deported to Zaire;
    2. Immigration officials have said that drugging has occurred in at least twelve cases of deportation last year;
    Therefore be it resolved:
    That the CCR demand an independent inquiry into this incident and into the practice of medicating people for the purposes of deportation.
  • Res.: 9
    Whereas:
    1. Health service is a right in Canada;
    2. Eligibility to the new Interim Federal Health Programme will be based on response of refugee claimants at points of entry and inland immigration offices to the question: "will you be able to cover any medical costs you may incur while your claim is being processed?";
    3. The claimant will be intimidated and scared to answer "no" for fear that this would jeopardize their claim;
    4. The claimant will be required to sign a declaration of eligibility (IMM-1442) at the point of entry or inland office;
    Therefore be it resolved:

    That the CCR: 

    1. Urge the Federal Immigration Department to consider the removal of any eligibility criteria to be asked at the point of entry or inland offices at a time when claimants are seeking asylum;
    2. Request that the question of ability to pay for medical costs be removed and that health services be made available unconditionally to all claimants regardless of ability to pay;
    3. Urge the Department of Citizenship and Immigration to remove the mandatory condition that claimants sign the declaration of eligibility.
  • Res.: 39
    Whereas:
    1. Persons recognized as Convention Refugees are recent arrivals in Canada;
    2. Their economic resources may be limited;
    3. Family reunification is a priority;
    Therefore be it resolved:

    That the CCR:

    1. Condemn the imposition of cost recovery fees for landing application from all Convention refugees and their dependants;
    2. Request that the government amend the regulations to eliminate these processing fees; or in the alternative, that the government accept and process landing applications from all Convention refugees and their dependants when they are received and defer the payment of processing fees until the point of landing.
  • Res.: 14
    Whereas:
    1. Many organizations receive inadequate funding for the administrative costs of delivering the LINC Programme;
    2. The contribution of volunteers greatly enhances LINC service delivery, but funding is not provided for volunteer recognition;
    Therefore be it resolved:
    That the CCR Settlement Working Group meet with Danielle Racette, LINC Implementation Team Director, Citizenship and Immigration, to discuss these issues and develop a fair and equitable manner to recover administrative and volunteer costs associated with the Programme.
  • Res.: 19
    Whereas:
    1. The Women at Risk Programme has been under review as an integrated part of the general gender consultation, with involvement from the CCR ad hoc committee examining the Women at Risk Programme, women resettled pursuant to the Women at Risk Programme, sponsors, UNHCR, immigration officers, visa officers, and settlement counsellors;
    2. The Minister of Citizenship and Immigration has repeatedly acknowledged that the Women at Risk programme, the pride of Canada, was specifically established to respond to the immediate protection needs of refugee women and that the Programme has not adequately met its goals and needs improvement;
    3. The UNHCR and the CCR ad hoc committee examining the Women at Risk Programme in their research findings confirm the necessity of changing the eligibility criteria to respond to vulnerable refugee women in need of urgent protection, including women experiencing gender-related persecution;
    4. The high proportion of stream B cases being processed under the Women at Risk Programme has made the Programme a misnomer by processing cases that fit the general Joint Assistance Programme profile thereby negatively impacting on those women in need of immediate protection who are at risk;
    5. In the Proposals for Action from the Consultations on Gender Issues and Refugees, the implementation of the IRB guidelines for overseas selection and the development of regulations for the Resettlement from Abroad category are listed as actions to be taken immediately. Their immediate implementation will address some of the concerns around the eligibility criteria for selecting women for refugee resettlement, including the Women at Risk Programme;
    6. The current successful establishment component of the admissibility criteria of the refugee resettlement programme, which includes the Women at Risk Programme, is gender-biased, penalizing women refugees for systemic disadvantages which women have encountered world-wide, is an inappropriate measurement and is contradictory with the overall goal of the humanitarian refugee programme, including the Women at Risk Programme;
    7. The Minister of Citizenship and Immigration on behalf of the Department released a Declaration of Refugee Protection for Women on June 1, 1994 at the CCR recognizing the "need to overcome traditional male-oriented views of the potential of refugees for `successful establishment'" and the summary of findings of the Women at Risk Programme review presented to the CCR on June 2, 1994 notes that programme partners have called for the relaxing or elimination of the successful establishment component of the admissibility criteria;
    Therefore be it resolved:

    That the CCR communicate to the Minister of Citizenship and Immigration strongly urging:

    1. The revision of eligibility criteria for refugee resettlement programmes with special changes to the Women at Risk Programme criteria, enabling it to be a programme responsive to the urgent protection needs of refugee women;
    2. The elimination of the successful establishment component of the admissibility criteria for refugees in urgent need of protection, especially refugee women.
  • Res.: 22
    Whereas:
    1. The United States continues to return Haitians picked up in international waters directly to Haiti;
    2. Previous CCR resolutions of May '92 and Nov. '92 have called upon the Canadian government to
      1. Support the UNHCR statement of May '92 criticizing US actions against Haitian asylum seekers;
      2. Make representations to the US not to return Haitians to Haiti; and
      3. Select a certain number of Haitians for resettlement in Canada;
    3. The Canadian government has not publicly responded to these demands;
    4. The United States is now putting forward a plan involving other governments for processing Haitian refugees in the Caribbean region;
    Therefore be it resolved:

