Canada and the US close agreement to return irregular migrants

First modification: 03/25/2023 – 03:18

Asylum seekers without US or Canadian citizenship who have crossed the border through unregistered sites within 14 days will be returned to their places of origin. This is indicated by the new immigration agreement that both countries concluded this Friday, March 24.

The President of the United States, Joe Biden, and the Prime Minister of Canada, Justin Trudeau, announced it after their meeting. This new modality will affect the thousands of migrants who cross to the extreme north of America.

The pact aims to allay Ottawa’s concerns about the growing number of migrants – most of them from Latin America – who have arrived in the country in recent months due to the impossibility of making it to the United States.

This will also include those on Roxham Road, a busy point for migrants arriving on foot. To reach this site, a relatively short distance from New York, it is not necessary to cross an official border point and, once there, they could remain and ask for protection, something impossible for those trying to cross Canada’s migration channels.

As part of this new pact, the Trudeau government promised to welcome 15,000 more migrants from the western hemisphere of the continent who need asylum for humanitarian reasons.

01:29

Trudeau warned that the new agreement will be implemented immediately, from the beginning of Saturday the 25th. This is to avoid a stampede of refugee applicants.

“Border agents will enforce the agreement starting at midnight tonight and will deport irregular crossers to the nearest US border point,” he said.

Some activists defending the rights of irregular immigrants criticized the measure, emphasizing that their security will be adrift if they cannot count on the support of governments.

One of the first to speak out was Danilo Zak, associate director for advocacy policy at Church World Services (CWS) humanitarian group.

“We urge President Biden to vigorously reconsider this agreement and work with Congress to restore access to asylum and support policies that recognize the dignity of all who arrive at our borders,” he said.

Before, Canada was empowered to return to the US those who tried to enter illegally through official points, but it left a gray area for those who did so by other methods.

For its part, in recent days, the US Border Patrol registered an increase in the number of illegal crossings made from Canada. Although these figures are notoriously lower than those that occur on the border with Mexico, it is still a worrying increase.

Last February, 628 people were detained when they tried to reach the United States from the northern neighbor, numbers five times higher than in the same period of 2022. On the border with Mexico, more than 22,000 were registered in December alone.

Canadian aid for Haiti, but no security leadership

Within the Canadian Prime Minister’s announcements, he also reported that his Administration will collaborate financially with the Caribbean country, which is suffering from a deep political and social crisis, where gang violence increased and generated humanitarian problems ranging from food insufficiency to the spread of diseases.

Trudeau said that they will allocate US$73 million to Haiti, which is “to help the National Police.”

“We will impose new sanctions on members of the Haitian elite who are benefiting from insecurity and violence,” he added.

Haiti has emphasized for months before the United Nations and the Organization of American States that an international security force be created to end instability. While the United States and Canada have supported the motion, neither stepped forward to lead it.

With AP and EFE