In response to the arrival in Canada of thousands of Hungarian Roma asylum seekers, a new and restrictive refugee regime was installed. Legislation included Designated Countries of Origin or “safe” countries from which refugee claimants were stripped of some entitlements. Acceptance rates fluctuate in loose reticulation with several factors. When negative decisions are made on refugee claims, conditions of persecution in Hungary are denied even though they are clearly demonstrable. Inclusion of claimants' voices substantiates a normalized violence. When decision makers parse the criterion of persecution and when political leaders dismiss claims as “bogus,” the consequence is the reconfiguration of the Roma as essentially nomadic. © 2018 Taylor & Francis Group, LLC.

nomad discourse Roma Designated Countries of Origin myth Hungary interviews Immigration and Refugee Board Canada policy

violence Canada immigration policy nomadic people political discourse safety refugee leadership Hungary asylum seeker immigration