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Migration Integrity Officers

Interdicting threats abroad before they reach North America

The Big Picture: Since well before 9/11 Canada has deployed officers abroad to stop improperly documented travelers, including those who pose security risks, before they embark on their flights to Canada. The 45 Migration Integrity Officers (MIO) assigned to 39 key locations outside of Canada interdict thousands of inadmissible persons each year, preventing them from entering North America.

The Facts:

• MIOs are assigned selectively to major source areas and transit points for persons most likely to try to gain entry to Canada through misrepresentation or other fraudulent means;
• they provide advice and document expertise to airlines and local authorities to prevent improperly documented and inadmissible persons from travelling to Canada;
• expert training on fraudulent documents and on document examination techniques is provided to airline and host government personnel;
• MIOs work with local immigration and law enforcement agencies, airlines, other governments, and international partners to combat people smuggling and trafficking
• in the past six years more than 40,000 persons who appeared to be inadmissible to Canada were intercepted by the MIO network before they boarded planes for North America.
• Canada’s MIOs do not work alone. They are dedicated to working with other countries to ensure that intelligence is shared effectively to interrupt the flow of inadmissible persons to North America.

For more information, visit CanadianAlly.com and be secure in your knowledge of Canada

February 2005