When Canada's immigration officials denied Haider Al Jebori's refugee claim because of his lengthy criminal record, they thought he would just go home.

But the 39-year-old Iraqi man had another idea -- he fled into the United States in 2004, where he was convicted of at least five criminal charges, including assault with a deadly weapon.

Canadian officials only found him when he returned to Canada and asked for a work permit -- and he was deported in February, six years after he got here.

"That's insane," said immigration lawyer Richard Kurland. "That should never happen.

"A person coming in and out of Canada, a known problem, unknown criminality with removal orders almost tattooed on him? Someone dropped the ball, big time," he said.

Al Jebori is only one of many failed refugee claimants who vanish. Canada's auditor-general estimates that 41,000 people in Canada have disappeared after being ordered out.

The idea that there are that many people left in Canada -- some criminals like Al Jebori -- unnerves American border guards, who are trying to keep their own country safe.

"It's quite frightening to know that those people are out there running around," Marc Rowley of U.S. Customs and Border Protection said.

The federal government says more criminals like Al Jebori are being removed -- it's gone up about 15 per cent from 1,476 in 2002 to 1,724 in 2008.

But Canada's Immigration Minister, Jason Kenney, admits more has to be done.

"It's just not acceptable and I'm going to be looking for advice from my officials on what we can do to curtail examples like this," he said.