Bangladeshi refugee applicant in ICE custody barred from returning to Canada: CBSA

OTTAWA – A Bangladeshi man in U.S. Immigrations and Customs Enforcement custody is permanently barred from returning to Canada, a Canada Border Services Agency spokesperson said.

Mahin Shahriar, a 27-year-old Bangladeshi national who had lived in Canada since 2019, said he inadvertently crossed the Canada-U.S. border in May and has been in ICE custody ever since.

In an interview from an ICE detention facility in Buffalo, N.Y., Shahriar said he believes he was led across the border in a human trafficking attempt by “a friend” who offered him a place to stay while he was dealing with mental health issues.

The CBSA spokesperson said that Shahriar’s initial Canadian refugee application and appeal failed. The CBSA spokesperson said that a request for a judicial review of these decisions was also dismissed by the Federal Court.

Shahriar’s lawyer Washim Ahmed said he filed a new pre-removal risk assessment earlier this year to keep his client in Canada. Ahmed said this is allowed since his client had been subject to a removal order for more than a year and it was not enforced.

Ahmed said his client should be sent back to Canada under the provisions of the Safe Third Country Agreement and he is pursuing a court order to compel Canada to accept Shahriar’s return.

Under that agreement, most asylum claimants in Canada and the U.S. are required to apply for refugee protection in the country in which they first arrive.

Shahriar, however, was not recognized as a Canadian refugee when he entered the U.S.

The CBSA said in an emailed statement that Shahriar waived the right to any recourse against his removal when he left Canada.

The agency added that Canada is under no obligation to accept Shahriar without receiving an authorization to return, which is documentation an individual who was formally removed from Canada needs in order to come back.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 21, 2025.