In a recent disclosure, an official has shared that refugees entering Canada can now claim asylum merely by using their smartphones. This development comes amid concerns over significant staffing shortages that have led to inadequate security screenings at the border.

Mark Weber, who serves as the president of the Customs and Immigration Union, highlighted during a meeting this week that many refugee claimants are being admitted into Canada without undergoing proper security screening.

“To expedite the process, given our staffing limitations, we are essentially letting individuals enter the country without first conducting security checks,” Weber explained to the Standing Committee on Citizenship and Immigration on Tuesday.

Currently, the system operates largely on trust, with refugees required to submit biometrics and fill out a basic questionnaire via an app.

Individuals identified as ‘high risk’ must complete an in-person application, whereas those classified as ‘low risk’ have a 45-day window after arriving in Canada to finalize their necessary paperwork.

Weber’s comments came during a discussion on Bill C-12, dubbed the ‘Strong Borders Act.’ This proposed legislation aims to impose tighter restrictions on who is eligible for asylum, among other provisions.

He told Parliamentarians that the current system is relying on illegitimate and hostile abusers of the system to ‘self-declare that they’re here for no good.’

He criticized Canadian Border Security Agency’s ‘One Touch’ model, which launched nationally in 2022 after the system struggled to keep up with high volumes of asylum seekers.   

Mark Weber, president of the Customs and Immigration Union, said at a meeting this week that refugee claimants are being allowed into Canada without going through security screening

Footage from the Royal Canadian Mounted Police of people crossing the Manitoba border into Canada in February 2025

Weber criticized Canadian Border Security Agency’s ‘One Touch’ model, which launched nationally in 2022 after the system struggled to keep up with high volumes of asylum seekers

Budget 2025 promised to hire 1,000 new CBSA officers, but Weber said that staffing shortages are over twice that number, the Toronto Sun reported. 

‘The technology we see the CBSA putting into place is all about self-declaration – it’s about the traveler, the refugee claimant, doing everything on their own because we simply don’t have the staff to do proper interviews and do what we did previously,’ he reportedly said during the meeting. ‘We need that to stop.’

The system allows for ‘low-risk’ claimants to be processed without the man power, when previous claimants would have to complete their application with an officer present. 

‘That was our opportunity to ask follow-up questions, make sure that the claim is genuine. We could look for things like indications of coaching, human smuggling, that kind of thing,’ he told CBC on Thursday. 

According to Weber, around ten percent of claimants don’t even fill out the form and CBSA officers are then tasked with tracking them down for removal, the outlet reported.

‘We’re not verifying anyone’s story at all. The ability for us to confirm whether or not their story is genuine has really been removed… It’s exactly the people with the greatest motivation to not self-declare who are going to be the ones who don’t self-declare and don’t report back,’ he continued. 

‘They essentially disappear into Canada.’

According to Weber, around ten percent of asylum claimants don’t even fill out the necessary forms and CBSA officers are then tasked with tracking them down for removal

Vice President of CBSA Intelligence and Enforcement Aaron McCrorie defended the processes as having ‘multiple layers of defense’

During Tuesday’s meeting, Weber stressed the importance of human interactions at the border for maintaining security, but said the lack of staff was making it impossible. 

He added that human interaction between border officers and those crossing into Canada produces ‘better intelligence’ and allows officers a better chance to catch patterns and warning signs ‘that would otherwise be missed.’ 

‘Claimants spend significantly less time meaningfully interacting with officers, with the result of reduced security for the sake of expediency,’ Weber continued, the Toronto Sun reported. 

According to Canadian government data, the country processed 89,385 asylum claims at land, air and sea ports of entry. 

Many of those seeking asylum were found to originate from Haiti, India, Nigeria and Iran, according to reports. 

However, during Tuesday’s meeting, Vice President of CBSA Intelligence and Enforcement Aaron McCrorie defended the processes as having ‘multiple layers of defense.’

‘Somebody claiming asylum out of port of entry, 100 percent of them will spend time, and considerable amount of time, with the border services officer to do that initial risk assessment,’ he said. 

McCrorie added that the duty of officers at that time is to ‘understand who you are, to assess whether you’re admissible into the country, eligible to make a claim and establish your identity.’ 

According to McCrorie, the biometrics and information submitted upon entry is cross referenced against border security and law enforcement data. 

‘It’s a very rigorous process. Is it perfect? No, there is no perfect system. And that’s why we have subsequent layers of defense,’ McCrorie said, according to CBC. 

The Daily Mail reached out to the CBSA for comment.