Crossing Law’s Border

Resettlement – the selection and transfer of refugees from the state where they seek asylum to another state – is considered a tool of refugee protection. In this nuanced account of Canada’s resettlement program from the Indochinese crisis of the 1970s to the Syrian crisis of the 2010s, Shauna Labman examines the role that law plays in resettlement and the impact of resettlement on asylum policies. She concludes that resettlement programs can either complement or complicate in-country asylum claims at a time when fear of outsiders is causing countries to close their borders to asylum-seekers around the world.