Canada and the U.S. have reached an agreement to turn back asylum seekers who illegally cross borders in either country. This significant change was necessary due to the large influx of illegals crossing the border from Canada to the United States.
Joe Biden was forced to renew many of Donald Trump’s policies at the southern border. This includes the automatic denial of asylum for migrants who have crossed into a third country. It also includes a modified “Remain In Mexico” policy and a modified Title 42 program. Biden is looking for ways to control the upcoming massive influx of migrants at the border.
The president’s visit began last night and will conclude with the announcement of the agreement with Canada.
“We are seeing an increase of irregular migration going north into Canada which is a reflection of the regional and global immigration challenges we have been discussing,” said Karine Jean-Pierre, White House press secretary. “We are committed to working together with them to address this, including prioritizing safe and orderly migration via regular routes.”
Wall Street Journal:
Nearly 40,000 people crossed into Canada in 2022. Most of them made it across a short footpath from Champlain, N.Y. to Quebec. According to data from Canada on migration, almost 10,000 immigrants crossed the border into Canada in January and February. 4,246 migrants crossed the border in 2021.
U.S. Customs and Border Protection also reported that 2,856 migrants were arrested since October’s start of the U.S. government budget year. They had escaped across the border from Canada. Nearly 2,000 of these arrests were made by Border Patrol agents in Swanton Sector (which includes Roxham Road). 2,238 arrests were made along the northern border during the entire 2022 budget year.
The Safe Third Country Agreement already exists. It requires asylum seekers to request protection in the country where they arrived first. The agreement does not apply to those who cross the border at non-official crossing points. Roxham Road, upstate New York’s unofficial crossing point is more appealing than any official crossing.
Trudeau has been faced with serious political problems.
The new agreement on migration is intended to address a pressing political problem in Quebec for Mr. Trudeau, which is a crucial part of the Liberals’ electoral coalition. Francois Legault (premier of Quebec) has repeatedly asked Canada to close the Roxham Road crossing. He warned that an influx of refugees could overwhelm the province’s social service systems.
“It’s crucial for Trudeau because it’s not as acute anywhere on the border as it is on Roxham Road,” stated Christopher Sands, director of Canada Institute of Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars. “Trudeau must find a solution to this problem.”
The northern border isn’t as restrictive as the southern. Canada does not want illegal aliens flooding its border communities as much as the U.S. Even though there are large swathes of U.S.-Canada borders that are not largely guarded, it is difficult to reach those areas.
Trudeau and Biden are expected to sign the agreement sometime this weekend.
