Biden and Trudeau announce agreement to stop irregular border crossings between the US and Canada

The President of the United States, Joe Biden, and the Prime Minister of Canada, Justin Trudeau, announced this Friday an immigration agreement to stop irregular crossings between the two countries, which have increased in recent months.

This agreement would put an end to a process that has allowed thousands of migrants from all over the world to cross the border between the two nations on foot through secondary roads and enter Canada, where they are released to later begin their asylum cases.

“Both our countries believe in safe, fair and orderly migration, refugee protection and border security. That is why we will now apply the Safe Third Country agreement to asylum seekers who cross between official entry points.” , Trudeau confirmed at a joint press conference, on the occasion of Biden’s official visit to Ottawa.

The Canadian premier specified that “after midnight tonight, police and border agents will enforce the agreement and return those who cross the border irregularly to the closest point of entry with the US.”

“Our teams have worked hard to get this deal done, all of the work will help discourage irregular immigration at our border while increasing regular migration,” Trudeau said, flanked by his US counterpart.

A joint communiqué, issued after the meeting of both leaderswarns that the authorities of neighboring nations will continue “in close coordination” as they work “to implement this new agreement.”

Both leaders also announced that “Canada will welcome an additional 15,000 humanitarian migrants from the Western Hemisphere during the course of the year.” This ad is similar to the program humanitarian parole applied by the Joe Biden administration to alleviate the immigration crisis on the southern border of the US.

The joint statement insisted that both administrations believe that “irregular migration requires a regional approach focused on expanding legal pathways and humane border management,” in addition to acknowledging that they must “address the underlying economic and security drivers of migration “.

Before the press conference, Biden celebrated the union and cooperation between the two countries, neighbors and holders of a “common commitment and history”, but also challenges “that concern both nations.”

“In the US, we are expanding legal avenues for humanitarian-based safety migration, while discouraging irregular migration, which fuels exploitation and human trafficking. So today I applaud Canada for implementing similar programs and opening up new legal paths for 15,000 immigrants to come to Canada,” Biden said during a widely applauded speech before the Canadian Parliament.

The US president mentioned similar efforts from his country and recalled the creation of the Welcome Corps o Welcome Corps, an initiative that allows US citizens to sponsor refugees seeking to enter the country.

Increase in crossings on the northern border

As of early 2017, the main point of entry into Canada is on Roxham Road outside of Champlain, New York. There, a Royal Canadian Mounted Police checkpoint has been set up to process asylum seekers some eight kilometers from the official border crossing, where they would be forced to return to the US.

Meanwhile, coinciding with the strengthening of entry conditions at the southern border, crossings from north to south have increased.

In the past year, the American nation has received record numbers of asylum seekers, the vast majority from its southern border with Mexico. To alleviate the situation, Biden launched a humanitarian parole program which combines the granting of temporary residence and work permits for two years, with the prohibition of irregular entry.

First it was extended only to Venezuelans, then in January, it also included citizens of Cuba, Nicaragua and Haiti, the countries from which most migrants arrive. According to official figures, this achieved reduce illegal entries by 95% from Mexico.

Now, the US authorities are looking towards its northern border, which, although it does not receive the magnitude of migrants that arrives in the south, has registered an increase in traffic and the United States Customs and Border Protection Office (CBP, for its acronym in English) has reinforced the presence of agents at border crossings.

According to the CBP, 1,513 arrests of people who crossed illegally were made between October 1, 2022 and January 31, 2023, a notable increase compared to the 160 apprehensions registered in the same period of the previous year.

Border Patrol agents prevented 628 illegal crossings from Canada in February, five times the number in the same period in 2022, further corroborating the rising trend.

Half of those arriving from Canada are Mexicans, who do not need a visa to fly from their country. Most of these entries occur through prohibited areas between the large population centers of both countries, from Quebec to northern New York and Vermont.

The death of migrant from Mexico last February due to low temperatures, the first death of this type this year, set off the alarms and demonstrated the increase in irregular crossings in the area.

Strengthened bilateral cooperation

During Biden’s visit to Canada, both leaders reaffirmed the bilateral willingness to assist Ukraine in his war against Russia and continue collaborating in the fight against climate change, the creation of a clean energy strategy, the creation of jobs, the manufacture of semiconductors, the fight against drug trafficking, focused above all on stopping the distribution of fentanyl.

Both leaders also addressed the security situation in Haiti, dominated almost entirely by gangs that hinder the arrival of humanitarian assistance and the work to quell outbreaks of cholera and other diseases.

Trudeau announced that his government would allocate 100 million dollars to provide support and equipment to the Haitian police, and also announced that they would apply sanctions to two “elite members” of the country, warning those who benefit from violence and insecurity in the nation.

“The most important thing that we could do, and it will take time, is to increase the prospects that the Haitian police department has the capacity to deal with the problems,” said Biden, who assured that they are studying the possibility of that the United Nations can play a greater role in the efforts to assist Haiti.

[Con información de AP y Reuters]

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