Immigration court cases quadrupled since 2020, lawyers blame automation
Federal Court immigration filings have surged to 28,000 cases last year, with lawyers linking the spike to government use of AI in visa decisions.
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The number of immigration cases brought to Federal Court has more than quadrupled since 2020, and some immigration lawyers are linking the surge to the federal government's use of artificial intelligence and automation in visa processing.
About 6,400 immigration cases were filed in 2020. That number spiked to 9,700 in 2021, then surged to more than 28,000 last year. More than 6,600 cases were filed in the first quarter of 2026. The vast majority are not refugee matters.
Ottawa immigration lawyer Jacqueline Bonisteel said the department is leaning on technology to speed decisions, and decision quality is slipping as a result. "The use of new technology and automation tools just means that a human officer isn't spending as much time with the files as they once did," she said.
Five years ago, Bonisteel said, the department would offer detailed explanations for visa rejections. "Now with these automated decision making tools, you usually don't get much at all. There's these canned lines that we see in almost every refusal decision. There's no sign of engagement with the evidence."
Immigration Minister Lena Diab's office said AI tools assist with tasks like triaging applications and generating summaries, but that "AI plays no role in decision-making on immigration applications. All refusal decisions are made by trained officers following a full human review." The department's AI strategy acknowledges the tools can recommend options and flag straightforward cases for expedited review, but maintains they do not refuse applications.