A new immigration policy is denying American war resisters due process, human rights advocates say, and they are calling on the government to rescind it.

About 200 U.S. soldiers who fled the Iraq war are in Canada, and the recently introduced policy singles out their refugee claims for special attention. The policy, called Operational Bulletin 202, says that because deserting the military is a crime, the war resisters may not be eligible for asylum.

War resister Phil McDowell said he will never forget the day he decided to flee to Canada.

"It was a difficult decision to make, thinking I might not ever go back or see my family again," McDowell said.

McDowell came to Toronto four years ago. He had just finished a year-long tour in Iraq, and didn't like what he saw there.

"Just the general resentment toward the population … a real racist sentiment toward the Iraqis that I felt uncomfortable with," he said.

McDowell was ordered to go back to Iraq for another tour of duty, but he refused. "I was looking for justification to convince myself we were there for good reasons, but the more I looked the clearer it became that that just wasn't the case," he said.

Upon his arrival in Canada, he applied for refugee status.

'What it is telling immigration officers is: Don't you dare make a positive decision without our seeing it first," '— Peter Showler, law professor, University of Ottawa

However, any conscientious objector from the United States faces the new guidelines when they seek the protection McDowell sought.

The guidelines instruct immigration officers to red-flag U.S. military deserters and contact a supervising authority rather than deal with the cases themselves. There are some concerns it could be applied retroactively.

Peter Showler, a law professor at the University of Ottawa and a former chairman of the Immigration and Refugee Board for three years, said the policy "smacks of government interference."

He said each case should be decided on independently and on its own merits.

"What it is telling immigration officers is: Don't you dare make a positive decision without our seeing it first," Showler said. "There's going to be a lot of institutional pressure not to make positive decisions in cases where, manifestly, they should be positive."

In a recent letter, Amnesty International Canada urged Jason Kenney, minister of citizenship, immigration and multiculturalism, to withdraw Bulletin 202.

"It gives rise to the very real concern that this a way of managing the cases in a way which is going to ensure that a maximum number are not accepted," said Alex Neve, Amnesty's secretary general.

The department said it stands by the bulletin.

In an email, a department spokeswoman said it is "common practice" for the department to issue instructions to immigration officers "to improve how programs operate."