Human Rights Watch (HRW) called for the abolition of immigration detention in Canada on Tuesday, due to the system’s ineffective protection of people with mental disabilities. HRW specifically cited a case in which a man unable to communicate due to mental illness was represented through two years of immigration hearings by a contracted designated representative who never communicated with him.

A 2018 external audit of the immigration detention system highlighted significant shortcomings in how the designated representative system accommodates detainees with mental disabilities. In the case referenced by HRW, the man’s designated representative represented him at 23 hearings to consider his release without attempting to contact the man’s family, or the lawyer representing him in federal court. At every hearing, the representative claimed that there was no alternative to detention, even though the man was in a diagnosed catatonic state for the final three years of his detention.

Under the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act, the Immigration Division (ID) of the Immigration and Refugee Board (IRB) is only allowed to detain a permanent resident or foreign national during legal proceedings if they are believed to be a flight risk or danger to the public. The audit questioned why the man’s representative never argued that the man was not a danger to the public or a flight risk.

Designated representatives are appointed to represent individuals that the IRB deems “unable to understand the nature of [immigration] proceedings.” The IRB will appoint a contracted designated representative if no family or friends are able to serve as a representative. Designated representatives are bound by a code of conduct that requires “that the interests of subjects represented by designated representatives must be protected and advanced throughout all of the subject’s interactions with the IRB.”

The audit reported that the presence of designated representatives gave the ID assurance that mentally ill detainees were being adequately represented, despite evidence to the contrary.

Canadian provinces ended the practice of immigration detention in March, but the Canada Border Services Agency continues immigration detention at the federal level. With Canada’s recent commitment to strengthen border security in response to President-elect Trump’s concern over migration, it is doubtful that Canada will abolish the system altogether.