BANGLADESHI ASYLUM SEEKER TRAPPED AS ICE, CANADA REFUSE BORDER RETURN

A Bangladeshi refugee applicant who claims he crossed the Canada-U.S. border by mistake on May 12 is now stranded in legal limbo, with both nations refusing to take custody of him. The development, updated just hours ago, puts the man at immediate risk of deportation to Bangladesh, where he faces potential persecution, Daily Dazzling Dawn confirmed.

Mahin Shahriar, who has resided in Canada since 2019, was arrested by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents in Buffalo after crossing the border. Shahriar, who worked as an Uber driver in Canada to support his family, told reporters that he was struggling with depression and was given an address near the border by a friend who guided him via GPS. He now suspects the situation was a human trafficking attempt.

"I wanted to spend some time out of my home, and he said he had a place I could stay," Shahriar said in a phone interview from ICE custody. Upon realizing he was in the United States, he immediately approached border patrol officers, believing they would help him return to Canada, but was instead taken into custody.

The Diplomatic Impasse-The crisis stems from the refusal of the Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA) to accept Shahriar's return. Canadian authorities have stated that, under the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act, anyone seeking to enter must appear at a CBSA examination centre, and entry is judged on a case-by-case basis—a process ICE is unwilling to facilitate without prior approval.

Shahriar's lawyer, Washim Ahmed, argues that Canada is obligated to accept him under the Safe Third Country Agreement because Shahriar had been a resident with significant ties. His mother is a recognized refugee in Canada, and his younger sister is a full-time student there, despite Shahriar’s own initial asylum application having been previously denied.

Adding to the urgency, Shahriar faces severe consequences if deported to Bangladesh. Mr. Ahmed confirmed that Shahriar is at risk of detention and torture in his home country, where he faces obstruction of justice charges for assisting his mother and sister in fleeing. Crucially, ICE has acknowledged this risk, but has stated it will not compel Canada to accept him. Since ICE currently lacks his travel documents, immediate deportation to Bangladesh is complicated but remains a looming threat.

Urgent Legal Battle-In a last-ditch effort, Attorney Ahmed is working to schedule an urgent Federal Court hearing to legally compel the CBSA to accept Shahriar's transfer back to Canada on humanitarian and compassionate grounds. The outcome of this unprecedented legal maneuver will determine if Shahriar is reunited with his family or is rendered effectively stateless, trapped between two borders and facing danger abroad.