Regularization Campaign

Why our members deserve and need permanent status now

The campaign for status 4 all continues. Today we are closer than ever, but the members of the Migrants Rights Network is calling on supporters to continue to put pressure on the federal government to demand status 4 all now. #StatusforAll would be "life changing for so many people." It's time for Justin Trudeau to #RegularizeEveryone. SEND AN EMAIL NOW https://migrantrights.ca/take-action/email/ This video explains why our members deserve and need... Read more →

Montrealers protest decade-long waits for migrant status

Various immigrant rights organizations request the implementation of a promised inclusive regularization program Hannah Scott-Talib — Published February 24, 2024 On Feb. 21, the Speak out: Status for All immigrant rights protest was held outside Minister of Immigration Marc Miller’s Montreal office, as part of an ongoing week of action led by various organizations. A crowd of roughly 50 people showed up, holding signs that read “regularization for all” and chanting... Read more →

An open letter from 29 organizations: Stop deportations, regularize undocumented migrants!

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, Minister Marc Miller, Two years ago, while the pandemic and lockdown were still with us, you, Mr. Prime Minister, asked the Minister of Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship to explore "ways to regularize the status of undocumented workers who contribute to Canadian communities" and who played an essential role during the pandemic, sometimes at the cost of their lives. Two years later, on the occasion of commemorating... Read more →

Migrants Rally on International Migrant Day, Demanding Immediate Regularization

Today on International Migrant Day, and it has been two years since Prime Minister Trudeau promised a comprehensive regularization program for undocumented migrants. Today, migrants demanded regularization! Over 150 migrants, including those who are non-status, those with precarious status, and migrant workers, delivered over 400 letters by those directly effected to demand status for everyone to the riding office of Justin Trudeau. We will continue to organize and mobilize for... Read more →

Undocumented immigrants don’t just live in Montreal, say Lower St. Lawrence organizations

Several organizations held a rally this Monday morning in front of the post office on rue Saint-Germain Ouest in Rimouski, to call for the abolition of temporary work permits and for a comprehensive regularization program, led by the Immigrant Workers Centre chapter of Bas Saint Laurent. "As part of International Migrants Day, we're flooding federal Immigration Minister Marc Miller's office with postcards signed by the people of the Lower St.... Read more →

Ottawa plans to create Canadian citizenship path for undocumented immigrants

  Immigration, Refugees, and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) Minister Marc Miller confirmed his intention to “present a proposal to cabinet in the spring on allowing undocumented immigrants to regularize their status’”. It's been two years since the Prime Minister asked the IRCC minister in his mandate letter to explore ways of regularizing the status of undocumented migrants, according to  The Globe and Mail. The Immigrant Workers Centre welcomes the intention to... Read more →

Migrants made scapegoats by Quebec and Canadian immigration policies

PRESS RELEASE Migrants made scapegoats by Quebec and Canadian immigration policies Montreal, November 2, 2023. - The Quebec and Canadian governments have announced their immigration plans, specifying immigration thresholds for the coming years. Putting the thresholds on hold, while ignoring the hundreds of thousands of temporary foreign workers, asylum seekers and undocumented immigrants already in the country, is tantamount to pointing the finger of blame at them for our social,... Read more →

“Trudeau must keep his promise”: organizations call for regularization of undocumented migrants

Some thirty Quebec community and labor organizations mobilized in Montreal, Quebec City and Rimouski on Saturday to call for a program to regularize undocumented migrants. The 38 organizations are calling for the "immediate" implementation of an "inclusive" program to regularize undocumented migrants, as well as an end to the deportation and detention of migrants who have no immigration status. Read event reports (in French): Trudeau doit tenir sa promesse»: des... Read more →

Migrant workers, victims of human trafficking, demand adequate protection

Montreal, July 20, 2023. With the ever-increasing use of the Temporary Foreign Worker Program, which fails to guarantee the rights of these workers, abuses and violence against them are multiplying. Five migrant workers, victims of human trafficking, contacted the Immigrant Workers Center (IWC) and decided to testify to their experiences and to denounce the shortcomings of protection measures for migrant workers in vulnerable situations. Fraud, forced labour and threats: the... Read more →

Striving for Equality: Ensuring Basic Labor Protections for Immigrant Workers in Québec

By: Isaac Patroulis Lessig In January, the United States Department of Homeland Security (DHS) introduced new guidelines to shield migrant workers “who experience or witness workplace labor or civil rights violations” from deportation or a loss of work status. The protective measure marks a positive step towards the empowerment of migrant workers in the country and should be seen as a win for workers everywhere. Similar protections for immigrant workers... Read more →

Akwesasne “not an isolated case”: non-status immigrants cry out

At the Immigrant Workers Centre (IWC), our mission is to advocate for the rights and well-being of migrant workers, regardless of their status. A recent report by TVA Nouvelles high lights the urgent need for regularization and fair treatment of undocumented immigrants in Canada, emphasizing the importance of our work at IWC. The report shares the stories of undocumented immigrants living in precarious conditions and facing numerous challenges in their... Read more →

How would a regularization program for undocumented immigrants benefit Quebec?

What is regularization? Simply put, regularization is giving papers to people who don't have them. It is obviously not a magical process. Regularization programs come with criteria for including or excluding applicants. The files are therefore processed one by one by the immigration officers as for other types of applications. The goal of these programs is to give an extra chance to... Read more →

Training Guide: Non-Status Regularization Program & media relations

This argument for the regularization of people without immigration status was constructed by the Immigrant Workers Centre (IWC) of Montreal in September 2022. The Immigrant Workers' Centre is a popular education and collective advocacy organization for labour and immigration rights for precarious workers. Since 2000, the ILC has supported workers in their struggles for dignity, respect and justice, including campaigns to... Read more →

Women Without Status and Workplace Sexual Harassment We demand greater protection

  We are the Temporary Agency Workers Association’s (ATTAP) women’s committee, a group of immigrant women working in precarious conditions. We have come together to confront a shared problem: psychological harassment and sexual abuse in the workplace. Our committee was founded by the Immigrant Workers Center (IWC) in late 2018 with the mandate collectively addressing shared problems in the workplace that... Read more →

Guide for Temporary Migrant Workers and Case Workers in Quebec

Download: Guide for Temporary Migrant Workers and Case Workers in Quebec The production of this material was financially supported by the Ministère de l’Enseignement supérieur (MES) through the Fonds des services aux collectivités program. The production also received support from the Canada Research Chairs Program and funding from Université du Québec à Chicoutimi.