As part of a joint agreement, the United States and Canada have decided to deny asylum to anyone caught at the U.S.-Canadian border.
The deal is set to be announced in Ottawa today by President Joe Biden and Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, Biden’s first official visit to Canada since taking office.
Reportedly, Canada has also agreed to admit up to 15,000 Central American migrants over the next year.
As the U.S. enforces stricter immigration policies, tens of thousands of migrants have been making their way to Canada.
The United States and Canada have had an asylum agreement restricting claims from illegal immigrants for quite some time. However, countries claim that migrants have discovered loopholes.
In Canada, for instance, migrants who request asylum at legal ports of entry can be returned to the United States. However, those who illegally enter are permitted to file claims.
Canada, taking a page from Republican-led U.S. states, has begun busing migrants to other locations in an effort to alleviate the strain of welcoming the newcomers at one border crossing into Quebec.
Meanwhile, people have been flooding into Vermont, New Hampshire, and northern New York from Canada.
In addition, the southern border has been out of control for the duration of Mr. Biden’s presidency, shattering records for illegal flows of people and drugs into the US.
The chief of the Border Patrol testified to Congress earlier this month that roughly half of the southern border is not secure, as is the heavily trafficked northern border sector.
Advocates criticized the move as Biden’s latest attempt to dissuade people from seeking refuge in the north.
As the U.S. has been pressuring the Canadian government to lead a multinational armed intervention, Biden and Trudeau are also expected to discuss the worsening gang violence and humanitarian crisis in Haiti.