    That the CCR:

    1. Call upon the Canadian government to:
      1. Publicly clarify the positions it has taken in its discussions with the United States and in multilateral discussions;
      2. Take all available measures, in consultation with the NGO sector, to ensure that
        1. Any screening process set up in the region includes all necessary safeguards for meaningful protection;
        2. No appropriate solutions, such as third country resettlement, be excluded before individual cases are examined;
      3. Select a certain number of Haitian refugees for resettlement in Canada; potential candidates should include Haitians now in vulnerable situations in various locations in the Americas;
    2. Call upon the UNHCR to designate adequate resources to ensure that international protection standards are upheld during this process;
    3. Approach other organizations in the development and human rights fields to support and participate in our advocacy initiatives on this issue.
  • Res.: 40
    Whereas:
    Settlement is an issue not adequately addressed by social work programmes in colleges and universities;
    Therefore be it resolved:

    That the CCR request the Canadian Association of Schools of Social Work to include a section on refugees in the social work curriculum as a mandatory component.

  • Res.: 27
    Whereas:
    1. The report entitled Quality of Mercy by Susan Davis and Lorne Waldman recommends sweeping changes to the process of handling refugee claims;
    2. The report entitled Rebuilding Trust by James Hathaway recommends reforms to the selection, role and training of the people involved with the handling of refugee claims;
    Therefore be it resolved:

    That the CCR:

    1. Request the Minister of Citizenship and Immigration and the Chairperson of the Immigration and Refugee Board to study the interaction of the above two reports and to prepare an implementation plan to co-ordinate the changes to be made as a result of these reports;
    2. Request that the CCR be made a full participant in the preparation of the above implementation plan;
    3. Undertake to develop by the end of September 1994 a common position on the essential principles from both of the above reports that it will advocate in discussions with the government and the IRB.
  • Res.: 2
    Whereas:
    1. Immigrant serving agencies play a key role not only in the initial settlement but also the integration of newcomers so that they may become participating members of the larger society;
    2. The settlement and integration process varies from one individual to another and can take anywhere from a few months to over a decade;
    3. Immigrant serving agencies are in a unique position to outreach to their community, assess needs and provide early detection of problems and intervention;
    4. Immigrant serving agencies are equipped with skills and professional expertise to provide specialized services, such as family counselling, employment and job training, etc. based on a variety of service models;
    5. Immigrant serving agencies may provide a wide range of holistic and culturally appropriate services which are not available in "mainstream" service agencies;
    6. Immigrants are entitled to choices for services which they consider most appropriate and acceptable (including specialized services at immigrant serving agencies);
    Therefore be it resolved:

    That the CCR undertake to communicate to the government that:

    1.   Immigrant settlement services should not be limited to new arrivals within a restricted time period (wherever limitation exists);
    2. Immigrant serving agencies are qualified not only to provide initial settlement services but also a wide range of specialized services such as family counselling, employment and job training, etc.;
    3. Immigrant serving agencies should have equal access to funding to meet unmet needs of the community they serve, including those needs which extend beyond the initial stage of settlement.
  • Res.: 32
    Whereas:
    1. A just refugee system requires that all players in the process, including interpreters, are held accountable;
    2. Interpreters are at present not held in any way accountable;
    3. There is no standard testing model for the purpose of accreditation and competence of interpreters and in many of languages there is not test at all. Different centres are allowed to recruit their interpreters using their own criteria;
    Therefore be it resolved:

    That the CCR call upon the IRB to ensure that:

    1. There is coherence in the overall accreditation of the interpreters in all the languages;
    2. Interpreters are made accountable through licensing and be required to observe codes of conduct;
    3. Those previously recruited are made to take an updated test before certification.
  • Res.: 7
    Whereas:
    The media portrayal of refugees and immigrants has tended to focus on the negative rather than the positive;
    Therefore be it resolved:
    That the CCR encourage its member organizations to monitor and respond to the media portrayal of refugees and immigrants and to advocate for more balanced coverage, and that the CCR member organizations having experience in media monitoring and media relations make their expertise known to the CCR for sharing among its members.
  • Res.: 37
    Whereas:
    1. Government officials repeatedly refer to the figure of $50,000.00 as the cost per refugee claimant;
    2. This figure is without basis in fact;
    3. The repeated use of this incorrect figure is prejudicial to refugees;
    Therefore be it resolved:

    That

    1. The CCR request that the Government of Canada investigate the true costs of each refugee claim and produce its findings
    2. The Legal Affairs Committee of the CCR be directed to investigate the possibility of initiating legal proceedings against the Department of Immigration for "spreading false news" and for knowingly distributing incorrect information that is prejudicial to refugee claimants.